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Project GLAD – La Mesa-Spring Valley School District4th Grade Earth Science GLAD Unit

Idea Pages

UNIT THEME – Rocks and minerals are recycled throughout the Earth over geologic time and have a big effect on human life as seen during the California Gold Rush.

Physical geography Forces and processes that form rocks and minerals

o Three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic o Recognize minerals: crystal formation, chemical composition

Earth’s land surface is shaped and reshaped by natural processeso Freezing, thawing, root growth, chemical reactionso Slow changes: weathering, erosion, glaciers, wind, waves, suno Rapid changes: landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods

California Gold Rush – include cross-cultural sensitivity on clash between cultures as people rushed to California to mine the precious metals gold and silver.

FOCUS/MOTIVATION

Big Book – Planet Earth R-O-C-K-S! Read Aloud – The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain Inquiry Chart – What do you know about geology? Observation Charts Realia – Lava lamp or rock/mineral samples – Exploration Report Geologic Timeline – adding machine tape to show perspective of geologic time World Map – tectonic plates, volcanoes, earthquakes, deserts, glaciers, mountains Literature – Everybody Needs a Rock, and in Spanish Todo el mundo necesita una roca Video Clip – Paint Your Wagon (Gold mining scene, “The Best Things in Life are Dirty”)

CLOSURE Process all charts (Team Feud) Personal Exploration Problem-Solution Essays Learning Logs Team Task Presentations Test

CONCEPTS -Universal or Enduring Understandings

Rocks and minerals are found all over and through the Earth.Rocks and minerals are constantly changing by natural processes and forces, some slow, some fast.Geologic time is almost incomprehensible by human beings.Rocks and minerals are useful and have a big effect of human life as seen during the Gold Rush.

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4 th GRADE SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS

EARTH SCIENCES

4.0 Natural processes and forces shape the Earth over time and the products caused by the changes can be observed.

The properties of rock and minerals reflect the processes that formed them.o Observe and describe the three types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic) based

upon their physical and chemical attributes and the forces that contributed to their formation.o Determine common rock-forming minerals (including quartz, calcite, feldspar, mica, and

hornblend) and ore minerals using simple tests.

The Earth’s land surface can be shaped and reshaped by natural processes.o Natural processes, including freezing/thawing and growth of roots and chemical reactions, cause

rocks to break down into smaller pieces.o Some changes on the surface of the Earth are due to slow processes (weathering, glaciers, wind,

waves) and some changes are due to rapid processes (catastrophic events such as landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes).

o Moving water erodes landforms, reshaping the land by taking it away from some places and depositing it as pebbles, sand, silt, and mud in other places (weathering, transport, and deposition).

4 th GRADE HISTORY/SOCIAL SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS

CALIFORNIA: A CHANGING STATE

4.1.1 Explain and use the coordinate grid system of latitude and longitude to determine the absolute locations of places in California and on Earth.

4.1.2 Distinguish between the north and South Poles; the equator and the prime meridian; the tropics; and the hemispheres, using coordinate to plot locations.

4.1.4 Identify the locations of the Pacific Ocean, rivers, valleys, and mountain passes, and explain their effects on the growth of towns.

4.3 Students explain the economic, social, and political life in California from the establishment of the Bear Flag Republic through the Mexican-American War, the Gold Rush, and the granting of statehood.

4.3.3 Analyze the effect of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment (e.g., using biographies of John Sutter, Marian Guadalupe Vallejo, Louise Clapp).

4.4 Students explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power, tracing the transformation of the California economy and its political and cultural development since the 1850s.

4.4.2 Explain how the Gold Rush transformed the economy of California, including the type of products produced and consumed, changes in town (e.g., Sacramento, San Francisco) and economic conflicts between diverse groups of people.

VOCABULARY

Rock Cycle Sedimentary Metamorphic Placer MiningIgneous Minerals Landforms AccretionErosion Weathering Transport Continental DriftDeposition Mining Crystal Plate Tectonics

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Nugget Ore Prospector Volcanoes

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I. ORAL LANGUAGE/READING/WRITING SKILLS

4 TH GRADE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS

1.0 Vocabulary and Concept Development

1.2 Applies knowledge of word origins, derivations, synonyms, antonyms, and idioms to determine the meaning of words and phrases.

1.6 Distinguishes and interprets words with multiple meanings.

2.0 Reading Comprehension

2.6 Distinguishes between cause and effect and between fact and opinion in expository text.

1.0 Writing Strategies

1.0 The student writes clear and coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. His/her writing considers audience and purpose. The student successfully uses the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing).

1.3 Uses traditional structures for conveying information (e.g., chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and posing and answering a question).

1.5 Quotes or paraphrases information sources, citing them appropriately.

1.10 Edits and revises selected drafts to improve clarity, coherence, and progression by adding, deleting, consolidating, and rearranging text.

1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions

1.2 Combines short, related sentences with appositives, participial phrases, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases.

1.3 Identifies and used regular and irregular verbs in past and present tense, adverbs, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions in writing and speaking.

1.0 Listening and Speaking

1.1 Asks thoughtful questions and responds to relevant questions with appropriate elaboration in oral settings.

2.0 Speaking Applications

2.4 Recites brief poems (i.e., two or three stanzas), soliloquies, or dramatic dialogues, using clear diction, tempo, volume, and phrasing.

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS – Grade Span 3-5

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

The following ELD standards relate to ELA L/S 1.1

BEGINNING Independently use common social greetings and simple repetitive phrases (e.g., “May I go and play?”)

EARLY INTERMED. Orally communicate basic needs (e.g., “May I get a drink of water?”).INTERMEDIATE Actively participate in social conversations with peers and adults on familiar topics

by asking and answering questions and soliciting information.EARLY ADVANCED Actively participate and initiate more extended social conversations with peers and

adults on unfamiliar topics by asking and answering questions, restating, and soliciting information.

The following ELD standards relate to ELA L/S 2.4

BEGINNING Begin to speak with a few words or sentences, using some English phonemes and rudimentary English grammatical forms (e.g., single words or phrases).

EARLY INTERMED. Begin to be understood when speaking, but may have some inconsistent use of standard English grammatical forms and sounds (e.g., plurals, simple past tense, pronouns he/she).

INTERMEDIATE Be understood when speaking, using consistent standard English grammatical forms and sounds; however, some rules may not be in evidence (e.g., third person singular, male and female pronouns).

EARLY ADVANCED Be understood when speaking, using consistent standard English grammatical forms and sounds, intonation, pitch, and modulation, but may have random errors.

ADVANCED Speak clearly and comprehensibly using standard English grammatical forms, sounds, intonation, pitch, and modulation.

The following ELD standards relate to ELA Reading – Vocabulary & Concept Development 1.2

BEGINNING Read aloud simple words in stories or games (e.g., nouns and adjectives).EARLY INTERMED. Apply knowledge of content-related vocabulary to discussions and reading.INTERMEDIATE Use content-related vocabulary in discussions and reading.EARLY ADVANCED Use common idioms in discussions and reading (e.g., “scared silly”).ADVANCED Use common idioms, some analogies and metaphors in discussion and reading.

The following ELD standards relate to ELA Reading – Comprehension 2.6

BEGINNING Respond orally to stories read to them by answering factual comprehension questions, using one- or two-word responses (e.g., “brown bear”).

EARLY INTERMED. Orally identify examples of fact/opinion in familiar texts read to them.INTERMEDIATE Read and orally identify examples of fact/opinion and cause/effect in literature and

content area texts.EARLY ADVANCED Distinguish between explicit examples of fact, opinions, inference, and cause/effect

in texts.ADVANCED Distinguish between fact/opinion, inference, and cause/effect in text.

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The following ELD standards relate to ELA Writing – Strategies 1.10

BEGINNING Write the English alphabet legibly. Label key parts of common objects. During group writing activities, write brief narratives and stories using a few standard grammatical forms.

EARLY INTERMED. Produce independent writing that is understood when read, but may include inconsistent use of standard grammatical forms.

INTERMEDIATE Independently create cohesive paragraphs that develop a central idea with consistent use of standard English grammatical forms. (Some rules may not be in evidence.)

EARLY ADVANCED Arrange compositions according to simple organizational patterns.ADVANCED Independently use all steps of the writing process.

The following ELD standards relate to ELA Writing – Written and Oral English Language Conventions 1.2 and 1.3

BEGINNING Use capital letters when writing own name and the beginning of sentences. Use a period at the end of a sentence.

EARLY INTERMED. Use capital letters to begin sentences and proper nouns. Use a period at the end of a sentence, and use some commas appropriately.

