Crystal Stories (Teach 1) 27 Sep 2018

Chris Emery & Whistle Barkan

8:45-10:10

Goal: Students will explore the factors that affect rock formation and be able to tell a story of
how an igneous or sedimentary rock formed from observing its physical characteristics.

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

MS-ESS2-1: Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of
energy that drives this process. [Clarification statement: Emphasis is on th eprocess of melting,
crystallization, weathering, deformation, and sedimentation, which act together to form minerals
and rocks through the cycling of Earth’s materials.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does
not include the identification and naming of minerals.]

Objective: Students will observe a number of rock types and, based on these observations, will
pick the best explanation of why each rock looks and acts the way it does today.

Introduction: We have been growing our own crystals and thinking about the ways
environmental factors affect their formation. Today we’ll focus on rocks we see around us. How
can we use what we know about epsom salt crystals to learn about other rocks? After getting
some familiarity with the rocks in the classroom, we’ll look at two different sets of rocks and, in
groups, decide on the best of three explanations for how they formed. We’ll eventually come
back together as a class and agree on the best explanation together. If both the class’s
explanations are the same as Ben’s, the class will get a geode gift.

Materials:
- 6 sets of three different types of igneous rock, with differential crystal sizes. (1/grp)
- 6 sets of three different types of sedimentary rocks, with different layering patterns. (1/grp)
- Do Now Sheet (1/ student)
- Challenge Sheet (1/grp)
- 6 sets of explanation cards 1& 2 (3/ grp/challenge)
- 6 sets of hint cards 1& 2 (3/grp/challenge)
- Powerpoint with embedded videos
- Exit ticket
- One egg timer (for challenges)
- One geode
- One hammer
- Safety goggles

Grouping: 3 students per group

Agenda:
1. Hook- Lava over ice video (2 min)
2. Do Now and neighbor share (5 min)
3. Everybody needs a rock! We go outside and everyone finds a pet rock. (15 min)
4. Exploration (10 min)
Observe the rocks we have laid out around the classroom. You have three
minutes to look at all the rocks, and five minutes to decide as a class
how best to group the rocks we have. We’ll then share the 3 choices.
5. Break 1 Watch video of ice inside bubble. (3 min)
6. Prize explanation (3 min)
If the class can unanimously decide on the best explanations from those given
for both challenges 1 & 2 (aka agree with Ben), we will give them a geode to
smash open at the end of class to keep.
7. Challenge 1 (10 min)
Teachers move about the room asking students about their thinking.
Each group can get a hint for each possible explanation they
come up with; once they have all three, they can compare them to the
teachers’ possible solutions.
8. Share 1 (5 min)
As a class, we decide on the most likely explanation and compare it to Ben’s
9. Break 2 Watch video of salon crystals forming at different temperatures
10. Challenge 2 (10 min)
Teachers will move around the room asking students about their thinking. Hints
are available and 3 possible explanations will be revealed. Groups will pick one
they think is best. 73 min
11. Share 2 (5 min)
As a class, we decide on the most likely explanation and compare it to Ben’s
12. Free-write (3 min)
How could we test the explanations we’ve come up with?
12. Wrap up (13 min)
Return to our do-now. What can we conclude about some of our preconceptions?
What questions do we still have? Is there any reason to adjust our definition of a mineral? How
could we proceed to test the ideas we’ve decided on?
14. Exit ticket (4 min)
Delivery of geode if they’ve won the challenge. Exit ticket: Pair share with
pet rocks. What kind of process led to the formation of your partner’s pet rock? [assessment]

Lava video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvSmPqqZB3Q#t=0m37s

Ice bubbles video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw19MqCY2to

Salol crystals video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X1YJNq57YQ

Antelope canyon video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4nM1FoUqYs#t=1m14s

1. Using at least four complete sentences, explain in your own words what factors affect how
crystals form.

2. Mark the following statements as true or false (T/F). If you think a statement is false, re-write
it so that it is true.

2a. ___ Once formed, rocks stay the same type forever.

2b. ___ Crystals can form in rocks as hot lava cools.

2c. ___ Crystal size is determined by the age of the rock it is found in.

2d. ___ Heat and pressure can transform rocks and make them more solid.

2e. ___ Rocks with no visible crystals contain no minerals.

3. Using complete sentences, describe at least three things you think will happen when molten
lava is poured over ice.

If you successfully identify the correct explanations as a class, you will

receive this mystery geode as a gift.

Challenge #1

With your group, look at the three rocks at your station. All of these rocks originally formed
from molten rock (like the lava we just saw), but they each look different. Using any resources
you can find in the room to test these rocks, come up with three possible stories that explain
why some rocks have bigger or smaller crystals and more or less crystals visible inside them.
Use complete sentences and if you want to, include a picture to illustrate your explanation.
Once you have your explanations, you can “unlock” some potential solutions. Choose which
one you think is best. Good luck.

Challenge #2
Not all rocks have visible crystals in them. You’ve seen rocks that are layered like a cake. Look
at the rocks in front of you. All have layers, but some are more solid and stuck-together than
others. Rank these rocks by how breakable they seem, and come up with an explanation of
how these rocks became layered, and why some are more fragile than others. In a few minutes,
we’ll go over some possible solutions.

 ROCK SET 1

Explanation #1: The smooth, dark rock doesn’t contain any minerals, so while the rock
is forming, no crystals appear. The rock with large crystals had lots of minerals mixed in
it, which is why we see the big crystals.

Explanation #2: Because crystals break down over time, rocks with larger crystals
formed more recently than those with smaller crystals, or no crystals at all. This means
the rock with the large crystals is the “youngest” and the smooth, dark rock is the
oldest, because all its crystals have already broken down.

Explanation #3: The rocks that formed underground cooled more slowly, since it is
hotter inside the earth than on the surface. This extra time allowed larger crystals to
form. The smooth, black rock cooled on the Earth’s surface so quickly that crystals
didn’t have time to form.

ROCK SET 2

Explanation #1: These rocks are made out of different kinds of minerals, with different
weights, and the rock forms layers as it solidifies, with heavier minerals settling on the
bottom and lighter ones laying on top. Larger crystals are heavier, and smaller crystals
are lighter.

Explanation #2: The layers are made over a long period of time, with particles (like
sand) suspended in water settling eventually solidifying into rock. Each layer dates from
a different period of settling, and crystals hold these suspended particles together.

Explanation #3: The layers are made when different temperatures of lava flow on top of
each other. Hotter lava makes bigger crystals and lighter layers, and cooler lava makes
smaller crystals and darker layers. The lava flows layer on top of each other as active
volcanoes continue to erupt, like in Hawai’i.

 SET 1 HINTS

r c r y s t a l solutions
ou put you m?
Why did y w e r e g rowing the
e r a t o r w hen yo u
n ed if y o u kept the
ig e
in the refr k w o u ld have happ t h e crystal?
o u t hin g to g ro w
What do y a r m while tryin
solutio n w

If you had con

tinued to add
your solution plain water to
s, would the c
continued to rystal have
grow forever?
What if you
added more s
alts?

w ou ld h ap p en if yo u left your crystal

What do you think fo r a ye ar? Ten years? A
fe an d co o l
someplace sa e o r st ay th e same? What
ld it ch an g
million years?? Wou
would it look like?
 SET 2 HINTS

ro cks fo rm?
e c t h o w
f t h e forc es that aff
so me o
What are

Where do you
think these tw
o rocks forme
d?

e nd up glu in g s ma ll er rocks
water
How could saturated
th e r a t th e b o tt o m of a stream?
tog e