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Finletter Elementary School, Philadelphia School District January 27, 2003 Michael Podolsky's sixth graders were engaged in working with STC's Rocks and Minerals kit. On this day, we were able to observe as they performed streak tests, a test geologists use to help analyze rock specimens.
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Before starting to work, the groups each received a tray of numbered minerals and got out their notebooks for writing down their observations.
 Magnifying glasses are important tools for getting a better look at each of the specimens, and helps to observe physical properties and provide more clues about how they were formed. |
Michael circulates the room constantly, helping the students answer questions that pop up in the course of the investigation.
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In performing a streak test, the students scrape each mineral against an unglazed ceramic tile to see what colors (if any) are left behind, and they use this data to help identify minerals.
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Recording and collecting good observational data is essential in this investigation in which the students examine so many different samples.
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Michael lists some important questions on the board. Among them, he asks, "Which minerals left a streak?" and "Did the color of the streak always match the color of the mineral?"
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Michael continues to help out ongoing investigations as the students wrap up their streak test observations and try to answer the questions that Michael has posed on the blackboard.
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| We're grateful to Michael for accomodating us in his classroom to witness their rock and mineral investigations. Perhaps we'll take him up on his offer to visit again someday! |