INTERMEDIATE Use standard word order but may have some inconsistent grammatical forms (e.g., subject-verb agreement).

EARLY ADVANCED Use standard word order but may have some inconsistent grammatical forms, including inflections.

ADVANCED Use complete sentences and correct word order. Use correct parts of speech, including correct subject-verb agreement.

II. MATH/SCIENCE/HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE SKILLS

4 TH GRADE MATHEMATICS STANDARDS

Number Sense 1.1 Reads and writes whole numbers in the millions.

Measurement &Geometry 3.6 Visualizes, describes, and makes models of geometric solids (e.g., prisms, pyramids) in

terms of the number and shape of faces, edges, and vertices; interprets two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional objects; and draws patterns (of faces) for a solid that, when cut and folded, will make a model of the solid.

MathematicalReasoning 1.1 Analyzes problems by identifying relationships, discriminating relevant from irrelevant

information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.

4 TH GRADE SCIENCE SKILLS - INVESTIGATION AND EXPERIMENTATION

4.0 Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations.

a. Differentiate observation from inference (interpretation), and know that scientists’ explanations come partly from what they observe and partly from how they interpret their observations.

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b. Measure and estimate weight, length, or volume of objects.f. Follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation.

4 TH GRADE HISTORY/SOCIAL SCIENCE SKILLS - ANALYSIS SKILLS

4.1 Students place key events and people of the historical era they are studying in a chronological sequence and within a spatial context; they interpret time lines.

4.2 Students correctly apply terms related to time including past, present, future, decade, century, and generation.

4.3 Students explain how the present is connected to the past, identifying both similarities and difference between the two, and how some things change over time and some things stay the same.

4.4 Students use map and globe skills to determine the absolute locations of places and interpret information available through the map’s or globe’s legend, scale, and symbolic representations.

4.5 Students judge the significance of the relative location of a place (e.g., close to a harbor, on trade routes) and analyze how relative advantages or disadvantages can change over time.

III. RESOURCES AND MATERIALS –

Non-Fiction

Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis HurstHow Mountains are Made by Kathleen Weidner ZoehfeldLet’s Go Rock Collecting by Roma GansGold Fever by Verla KayThe California Gold Rush by R. Conrad SteinHurry Freedom by Jerry StanleyThe Pebble in My Pocket by Meredith HooperThe World Rushed In by J. S. HollidayOur Patchwork Planet: The Story of Plate Tectonics by Helen Roney SattlerThe Big Rock by Bruce HiscockCalifornia Gold Rush: Search for Treasure by Catherine E. ChambersThey Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush by Joann LevyBlacks in God Rush California by Rudolph M. Lapp

Fiction

The Sun, the Wind and the Rain by Lisa Westberg PetersGold Fever! Tales from the California Gold Rush by Rosalyn SchanzerHow to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World by Faith McNultyNine for California by Sonia LevitinI Am a Rock by Jean MarzolloGold Fever! By Catherine McMorrow Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd BaylorEarth Songs by Myra Cohn Livingston

Teacher Resources

The Guinness Book of RecordsThe Field Guide to Geology by David LambertThe Earth’s Dynamic Systems by W. Kenneth HamblinHarcourt Science, California Edition, Grade Four

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National Geographic Magazine, various back issuesUnited States Geological Survey, “Ask a Geologist” on the World Wide WebMcGraw-Hill, California Edition, Grade FourPaint Your Wagon videodisc (Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Jean Seberg)Gas House Gang compact disk (“16 Tons” “Table of the Elements”)

Materials

Rocks Sand GravelPolished Rocks Minerals GemsMetals Scratch Test Items Lava Lamp

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Planning Pages

I. FOCUS/MOTIVATION

Inquiry Chart Realia – Exploration Report Rocks, Sand, Gravel, Gems

o Classify and Record Observations Poetry

o Chants/Songs (I’m a Geologist Bugaloo, Rocks Here/There, Planet Earth Yes Ma’am , 49er Sound Off , Earth Science Family, Geology BINGO)

o Class Poetry Booklet Observation Charts Big Book Lava Lamp Observation and Predictions Prediction Scenario – Weathering Box Music: “16 Tons” by Gas House Gang Video: Mount St. Helens Eruption, Earthquake Footage, Flood ; Clips from “Paint Your Wagon”

II. INPUT 10-2 Lecture Geography – Earth and its Crustal Forms Geologic Timeline Pictorial Input Chart – Earth Science Narrative Input Chart – “I’m a Miner, 49er and My Name Ain’t Clementine!” Read Aloud – The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain

III. GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE T-graph for Social Skills - Cooperation Mind Mapping (minerals: physical attributes, chemical attributes, examples, uses, comparisons) Process Grid (igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, ore) Sentence Patterning Chart (rocks) Observing and Classifying (This rock is…. and that rock is …) Comparison T-chart (Volcanoes are… Volcanoes are not…) Chants and Poetry Personal Interactions – Team Evaluation and Goal-setting Numbered Heads Together Rock Cycle Game (like “Fruit Salad”)

IV. READING/WRITINGA. Whole Group

Story Map for The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain Problem-Solution Graphic Organizer (How do we get the gold out of the stream or rock?) Descriptive Paragraph (Let’s describe our rock so we can draw it accurately) Teacher-generated Cause and Effect Paragraph (Cause: Erosion. Effect: It washed gold

down the rivers of the Sierra Nevada foothills where people could easily find it.) Strip Books Frame Realia Exploration Report

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Listen and Sketch – Excerpt from The World Rushed In or They Saw the Elephant

B. Cooperative Reading and Writing Team Tasks Story Mapping – The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain Cooperative Strip Paragraph #1 - Rocks are different from each other in many ways. Cooperative Strip Paragraph #2 - Rocks are similar to each other in many ways. Guided Reading – Flex group of emergent readers using student-generated text extension of

Cooperative Strip Paragraph Ear-to-ear Reading (Poetry Booklet) Expert Group Guided Reading – Direct instruction in study skills and summarizing Compare/Contrast Organizer

C. Individual Activities Learning Log (Text-You) Interactive Journal Writing Poetry Booklet Diagrams and Illustrations Reading Choices ABC Book of Geology

D. Writer’s Workshop Mini-lesson Planning and Writing Author’s Chair

V. CLOSURE

Read the Walls, Add to Observation Charts Team Feud Game Process Inquiry Chart Test

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Sample Daily Lesson Plan for Demonstration Training Session

Day 1

FOCUS/MOTIVATION Standards (Make good decisions, solve your problems, show respect.) Cognitive Dictionary/Signal Word – Geology Observation Charts (Write a comment, question, or prediction.) Big Book Inquiry Chart

INPUT Timeline – Geologic Time Representation on Adding Machine Tape World Map – Locate Mountains, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tectonic Plates, Rivers, Glaciers Pictorial Input Chart – Big picture of earth science, rock cycle, importance of rocks and minerals,

example of Gold Rush.o 10/2 with Primary Languageo ELD review/Learning Logs

10/2 Lecture, Primary Language Groups Poetry: Rocks Here, Rocks There. Song: Earth Science Family

GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE T-graph for Social Skills – Cooperation (Numbered Heads Together) – Team Points Realia: Whole Group Observations of Lava Lamp Whole Group Exploration Report of Lava Lamp

READING/WRITING Reading the Walls with Partner (while ELLs have preview of read aloud in L1) Read Aloud: The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain Story Map: The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain Learning Log: Text/You Research Center

WRITER’S WORKSHOP Mini-lesson (What it is, how to get started) Prewriting and Writing (Conferencing comes later, after students have the pattern) Author’s Chair

CLOSURE Home/School Connection

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Day 2

FOCUS/MOTIVATION Cognitive Dictionary/ Signal Word – Review yesterday’s word. What does it mean? New predictions?

Teams put heads together and nominate a new word, class votes on new signal word. Process Home/School Connection in Teams Review World Map and Pictorial Input Chart with “Review Cards” Poetry – Review Rocks Here, Rocks There by highlighting “gold nugget words”

INPUT Chant – Is this the Earth? Yes, Ma’am! Narrative Input Chart – “I’m a miner, 49er, But my Name Ain’t Clementine” Poetry: 49er Sound Off!

