Mineral and Rock Webquest

Michelle, you have been nominated to be the President of the Imagine Plantation Geology Club.  The club is going on a quest in a foreign land to search for minerals and rocks! The goal of the club is to discover, identify and excavate some unique geological specimens. Principal Calvo has asked the club to bring back examples of each rock type within the rock cycle and various minerals for display in the new rock cabinet in the front lobby of the school.  But, there are some problems to solve before you can start collecting minerals and rocks.  You will need to know what a mineral is; how to identify a mineral; the uses of minerals; the classification of rocks; the difference between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, and where these different rocks are located.

So please, help the Geology Club identify and collect their minerals and rocks.  Click on Task Button above and let's get started!

Michelle, you and the members of the Geology Club have been tasked with collecting minerals and rocks to bring back to school for a display for all to see.  But before you and your group can even start to collect any minerals or rocks there are a few things that you and your club members will need to understand.  Some of the information that you will need to know is how to tell the difference between a rock and a mineral. You will need to know what a mineral is, how minerals are identified, how are rocks classified, what is the difference between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, and how these rocks form.

Your task is to help the Imagine Plantation Geology club discover, identify and excavate some unique geological specimens for the display cabinet at school.  Here is what you will need to do:

• First, watch a series of videos about Minerals and Rocks
• Then complete the corresponding worksheet  and answer all of the questions
• Once you have completed the worksheets, you will then begin the reading assignments.  Answer all questions at the end of the story.
• After completing the assignments, you will write a brief narrative explaining the distinctions of rocks and minerals as a guide for the members of the Geology Club. 

So if you are ready to get started, click on the Process button below.

Follow the directions listed below:

1. Watch this video on minerals.  Be sure to have a pencil and paper so that you can follow along with the video and answer all questions that are asked in the video.  [video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f9wrB5-yEY]
2. Complete the following "Mineral Worksheet"and be certain to answer all questions.  

   Watch the video first then answer these questions.

   1. What are minerals?

   2. Give two examples of minerals that are formed from carbon.

   3. What two ways do mineral crystals form?  Give an example of each.

   4. How can you tell minerals apart?

   5. What are the properties of minerals?

   6. Give two examples of minerals found in foods.

   7. Describe how Granite is made.

   8. What are the three main types of rock?

   9. Explain how Igneous rocks are made.

   10. Explain how Sedimentary rocks are made.

   11. What changes a igneous rock into a sedimentary rock?

   12. Explain how Metamorphic rocks are made.

13. What changes a sedimentary rock into a metamorphic rock?

3. View this video about Rocks.  [video:https://vimeo.com/117845069]
4. Answer the following questions based on this video.   

   1. What are the three types of rocks?

   2. Where does the work Igneous originate?

   3. How do Igneous rock form?

   4. How do Sedimentary rocks form?

   5. Why do Sedimentary rocks often have layers in it?

   6. How do Metamorphic rocks form?

   7. What does the word metamorphic mean?

   8. What did you like about this video?

   9. What did you learn from this video?

5. Watch this video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a7p1NFn64s
6. Make a list of three things that you learned from this video
7. You have completed the video series and all worksheets.  Now you need to test you knowledge with the Jeopardy test!  Click on 1 team and start the game.  Try to answer all questions and then check your answers by clicking check answer. Keep track of your score and retake to try to get the highest scores possible.  Enjoy! https://jeopardylabs.com/play/minerals301  
8. Read the following passages and answer all questions at the end of the stories Click on reading passage and questions).

http://www.readworks.org/passages/hard-minerals

http://www.readworks.org/passages/big-news-about-old-rocks

http://www.readworks.org/passages/blood-mineral

Now, you have completed almost all of the tasks!  The last remaining thing that you need to do is to complete an instructional guide for the other members of your Geology Club.  Since you were the only one to go through the Geology training, you will need to train the other members.  Teach them what you have learned about minerals and rocks.  Tell them what they should be looking for, how to classify rocks and minerals, and whatever else you think is important.  You can set up the instructional guide however you want.  Be creative!  When you finish the guide, we can upload it onto this webquest so other students can learn from it.  Have fun with this project!!!

Congratulations!  You have successfully learned how to classify and identify Minerals and Rocks.  Now you and your Geology group can go explore and collect minerals and rocks for our project.  I hope you have enjoyed learning about these subjects.

WebQuest created by middle school teacher Jen Villines