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To provide students with real-world engagement during our rocks and minerals and erosion and weathering science units.

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Diamonds in the Rough

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School:
Veterans Memorial Elementary 
Subject:
Science 
Teacher:
Mattea Marks 
Students Impacted:
44 
Grade:
4 
Date:
July 13, 2022

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

 

Hamilton Mikes, P.A. - $152.36

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Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 42

My students enjoyed tumbling our rocks so much! We first observed the rocks and recorded all of the properties that we noticed and then predicted what would happen to them while they were in the tumbler. This was after our rocks and minerals unit in science so we had just finished learning about them. Then we added the rocks, water, and grit to the tumbler. The rocks were in the tumbler in our closet for about a week. During that time we learned about weathering and what happens to rocks in nature when forces like water or wind break them down. After a week, we took them out of the tumbler and rinsed them off. The students were amazed at how smooth they were. We compared them to a few of the rocks that had not gone into the tumbler. Then each student got to choose one of the tumbled rocks to take home. They are so special to them! Thank you for investing in this opportunity for my students! 

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Observations and predictions in our science notebo

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Observations and predictions in our science notebo

 

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Before and After to compare the differences

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All the tumbled rocks after they came out of the t

 

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Their chosen tumbled rock to take home

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Their chosen tumbled rock to take home

 

Original Grant Overview

Goal

To provide students with real-world engagement during our rocks and minerals and erosion and weathering science units.  

 

What will be done with my students

My students will be investigating all types of rocks and minerals in order to learn about their properties. With this grant, we will be able to use a rock tumbler to observe rocks before and after they are weathered down by the tumbler. Then each student will choose a rock. We will use the rocks that each student chooses to do a "pet rock" project where we read the book "If you Find a Rock" and use that to think about and observe our rocks. The students will get to take home their pet rock at the end of this unit.  

 

Benefits to my students

This project has many benefits for my students. First, they strengthen their observation and classification skills by observing their rocks and comparing them to the other rocks. Then they will predict what will happen to their rock when it goes in the rock tumbler while we are learning about weathering and erosion. They will see that the rock tumbler is a great model for what happens when rocks are weathered in streams and rivers. Then they will learn literacy and poetry reading skills while reading the book and using their rocks to compare to the ones in the book. They will also love taking home their rock as a reminder of everything they learned about.  

 

Budget Narrative

This budget includes 1 rock tumbler, various rocks to tumble, the grit that goes in with rocks, and the book to read during the lesson.  

 

Items

# Item Cost
1 Rock Tumbler $89.99
2 If You Find a Rock by Peggy Christian $7.89
3 Rock Tumbler Grit $24.99
4 1 lb Raw Lapis Lazuli Stones $16.50
5 1 lb Raw Madagascar Stones Mix $12.99
  Total: $152.36

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Special Thanks to Our Presenting Partners

Suncoast Credit Union