READING/WRITING Learning Log T-Chart (Volcanoes are…/Volcanoes are not…)

GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE/READING/WRITING Expert Groups: Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Ore-bearing Rocks (Do 2 of 4 groups.)

o Team Tasks (Team map, timeline, poetry, dictionary, narrative input)o L1 Preview of “Expert” information

Ear-to-Ear Reading with piece of text (textbook) Team Evaluation and Goal-Setting

WRITER’S WORKSHOP Mini-lesson (Any of the Six Traits of Writing: Voice, word selection, sentence fluency, ideas,

organization, conventions.) Writing Author’s Chair

CLOSURE Add to Charts Home/School Connection

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Day 3

FOCUS/MOTIVATION Process Home/School Connection Cognitive Dictionary/ Signal Word – Review yesterday’s word. What does it mean? New predictions?

Teams put heads together and nominate a new word, class votes on new signal word. Review Pictorial Input Chart with Review Cards Poetry – Review Yes, Ma’am! or 49er Sound Off by highlighting gold nugget words

INPUT Poetry: I’m a Geologist Bugaloo Finish Expert Groups: Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Ore-bearing Rocks

o Team Tasks (“Add to the Walls,” pictorial input chart, sentence patterning chart, team sentence; continue team map, timeline, poetry, dictionary, narrative input.)

o L1 Review of “Expert” information, strategize with beginners in English about how to teach their team

GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE

Sentence Patterning Chart (“Farmer-in-the-Dell”)o Trading Game

Team Presentation (“a task we’re proud of.”)

GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE Extended Name Tag (Favorite rock, type of weathering, mineral, metal) T-Graph for Social Skills - Cooperation

READING/WRITING Process Grid (Experts teach their teams, numbered heads add to Process Grid.) Co-operative Strip Paragraph (Compare and Contrast)

o Respond – Revise – Edit

CLOSURE Team Sharing/Process Cooperation T-graph Interactive Journal Writing Home/School Connection

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Day 4

FOCUS/MOTIVATION Cognitive Dictionary/Signal Word – Teams put heads together and nominate a word, class votes on the

day’s signal word Process Home/School Connection in Teams Video: Mt. St. Helens eruption, landslide, flooding, earthquakes, rock cycle. Review of Narrative Input Chart with Story Map

GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE Poetry – Recite the Repertoire!

READING/WRITING Flexible Groups (while teams work on team tasks) - struggling readers with student-generated text of

Cooperative Strip Paragraph, advanced readers with high level text, ELL group for ELD story retell on Narrative Input Chart

o Team Tasks (team process grid, team Yes, Ma’am poem, team Here/There poem, team story, team exploration report, team strip paragraph, team strip book Igneous Rock is…/Igneous Rock is not...)

WRITER’S WORKSHOP Mini-lesson (Any of the Six Traits of Writing: Voice, word selection, sentence fluency, ideas,

organization, conventions.) Writing Author’s Chair

CLOSURE Process Inquiry Chart Family Feud Home/School Connection

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Day 5

FOCUS/MOTIVATION Process Home/School Connection Cognitive Dictionary/ Signal Word – Review yesterday’s word. What does it mean? New predictions?

Teams put heads together and nominate a new word, class votes on new signal word. Revisit Observation Charts Inspiration: The rich cultural diversity of California really took off during the Gold Rush. Chants and Songs Video: Paint Your Wagon – mining scene, song “The Best Things in Life are Dirty.”

GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE Team Action Plan Rock Cycle Game (like “Fruit Salad”) Group Frame: Problem-Solution Brainstorm and Graphic Organizer

READING/WRITING Problem-Solution Essay Found Poetry Sketch and Write to song “16 Tons” – tie in with current events (miners trapped in Pennsylvania mine

for several days in summer of 2002). Team Writing Workshop – use picture file cards to write four compositions simultaneously (round robin

writing structure) Get together with some other experts and add to the Process Grid.

CLOSURE Eat Chocolate Chip Cookies after Digging out Rock and Ore in a “scientific model” Journal Writing with Peer Assessment of Journals Multiple Choice Test

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PLANET EARTH

R-O-C-K-S!PROJECT G.L.A.D. UNIT

4TH GRADE EARTH SCIENCE STANDARDS

COMPILED BY SALLY FOXLA MESA-SPRING VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT

9-25-02

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Rocks and minerals are recycled throughout the Earth over geologic time and have a big effect on

human life.

Geologic time is hard for people to understand. A person is lucky to live for more than 70 years. Yet 70 years is like a nano-second to Earth. Scientists believe Earth is 4 ½ billion years old. That’s written 4,500,000,000 years old!!

PLANET EARTH R-O-C-K-S!!!

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human life.

The Earth is made of elements and minerals. Its structure is like an onion, layers upon layers. The heaviest elements are drawn to the center core by gravity. The lightest ones form the crust and the atmosphere.


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human life.

In between the crust and the core is the layer called the mantle. The mantle is nearly 2,000 miles thick. Mantle rock is more dense than crustal rock. It is very hot and some of it is semi-molten.


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human life.

The core is in two layers. The outer core is about 1,400 miles think. It is made of melted nickel, iron, and silicon. In the very middle is the inner core. It is a solid ball 1,500 miles across. Although it is 3,700 degrees Celsius, it is solid due to the intense pressure it is under.


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human life.

The melted rock in the mantle and core move in sluggish convection currents, somewhat like a lava lamp. This movement of hotter, less dense matter toward the surface and cooler, denser matter toward the core is usually quite slow.


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human life.

The rocks and minerals most commonly found in the Earth’s crust are made of the nonmetals oxygen and silicon, and the metals aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium.


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human life.

Rocks are mixtures of minerals. Most rocks consist of interlocking crystals stuck together by natural cement. The mixtures change over time. Over millions of years, blobs of molten rock float up, get weathered and changed, and eventually sink back down to be melted all over again.


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human life.

Rocks vary greatly in size, shape, and mineral proportion. They are found in three main groups according to how the minerals were mixed together.


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human life.

Igneous rocks are mixed together in the fiery furnace of the mantle and harden at or near the crust. If they harden slowly, they may have large crystals inside, like quartz. If they harden rapidly, by being extruded by a volcano, for example, the crystals may be so small you can’t see them, like obsidian.


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human life.

Sedimentary rocks are made from bits and pieces of other rocks, and even from other stuff like shells and dead organisms. These bits may get washed to sea and form layers of sediment. Over time, pressure and natural cement turn them into rocks like sandstone, coal, and shale.


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human life.

Metamorphic rocks are remade or recycled from igneous or sedimentary rocks. Great heat or pressure may apply force to recrystallize them and yield new textures or minerals. Two famous metamorphic rocks are slate and marble.


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human life.

Imagine ancient man using rocks to break open a nut, to fight against a wild animal or other people, to make an arrowhead, flint, or knifepoint, or to build a ring around his cave fire.


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human life.

Think of the early civilizations and how they used metal to make tools and weapons. They also used gems to make jewelry. They learned to carve rock into statues and impressive buildings that took decades to construct.


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human life.

In more recent time, humans have learned to use coal, oil, and gas—the so-called fossil fuels. Coal is the carbon-rich remains of ancient forests. The origins of oil and gas are more open to interpretation. Most geologists believe they come from organisms that died many millions of years ago.


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human life.

Just 150 years ago rocks made a very big difference right here in California. A big gold nugget was found at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento in 1848. The next year, 1849, nearly 90,000 people came to California to look for more gold--the original 49ers. Some struck it rich; most didn’t. But they certainly changed California forever.

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GEOLOGY, THE STUDY OF PLANET EARTH,

R-O-C-K-S!

Planet Earth Rocks,Yes,

Yes,YES!

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Name____________________

PREDICTING QUESTIONS

Planet Earth

Predict the answer to the flowing questions:

1. How old do you think Earth is?

2. What do you think Earth is made of?

3. Do you think the Earth gets colder as you dig deep into it, or hotter?

4. Is the surface of the Earth (mountains, valleys, rivers, oceans, etc.) the same now as it was a million years ago?

5. Where do gems like diamonds and rubies come from?

Draw a picture or diagram of the

Earth showing what you think

it looks like from space.

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Minerals have crystalline structures – snowflakes are minerals according to geologists!

By Sally Fox, LMSVSD2002

Narrative Input Storyline (on a background map of California)I’m a Miner, 49er, and My Name Ain’t Clementine

Compiled by Sally Fox, Project GLAD at LMSVSD, 9-21-02FIND PICTURES RELATED TO MARIANO VALLEJO AND THE PETALUMA STATE PARK. MAIN CHARACTER (LUCKY) IS FICTIONAL SO YOU CAN USE ANY APPROPRIATE PICTURE. OTHER

CHARACTERS ARE HISTORICAL SO YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FIND PHOTOS.

1) I'm a miner, 49er, and my name ain’t Clementine. My name is Lucky! I know you can’t tell now, now that I’m an old, old man, but back in the early days of California I was a 10-year-old kid like some of you! Some of you might be able to guess that my family was native Californian from my skin color and the features of my face. In fact, my family was part of the Suisun tribe, have you heard of us? One of our chiefs was Semyeto, or “Mighty Arm.” He was as tall as your basketball players today. He learned to speak Spanish and the padres called him Chief Solano for the nearby mission. Well, Chief Solano was good friends with General Mariano Vallejo before the Gold Rush. Vallejo was born in California when it was part of Spain. Then he became an officer of the Mexican Army when Mexico declared independence from Spain. He was kidnapped by Fremont during the Bear Flag Revolt. Later he was a delegate to the convention that requested statehood from the United States and wrote the report used to name the first counties. He lived under four flags, or governments, and was a very important man in the history of California!

2) Let’s get back to my story. Since I was an orphan, I followed the chief and his band of Solano Mission Indians wherever they went. I made myself useful and they fed me and took care of me. We spent a lot of time in Sonoma at Vallejo’s beautiful adobe hacienda. I was friends with the general’s kids. I was there when the Bear Flaggers kidnapped Vallejo and took him to jail in Sutter’s Fort! I was there when they made little Platón Vallejo help while they painted the first Bear Flag of the California Republic!

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3) When James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, I was a teenager ready to go out and have some adventures. Boy, did I! I made my way to Coloma (that’s the town near Sutter’s Mill) and started nosing around to see what all the fuss was about. I heard stories that the mountains were made of gold and you could walk around and pick up enough to be rich. I didn’t really understand that. My Indian people never cared that much about gold. General Vallejo didn’t care about it either. He was more interested in raising cattle and tending vineyards and such. But the white immigrants from the United States and Europe were crazy about the yellow metal. So were the Chinese and South Americans. They all had gold fever and it made them come rushing to California any way they could. I heard one prospector from Ohio say, “ I am willing to go anyplace that money can be made.” I guess he thought picking up gold nuggets was a pretty good way to make money!

4) By the end of 1849, thousands of men had come to the gold fields in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I already spoke Spanish and I learned a lot of English from the Yankees. Sometimes I worked for other men, sometimes I tried panning for gold on my own in the rivers and streams. I was pretty good at panning so the Yanks called me “Lucky.” You see, what happens is that when there’s gold in the rocks high in the mountains, weathering by sun, wind, rain, ice, and water breaks off little pieces and erosion washes them downstream. You know that, right? Well, back in ’48 and ’49 lots of us just took a big flat pan, kneeled down at the river bank, scooped up a bunch of rock and dirt from the water’s edge, and swirl it around with water. Gold is a very heavy metal, heavier than most elements, so as we swirled the dirt and other rocks would swoosh away. The gold would be left in the bottom of the pan. Yippee! I would put the gold flakes in a little leather pouch and go dig up some more of the river bottom. After a while I realized the best place to pan for gold was where the big boulders in the river formed a little drop off. If I scooped up dirt from the bottom of the drop off I almost always found a lot of gold flakes. Still, panning is hard and slow. My back ached at the end of the day and I’d usually only washed out about 50 pans a day.

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5) Once in a while in the early days I would find a gold nugget. That was really great! Do you know how to tell if you have real gold or fool’s gold? Biotite and iron pyrite are often called fool’s gold because their yellowish shine is similar to gold. They’re both common in the Sierra Nevadas. There are a few tests to see the difference. First test is to hit it with a hammer or another rock. Biotite and iron pyrite are more brittle than gold so if you hit them hard they’ll crack and break and shatter. Not gold! It’ll just flatten out. Gold is a soft metal so another test is to bite it and see if your teeth leave an impression. If you have some nitric acid you can test it with that, too. Nitric acid will make fool’s gold get a dull and tarnished look. Gold stays shiny. Gold is very heavy, too, so another test is to weigh it compared to silver. The same size piece of gold is a lot heavier than the same size piece of silver.

6) Back to my story. After a while the easiest gold to find had been found, because after President Polk made a formal announcement that gold had been discovered, thousands of people left their homes and their families to come to California and strike it rich. Sometimes the rivers seemed like there were more people in them than fish! The prospectors figured out a way to clean and sift more dirt to find the gold faster. Instead of the pan, they built a contraption called a rocker or a cradle. I used one once. It works like this: you rock the gravel and water in the top part of the cradle. Big rocks wouldn’t go through the sieve. Of the small, muddy stuff, the heavier stuff, like gold, would fall into the bottom section where it was caught by cleats. The other stuff would get washed and sifted out. Rocking the cradle was quicker than panning and two men could do it together. But you still had to be by the river for the water. That’s why they call it placer mining. I bet you didn’t know that one of the meanings of the word “placer” in Spanish is the bank of a stream where gold dust is found!

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7) I met a lot of interesting people in the Gold Country. There were greenhorn 49ers from all over the world. There were freed and escaped slaves from the South. There were lots of Mexicans and South Americans the Anglo Americans called “Spanish.” There were even a few Indians like me, although most of my people were killed or died of starvation and disease after the Gold Rush. There was some ugly fighting and prejudice in those days, even more than today, but there were also some real good times when all sorts of people got to know and work with each other. I got along okay because I knew Spanish and English and I was just a kid, anyway! I’ll tell you, though, one kind of people were in short supply during the Gold Rush, and that’s women folk. For a while there was only one woman for every ten or more men! I actually met a couple of the most famous women who were here during ’49 and ’50. I met Dame Shirley in the Gold Fields and Biddy Mason in Los Angeles. You should read their stories sometime!

8) For a while in ’49 I worked with a bunch of Chinese miners who had built a long tom. That’s just a big long version of the cradle. Ours was about 15 feet long, a big trough in the ground running downhill. We filled the trough with a riffle box and covered the box with perforated metal. Are you getting the idea? Two of us would shovel dirt into the top of the long tom and another guy would throw out the big rocks. Every few hours we’d collect the gold that settled in the riffle box. I had the idea of putting a blanket at the very bottom to catch the smallest flakes of gold. Pretty smart, huh? They should have called me “Smarty!”

9) After most of the placer mining had panned out, big mining companies came to California and set up operations. The most common operations I worked on were the sluice, coyote hole, and hydraulic mining. The sluice is like five or ten long toms put together. The coyote hole was a dynamited mine shaft, sometimes 150 feet deep! People died if the coyote hole collapsed on them! Hydraulic mining used water that was brought in long ditches or troughs called flumes. They would point the end of the flume at a hillside and fire the running water at the rocks, blasting away everything and really tearing up the countryside. Hydraulic mining was outlawed in 1884.

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10) I saw some wild happenings during the Gold Rush and I know even the worst of it lead to the wonderful, rich state you live in today. Gold financed development of mining, farming, manufacturing, shipping, and banking in California, helping it grow rapidly, as historian J. S. Holliday said in his book, “The World Rushed In.” I’ll end my story with some more of his words, “California had become a place that gave new meaning, even reality, to the most American of myths—the pursuit of happiness.” I certainly had a fantastic life here! Those Yanks were right to call me Lucky!

THE END

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EXPERT GROUP #1Processes that Make Rocks – WEATHERING AND EROSION

Planet Earth rocks, in more ways than one. Of course, Planet Earth is made almost entirely of rock. It also rocks because it is constantly moving and changing. Some scientists even say it rocks the way a rocking chair rocks—they call that a wobble! Earth rocks because the same matter that was here 4 ½ billion years ago is still here, constantly changing as part of the rock cycle. But mainly, Earth rocks because it’s such an interesting place to live!

The rock cycle explains how the same rocks can change from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic and back again over and over and over through the millenia. Two of the key processes in the rock cycle are weathering and erosion. Weathering is the process of breaking rock into soil, sand, and tiny pieces, or particles, called sediment. Erosion is the process that moves the tiny pieces around.

Weathering happens all over the crust of the Earth. It happens all the time. Wherever the atmosphere and crust meet, rocks are being weathered all the time. Many things cause weathering: flowing water, waves, rain, chemicals, snow, ice, wind, sun, and even gravity. Flowing water weathers and erodes rocks! Fast flowing rivers carve out valleys and canyons over millions of years. Grand Canyon in Arizona is an example. Ocean waves weather and erode rocks by crashing against the shore, breaking rocks and causing cliffs to collapse. Rain weathers and erodes rocks in several ways. Raindrops seep into tiny holes and cracks in the rock, then if they freeze the ice expands and cracks the rock further. If the rain has chemicals in it, like acid rain, those chemicals may break down or dissolve the rocks. The wind weathers rocks by blowing sand onto the rocks and sanding them down, almost like using sandpaper! Examples are the beautiful landforms in Monument Valley in Utah. The sun weathers rocks by warming them up so they get bigger (expand) then when the sun goes down and they cool off they get smaller (contract). These changes gradually cause cracks, similar to the wrinkles in an old person’s face. Finally, gravity can contribute to weathering. When a rock falls down hill after an earthquake or a landslide, it may break apart or tiny pieces may wear off.

Erosion happens all over the crust of the Earth, too. It happens all the time, too! It is the process that moves the sediment, sand, soil, and bits of rocks from one place to another. Wind, water, or glaciers can cause erosion. When the wind blows it carries sand for miles. Water often carries soil away during a flood or in a river. Glaciers are like a frozen river and they can carry not only little bits of rocks but also giant boulders down hill and leave them standing there when the glacier melts. An example of dangerous wind erosion is the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The wind blew all the farmers’ soil away and the plants would not grow. The farmers and their families nearly starved. Many people left Oklahoma and moved to California to survive.

Without weathering there would be no soil. Soil is important because it is a habitat for plants and animals. Soil is needed to grow food for people and animals, too. Soil erosion is important to understand because if we’re not careful, our soil can be carried away leaving behind land that is not good for farming. Weathering and erosion rock!!

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EXPERT GROUP #2Processes that Make Rocks–SEDIMENTATION AND DEPOSITION


The rock cycle explains how the same rocks can change from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic and back again over and over and over through the millenia. One of the key processes in the rock cycle is called sedimentation and depostion. Sedimentation and deposition is the process of particles suspended in air or water settling down, followed by the act of depositing the sediments in a new place (often on the seafloor or along the banks of a river). In geology this refers to the deposition of the material from which sedimentary rocks are formed.

Sedimentation and deposition is most often caused by water although it is possible for the process to occur by air or glacier action. The most common way sedimentation and deposition occur is when weathered rock and organic material (such as dead leaves or animals) are suspended in flowing water. This is often found to happen where rivers meet the sea, at the river delta. As the flowing water reaches the sea the flow stops and the suspended particles begin to settle and be deposited at the bottom. The heavier bits fall and settle first, followed by the smaller, lighter bits. Sedimentation and deposition matter because they are important steps in the process to create sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks cover 80% of the Earth’s surface. They are those rocks that form near or at the Earth’s surface at relatively low temperatures, unlike igneous and metamorphic rocks. What starts out as a muddy carpet on the river delta becomes rock over thousands and millions of years. If that muddy sediment contains shells and leaves and dead animals, fossils may be formed inside the sedimentary rock.

An interesting example of sedimentation and deposition is the fossil fuel, coal. Coal is a black or brown rock that can be ignited and burned. As coal burns, it produces energy in the form of heat. Coal-burning power plants supply about half the electricity used in the United States and nearly two-thirds of the power plants in the rest of the world. Miners and machines mine coal deposits on every continent. Coal deposits were formed by the sedimentation and deposition of swamp plants from 1 million to 400 mya. Sand or other sediments were later deposited, burying the plant matter and pressing it down. The pressure and time changed the swampy deposits into useful coal. Without sedimentation and deposition there would be no coal or other useful sedimentary rocks! Sedimentation and deposition rock!!

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EXPERT GROUP #3

Processes that Make Rocks – LITHIFICATION


The rock cycle explains how the same rocks can change from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic and back again over and over and over through the millenia. One of the key processes in the rock cycle is lithification. Lithification is the process whereby newly deposited unconsolidated sediment is slowly converted to sedimentary rock.

Sedimentary rocks are the result of lithification of sediments, the loose material that accumulates (collects or gathers) at the surface as the result of weathering and deposition of the weathered materials. Lithification is a rock forming process that involves consolidation (making parts come together in a solid) due to pressure. The weight of overlying sediments solidifies them like a trash compactor solidifies pieces of trash. The next step of lithification is cementation. Chemicals dissolved in water form natural cement. This cement fill spaces between grains and pieces. When it dries, it cements or glues the grains together. There are three common types of natural cement: 1) calcite, probably the most common because calcium is easily dissolved in groundwater; 2) silica is less soluble than calcite so it forms a much stronger and harder cement; and 3) iron oxide (Fe2O3), the red mineral hematite, which is the reason for the red color of some rocks. These processes are important because without them the sediment would stay floppy and soft and not be useable as a rock.

An interesting example of lithification can be found in the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. This park contains the greatest and most colorful concentration of petrified wood in the world. Giant logs that are 150 million years old lie around for visitors to see. Petrified wood is made of tree trunks that were buried in mud, sand, or valcanie ash eons ago and have turned to stone. The wood turned to stone by lithification—water seeping through the mud and sand into the buried logs. There the water filled the emply cells of the decaying wood with mineral matter such as agate silica. Petrified wood is usually gray but colorful streaks and spots may be formed by iron oxide and manganese oxide.

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EXPERT GROUP #4Processes that Make Rocks - CONVECTION


The rock cycle explains how the same rocks can change from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic and back again over and over and over through the millenia. One of the key processes affecting the rock cycle is convection. Convection is defined in physics as heat transfer in a gas or liquid by the circulation of currents from one region to another. In geology, convection most often relates to the movement of molten magma in the mantle.

Convection occurs deep in the core and mantle of the Earth where molten rock, called magma, constantly moves sluggishly and slowly. This movement is based on the concept that where liquid or gaseous matter exists, it will rise when it’s warmer and sink when it’s cooler. This is seen in the atmosphere when warm air rises because it is less dense (heavy) than cool air. Geologists believe that the same thing happens in the mantle. Magma closer to the hot, hot core is heated up. Its molecules are affected my the heat energy and begin moving farther apart, so the magma is lighter than any cooler magma around it. It’s pushed up by heavier, cooler magma. This movement goes in a circle—magma warming, being pushed up by cooler magma, cooling, sinking, then warming again. That’s called a convection current.

In the 1960s, geologists were struggling to understand what made the continents move around from Pangea to today’s locations. Finally, the idea of the process of convection helped them form a theory. A Scottish geologist named Arthur Holmes had proposed the idea the hot rock rose from deep within the Earth’s mantle, the layer beneath the crust. As the hot rock neared the surface, it cooled and then sank back into the mantle. Holmes suggested these circulating movements, called convection currents, could cause continental drift. Convection contributes to all the movement in the atmosphere, from winds to updrafts. It contributes to the water cycle keeping us alive! And convection contributes to continental drift, too.

An example of convection is when the water in the deep end of a swimming pool is colder than the shallow end. If you’ve seen a hot air balloon you’ve seen convection at work! Also, the lava lamp demonstrates the process of convection. Whether and where convection happens depends on temperature and density. But the important thing about convection is that it keeps the magma in the mantle moving—and that keeps us moving on the Earth’s crust!

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PROCESS GRID (For Teacher Use Only)srf 3/17/03

PROCESS When does it occur?

Where does it occur? How does it occur? Why does it matter? Examples and interesting facts

Weatheringand Erosion

Sedimentation and Deposition

Lithification and Crystallization

Convection

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EXPERT GROUP #1ROCK CYCLE - Igneous Rocks

The word IGNEOUS comes from the Latin word for fire--as in “ignite” or “ignition.” The idea of FIRE is in IGNEOUS rocks because they are indeed fiery rocks made from molten rock. The melted underground material that becomes igneous rocks is called magma. If the magma comes out of the Earth’s crust through a volcano, it’s called lava. All other rocks, sedimentary and metamorphic, come from igneous rocks because the fiery, melted step is the first step in the rock cycle.

Magma is found in the mantle. It can become igneous rock in several ways. For example, granite comes from magma that starts out deep in the mantle. Then the magma will float up away from the hot core of the Earth in the process of convection-- like a lava lamp. Convection means magma rises slowly up from the core because it’s lighter than the cooler, heavier matter around it. It rises from the hotter parts of the mantle in a blob. The blob cools slowly into granite as it crystallizes. It cools so slowly (over hundreds and thousands of years) the minerals have time to get together and form visible crystals. An interesting fact about granite is that it is the most common igneous rock on the Earth’s continental crust.

Another way igneous rocks are formed is through volcanoes. The process of subduction causes magma to rise quickly through volcanic vents during a volcanic eruption. When magma reaches the surface it is called lava. Lava can explode through the volcano or it can spill out through a side vent. Either way, it then cools into a specific igneous rock. Cooled lava from a lava spill (flow) becomes basalt. Basalt is the most common form of volcanic rock. Basalt is almost black, fine-grained, and has cooled quickly (unlike granite). Basalt is the most common igneous rock in the oceanic crust.

Sally Fox/LMSVSD 1-03

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EXPERT GROUP #2ROCK CYCLE - Sedimentary Rocks

The word SEDIMENTARY comes from the Latin word “sedere” for “to sit, or settle.” SEDIMENTARY rocks are made of sediments that are deposited (or laid down) over time. When a glass of water is full of bits of dirt and rock, the heavy bits will sink to the bottom and settle there. Sediment may be pieces of rocks or may be crystallized chemicals that settle out of water (as when salt water evaporates and leaves white powdery salt behind). The remains of living things may even be part of sedimentary rocks when shells or small, dead sea animals sink down and settle into the mud that later becomes rock. Sediment is usually deposited by running water, such as streams and rivers. Layering or stratification is a frequent physical characteristic. An interesting fact is that many sedimentary rocks are soft enough to break by hand. They contain pieces of other rocks along with quartz and feldspar.

Sedimentary rocks are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion (or transportation), deposition, then lithification. Lithification means “being made into rock.” Lithification may happen because chemicals seeped into the sediment in water, or because layers of dead organisms contained chemicals that act like a natural cement. Shale is the most common type of sedimentary rock. Other examples are sandstone, clay, rock salt, chalk, and limestone.

Sandstone is primarily composed of sandy sediments, in many cases dominantly quartz. Sandstone in places like Colorado and Utah often has fossil shells embedded in it showing that those places used to be under the sea. Organic limestone includes reef limestone built up from the stony skeletons of billions or coral polyps and algae. Coquine is a cemented mass of shelly debris. Chalk is made of fossil microorganisms.


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EXPERT GROUP #3ROCK CYCLE - Metamorphic Rocks

The word METAMORPHIC comes from the Greek words “meta” (meaning beyond, therefore change) and “morphe” (meaning form or shape) so it means “changed shape.” METAMORPHIC rocks used to be other rocks but changed because of heat or pressure or chemicals. Metamorphic rocks have been changed while buried deep in the earth's crust. After a rock is heated or pressurized enough, the crystals rearrange themselves in the process called recrystallization. Therefore, metamorphic rocks most often form where extreme temperatures or pressures exist. We can’t see metamorphic processes because they happen too deep in the crust. We can make models, run tests in the laboratory, and infer what’s happening in the deep crust and mantle. An interesting fact about metamorphic rocks is they’re very difficult to classify so amateur geologists often make mistakes.

Most metamorphic rocks are harder than sedimentary rocks. Some have a definite flat, planar texture (like sheets stacked on top of each other). If they look like sheets of paper they are called “foliated,” (like “portfolio”). If they aren’t foliated, they may have a granular texture (like grains of sand). In that case geologists call them “non-foliated.”

One of the most common examples of metamorphic rock is marble. Marble is the name given to any limestone (sedimentary) that has changed as a result of the forces of heat and pressure. The chemical composition of marble is calcite and/or dolomite crystals. It ranges in color from snow-white to black with many shades of red, yellow, pink, green or other colors blended in as patches or bands. It is easily cut and polished. An interesting fact about marble is that humans have built statues, pillars, monuments, tabletops, and floor tiles from it for thousands of years. Just as marble is the hard metamorphic rock formed from limestone, slate is the hard metamorphic rock formed from shale.


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EXPERT GROUP #4ROCK CYCLE - Ores and Mining

The word ORE came to English through the centuries from Latin and Old Norse and High German. The Old Norse word, “eyrir,” meant bronze or brass. It’s possible that the word for gold in French and Spanish, ‘or’ and ‘oro’ respectively, were also related to the word ORE. Today the English word ORE means rocks rich enough in any metals or other elements to be worth mining.

People in different cultures give a money value to certain elements. Each ore has its own physical attributes based on the metal it contains and the other minerals it’s combined with in the ore. Ores are an important natural resource because metals are extremely valuable. Some ores can be easily collected from the surface. Other ores must be mined by burrowing (digging) or excavating (making a cave) deep into the Earth’s crust. Geological know-how plays a key role in mining (and in other work involving excavation). Placer mining uses running water to sort heavy minerals such as tin, gold, and platinum from sand and gravel. During the California gold rush, placer mining was the most common at first. As the gold became harder to find, other types of mining such as hydraulic mining became more common. Once miners get the ore out of the ground, metallurgists get the valuable metal out of the ore. Metallurgy is the field of knowledge that humans have developed over the centuries about how to get metals out of ore.

Ores called “oxides,” like iron oxide and aluminum oxide (bauxite), are combined with oxygen. Ores called “sulfides,” like copper sulfide, zinc sulfide, silver sulfide, are combined with sulfur. Pure metal ores are not chemically combined like oxides and sulfides, they’re just lumped together.

Today, metals are found just about everywhere people are. They’re used in building houses, cars, airplanes, boats, etc. Silver is even used to make film for movies. Metals have been important throughout history for making tools, jewelry, and weapons. Of course, humans have also used precious metals for thousands of years for jewelry and money (coins). Gold is an example. It is one of the most valuable metals used for coins and jewelry because it doesn’t tarnish. 60% of the world’s gold is mined in South Africa.


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PROCESS GRID (for Teachers’ Use Only)

ROCK TYPE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES CHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES FORCES AND PROCESSES REFLECTED

EXAMPLES INTERESTING FACTS

IGNEOUS – fiery rocks made from molten rock

Granite is coarse-grained because it has cooled slowly.

Basalt is almost black, fine-grained, and has cooled quickly.

The minerals in rocks have unique physical attributes related to color, luster, hardness, cleavage (the way they break), magnetism, and specific weight.

Igneous rocks are made of one or more minerals. Minerals are inorganic, naturally occurring substances that have a crystal structure.

Granite is made mainly of quartz, feldspar, and mica. It is rich in silicates (such as silicon and oxygen combined with a metal).

Basalt’s chemical structure is rich in metallic minerals but poor in silica. This makes basalt heavier than granite. Basalt contains the minerals plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene, olivine, and magnetite.

Igneous comes from molten underground rock, called magma. The process of melting and convection causes magma to rise slowly from the mantle in a blob called a pluton and cool into a mass of granite in the process of crystallization. The process of subduction and seafloor spreading causes magma to rise quickly through volcanic vents along the active margins of lithospheric plates during a volcanic eruption. Lava cools into igneous rock.

Granite is a slow cooling plutonic igneous rock.

Basalt is the most common form of volcanic rock, which is cooled lava from an eruption or lava flow.

Pumice is a volcanic rocks full of gas-formed cavities making it light enough to float on water.

Obsidian is a glassy volcanic rock.

All other rocks, sedimentary and metamorphic, descend from igneous rocks.

Granite is the most common igneous rock on the continental crust.

Basalt is the most common igneous rock on the oceanic crust.

SEDIMENTARY – rocks made by deposition of sediments

Most sedimentary rocks contain particles no bigger than a grain of sand. They contain rock fragments and more commonly, particles of quartz and feldspar.

Many are soft enough to break by hand.

Layering is a frequent characteristic.


Sandstones are primarily composed of sandy sediments, in many cases dominantly quartz.

Sedimentary rocks are generally mixtures of three components: calcium (plus magnesium) carbonates, clay minerals (represented by the hypothetical hydrated aluminum and iron oxides as the end member), and silica (silicon dioxide).

Dolomitic limestone occurs where certain brines alter pre-existing limestone. Limestones are rich in calcium and magnesium carbonates. Organic limestone include reef limestone built up from the stony skeletons of billions or coral polyps and algae. Coquine is a cemented mass of shelly debris. Chalk is made of fossil microorganisms.

Sedimentary rocks are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion or transportation, then lithification. The lithification may occur by chemicals seeping into the sediment in water, by layers of dead organisms

The sediment may be the disintegrated fragments of previously existing rocks or may be crystallized chemicals that settle out of water. Living things may even participate in the formation of sedimentary rocks.

Limestone sometime forms from chemicals that were dissolved in water and settle or evaporate to form rock.

Conglomerate (Latin for ‘lumped together’) rocks have rounded fragments—pebbles, cobbles, etc.—that become mixed with sand and cemented. Breccia has sharp-edged fragments because the pieces weren’t very weathered before they mixed with the sand.

Sandstone, clay, rock salt, coal, chalk, coquina limestone.

Shale (accounts for 80% of all sedimentary rock)

Most of the world coalmines tap remain of low-lying forests drowned from time to time by an invading sea and buried under sediments.

Sandstone in places like Colorado and Utah often has fossil shells embedded in it showing that those places used to be under the sea.

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ROCK TYPE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES CHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES FORCES AND PROCESSES REFLECTED

EXAMPLES INTERESTING FACTS

METAMORPHIC – rocks that used to be other rocks but changed

Most metamorphic rocks are harder than sedimentary rocks.

Some have a definite planar texture, others have a granular texture.Those with a planar texture are called ‘foliated’ because the planar sheets are like leaves piled on top of each other. Nonfoliated metamorphic rocks look grainy and don’t break into flat sheets.


Metamorphic rock has the same basic chemistry as the “parent” rock it used to be. Slate is a hard rock formed from shale; marble is a hard rock formed from limestone.

Metamorphic rocks have been chemically altered by heat, pressure and deformation, while buried deep in the earth's crust. These rocks show changes in mineral composition or texture or both. This area of rock classification is highly specialized and complex.

Processes of heat and pressure, and then solid-state

recrystallization form metamorphic rocks. Therefore, they most often form where the

conditions are most severe - high temperatures and/or

extreme pressures. These are the conditions of mountain

building and mountain building is fundamental to making

continents. Metamorphic rocks are usually found in mountain belts or regions that used to be

mountains.

Foliated metamorphic rocks include slate, schist, and gneiss.

Nonfoliated metamorphic rocks include quartzite, marble, and hornfels.

Metamorphic means “changed shape” in Latin. We can’t see metamorphic processes because they happen too deep in the crust. We make models and infer.

ORE –rocks rich enough in metals or certain other elements to be worth mining

Each ore has its own physical attributes based on the metal it contains and the other minerals it’s combined with in the ore.


Many metal ores contain oxygen or sulfur.

Native metal ores are not chemically combined with other substances. Smelting melts the lumps of pure metal out the gangue (leftover unwanted rock material). In compound ores the valuable metal is often joined to other substances.

Ores are formed as are other sedimentary or igneous rocks. Metallurgy includes the processes that are used by man to remove the economically valuable metal from the ores, for example:

Chemical changes free the metal from the compound.

Electrolysis can free the metal using electric current.

Acids dissolve the metals out in a process called leaching.

Iron oxide, aluminum oxide (bauxite) are combined with oxygen.

Copper sulfide, zinc sulfide, silver sulfide are combined with sulfur.

Ores are a natural resource because metals are extremely valuable resources. An ore is a mineral from which economically important amounts of a metal can be obtained.

60% of the world’s gold is mined in South Africa.

srf 9/23/02

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Name_______________________________

EDITING CHECKLIST AUTHOR

FIRST PEER

SECOND PEER

1. I read my paper out loud.

2. Author’s name is on paper.

3. There’s a title. Are there page numbers if more than one page long?

3. The paper is dated.

4. Respond (What did I like?)

6. Revising (Any suggestions?)(Did it make sense?) (Is it clear?)(Can I move anything to make it clearer still?) (Does it flow?)(How about beginnings and endings?)

7. Editing skills (Capitals)

8. Editing skills (Punctuation)

9. Editing skills (Spelling)

10. Editing skills (Grammar – Is it a complete sentence?)

Project GLAD

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Name______________________________COGNITIVE CONTENT DICTIONARY

NEW WORD

(H = Heard it before. N = Never heard it before.)

PREDICTED DEFINITION

(I predict it means ____ because ____.)

FINAL MEANING

(Example, primary language, pictures, resource – How did I find out?)

WORD USAGE

(How I would use it in a sentence or a phrase.)

Project GLAD, LMSVSD

57

Team Name _________________________TEAM DICTIONARY

WORD

(Agree on an interesting word.)

SOURCE

(Where did we find it? On which chart?)

OUR DEFINITION

(We predict it means _______ because ______.)

FINAL MEANING

(Example, primary language, pictures, resource – How did we find out?)

Project GLAD, LMSVSD

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Project GLAD

ABC Book

of Geology

Word selected and illustrations by: ___________________

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Aa Bb

60

Cc Dd

62

Ee Ff

63

Gg Hh

64

Ii Jj

65

Kk Ll

66

Mm Nn

67

Oo Pp

68

Qq Rr

69

Ss Tt

70

Uu Vv

71

Ww Xx

72

Yy Zz

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Name_____________________

Date___________

Project GLAD Unit: “Geology and the Gold Rush” - Grade 4

PRE-TEST

1. Circle the words that name the three types of rocks:

Quartz Igneous Minerals Metamorphic Sedimentary Plutonic

2. Circle all the words that apply to the geological processes that affect landforms:

Weathering Freezing Erosion Elimination Due Process

Deposition Cuisine Landslides Waves Convection

3. Circle the words for the forces that change the Earth’s surface:

Volcanoes Wind Magnetism Gravity Labor Force

Military Force Muscle Earthquake Solar Power Force of Reasoning

4. What is the Earth made of?

5. What is inside the center of the Earth?

6. What are rocks made of?

7. Why did gold miners care about geology?

8. When and where did the California Gold Rush start?

9. How many layers of the Earth can you list?

10. What else do you know about geology or the Gold Rush?

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Name_____________________

Date___________

Project GLAD Unit: “Geology and the Gold Rush” - Grade 4

POST-TEST

11. Circle the three types of rock according to the rock cycle:

Quartz Igneous Minerals Metamorphic Sedimentary Plutonic

12. Circle the geological processes that affect landforms:

Weathering Freezing Erosion Elimination Due Process

Deposition Cuisine Landslides Waves Convection

13. Circle the words for the forces that change the Earth’s surface:

Volcanoes Wind Magnetism Gravity Labor Force

Military Force Muscle Earthquake Solar Power Force of Reasoning

14. What is the Earth made of?

15. What is inside the center of the Earth?

16. What are rocks made of?

17. Why did gold miners care about geology? Tell some important facts.

18. When and where did the California Gold Rush start? Tell some important facts about it.

19. How many layers of the Earth can you list? Tell some important facts about them.

20. What else have you learned that you think is important?

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Project GLAD Geology and the Gold Rush 4th Grade Unit

POETRY BOOKLET

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Name ____________________________________________

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I’m a Geologist

I’m a geologist and I’m here to say,I study the Earth’s processes every day!Sometimes I run a test,Sometimes I read a book,But mostly I prefer to go out and take a look!

Atmosphere, biosphere, terrasphere, too,Doing the geology bugaloo!

The Earth’s a mighty dynamo That forces keep in motionWind and rain break down the crust, Erode it to the ocean.


Rocks reflect their chemistryIn their texture and their color.Some are vivid, bright, intense,While others may look duller.


Minerals’ crystal structureReflects light with shiny lusterRockhounds love rocks with mica or quartzEspecially when in a big cluster.


By Sally FoxLa Mesa-Spring Valley School District

9-18-02

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The Earth Science Family(To the tune of "Davy Crockett")

Born in the void of space eons ago,Particles accreting made our solar system grow,Gravity increased as the mass became more,Rotation and eddies made "9" the score.

Sun, Earth, moon, and oceans. The Earth Science Family!

We cooled into layers, the outside first,Degassed with volcanoes, gave life a burst.Cooling and cooling, condensation point reached,Oceans were created, we can go to the beach!


Weathering, volcanoes, earthquakes and plates,Keep us adapting as changes take place.Rocks go through their cycles while continents drift,The ultimate recycler, the Earth shows thrift.


Temperature, humidity and pressure, too,Cause lots of weather types, you know it's true.Sun heats the land and air moves up with ease,Cool air moves in, you've got a sea breeze.


The sun and its energy make it all go,Hydrogen and helium maintain its glowAtoms are colliding so fusion occurs,A very busy place is our universe!


Lyrics by Ruth DeSilvaABDUSD - CSIN2

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Is This the Earth? Yes, Ma’am!

Is this Planet Earth? Yes, ma’am.Is this Planet Earth? Yes, ma’am.Well how do you know? In orbit around the Sun.Well how do you know? Four major layers.Tell me all about it. Crust, mantle and core.I thought you said four. Atmosphere surrounds them all.

Is this the dynamic crust? Yes, ma’am.Is this the dynamic crust? Yes, ma’am.And how do you know? Sun and wind weather it.And how do you know? Ice and snow do alter it.Give me some examples. Half Dome in Yosemite.Give me some examples. Glacial moraines in Alaska.

Is this the rocky mantle? Yes, ma’am.Is this the rocky mantle? Yes, ma’am.And how do you know? Underneath the crust.And how do you know? More dense than crustal rock.Give me some more info. Parts are semi-molten.Anything else? Flows in sluggish currents.

Is this the Earth’s core? Yes, ma’am.Is this the Earth’s core? Yes, ma’am.Well how do you know? Very dense and molten.Well how do you know? Mainly iron and nickel.Tell me why it matters. Fuels convection currents.What does that mean? Sends heat up toward the surface.

Is this the atmosphere? Yes, ma’am.Is this the atmosphere? Yes, ma’am.And how do you know? Usually invisible.And how do you know? Like a blanket of air.Give me some examples. Troposphere and stratosphere.Give me some examples. Ionosphere and exosphere.

By Sally FoxProject GLAD, LMSVSD2002

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Is This the Earth? Yes, Sir!

Is this Planet Earth? Yes, sir!Is this Planet Earth? Yes, sir!Well, how do you know? It’s in orbit around the Sun.Well, how do you know? It has many different layers.Tell me all about it. Terrasphere, biosphere, troposphere.Is there any more to tell? Stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere!

Is this the terrasphere? Yes, sir!Is this the terrasphere? Yes, sir!How do you know? It’s the solid interior of the Earth.And how do you know? It has three major layers.Give me some examples. The fiery core and melted mantle.Give me another example. The rocky crust along the surface.

Is this the biosphere? Yes, sir!Is this the biosphere? Yes, sir!And how do you know? It’s all along the crust.And how do you know? It’s where the living things are found.Give me some more info. It includes the land and the water.Anything else? It consists of many different biomes.

Is this the troposphere? Yes, sir!Is this the troposphere? Yes, sir!Well, how do you know? It’s the atmosphere we breathe.Well, how do you know? It’s the air where the birds fly.Tell me why else it matters. It’s where the weather happens.And why is that important? The clouds bring us rainfall.

Is this the stratosphere? Yes, sir!Is this the stratosphere? Yes, sir!And how do you know? It’s usually invisible.And how do you know? It’s like a blanket of thin air.What will I see there? It’s where the jet planes fly.Anything else I should know? It’s where the ozone layer is found.

Is this the mesosphere? Yes, sir!Is this the mesosphere? Yes, sir!So, how do you know? It’s where meteors burn up.Yeah, how do you know? We call them falling stars.Tell me something more. It’s the coldest layer of all.Anything else? It’s 20-50 miles up!

Is this the thermosphere? Yes, sir!Is this the thermosphere? Yes, sir!Well, how do you know? It’s closest to outer space.Well, how do you know? The space shuttle travels there.Anything else of interest? The temperature increases there.What else should I know? Auroras happen there!

By Sally FoxProject GLAD, LMSVSD, 10/20/2002

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49er Sound Off!

We all know ‘cause we’ve been told.California streams are full of gold.We left our homes in ‘49,Hoped to find gold and start a mine.

CHORUS: Sound off! Gold Rush! Sound off! Geology!1, 2, 3, 4… Sound off!

We prospectors came in a rush,90,000 caused quite a crush.Some came around the Horn under sailMost came by wagon on the Oregon Trail.

CHORUS

Farmers left their cows and wheatCity folk left the crowded street.Rode their horses ‘til they went lame,Many died, ‘twas a terrible shame.

CHORUS

Mining towns were rough and toughConflicts resolved with fisticuffs.Even if you staked a handsome claimCheaters forced you to sign a quitclaim.

CHORUS

Placer mining in cold mountain streams,Always with those golden dreams.Nuggets, dust, or shining flake,More gold appeared after an earthquake.

CHORUS

Holes were dug to find gold ore,Rockers and cradles helped find more.Miners were a hardy lot,A few were lucky, most were not.

CHORUS

By Sally Fox, LMSVSD, 2002Including Verses From J. Dusharme, 1994

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Name _________________________

Date ______________

HOME-SCHOOL CONNECTION #1

Geology and the California Gold Rush

Take home your paper entitled “Predicting Questions” with the picture you drew earlier today. Ask someone in your family or an adult friend the questions and ask him/her to write some of his/her ideas on this paper. Discuss the answers with him/her. Did he/she agree with you?

Signature of adult __________________________Full name _________________________

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Fecha ______________

CONEXIÓN ENTRE ESCUELA Y HOGAR #1

Geología y la fiebre de oro de California

Lleva a casa tu dibujo y tus preguntas predictivas de la hoja titulada “Predicting Questions.” Plantea la preguntas a alguien de tu familia o un amigo adulto y pídenle que escriba algunas de sus ideas aquí abajo. Hablen acerca de las respuestas. ¿Estuvo de acuerdo contigo? Pídele que firme esta hoja con un comentario.

Firma del adulto ___________________________

Nombre y apellido _________________________

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Date ______________



Write what you remember about the three types of rocks. Look around your house or apartment for a rock that is small enough to fit in your hand. Draw a picture of your rock and predict where it came from, what it’s made out of, and which of the three types of rock it is.

Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

Signature of adult ________________________

Full name _________________________

Draw your rock here.

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Fecha ______________



Escribe lo que recuerdas sobre los tres tipos the rocas. Busca una roca que sea bien chica (para caber en tu mano) alrededor de tu casa o departamento. Dibuja tu roca y después haz una predicción sobre de dónde vino, de qué es hecha, y de cuál tipo de roca es. Muéstra tu roca y dibujo a tu familia o a un amigo adulto. Pídele que firme esta hoja con un comentario.

Tipo 1

Tipo 2

Tipo 3

Firma del adulto _________________________


Dibuja tu roca aquí.

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Date ______________



Draw a map of California and mark the rivers of the gold fields of the 1849 Gold Rush. Be sure to include and label San Francisco, Sacramento, Sutter’s Mill, Lake Tahoe, the San Joaquin River, the American River, San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Pacific Ocean. Explain the map to your family or friends and tell about the Gold Rush.

Signature of adult _________________________

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Full name_________________________

Fecha ______________



Dibuja un mapa del estado de California y marca los ríos de los campos de oro del fiebre de oro de 1859. Incluye y nombra las ciudades de San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, y Los Ángeles. Incluye también el Molino de Sutter, el Lago Tahoe, el Río San Joaquín, el Río Americano, y el Océano Pacífico. Explica el mapa a un amigo o a alguien de tu familia y cuéntaselo el cuento del fiebre de oro de 1849. Pídele que firme esta hoja con un comentario.

Firma del adulto ___________________________


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Text You

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For the ___________ Team

MEMBERS:

1. _____________________________ 3. _____________________________

2. _____________________________ 4. _____________________________

OUR STRENGTHS AS A TEAM (WHAT WE DO WELL):

OUR CHALLENGES (WHAT WE NEED TO WORK ON):

Project GLAD, LMSVSD, 1-2003

Team Evaluation and Goal-setting

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EXPLORATION REPORT

OBSERVATIONS: QUESTIONS:

_______________________________________

PREDICTIONS:

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TEAM FEUD QUESTIONS FROM GEOLOGIST AWARDS – GEOLOGY AND THE GOLD RUSH

1. The gold nuggets that started the California Gold Rush were carried downstream from the Sierra Nevada Mountains by thousands of years of ____ . (erosion)

2. California Indian cultures placed a high value on gold nuggets, using them to make jewelry for hundreds of years, True or False. (False)

3. The lucky few who were in Northern California during the spring of 1848 were rewarded with __________? (a better chance to find gold nuggets)

4. Name three reasons that most world cultures value gold as a precious metal. (malleable and easily crafted; resilient and resistant to corrosives (doesn’t rust); valuable in industry and medicine)

5. Name the two most famous varieties of the gemstone beryl. (emeralds and aquamarines)

6. What color are most garnets? (red) 7. The element copper tends to alter on the surface. What color does it become when it

alters? (green)8. What silicate is so silky and fibrous that is can actually be spun into yarn and woven

into clothes? (asbestos)9. What silicate component of metamorphic rocks often occurs in radiating aggregates?

(epidote)10. What is the common name for the mineral halite? (rock salt)11. What mineral was used to make a vase in 16th century? (hyaline quartz)12. Galena from the Italian Alps often contains what metal? (silver)13. What stone is dark green, shiny, with light green swirling orbicules so that it looks

like the night sky viewed through a telescope? (nebula stone)14. Turquoise is only found in or near deposits of what metal? (copper)15. The rock type that is formed when magma cools and crystallizes is called… ?

(igneous)16. Magma that erupts onto the surface of the Earth is called…? (lava)17. Sedimentary rock is formed by particles from what? (other rocks)18. Sedimentary rock can be recognized by what aspect or characteristic? (layering)19. Great heat or pressure applied to a rock can change it into another kind of rock. What

kind? (metamorphic)20. What are the main stages of the Rock Cycle? (Igneous, sedimentary, and

metamorphic)21. Name three of the main processes of the Rock Cycle. (melting, crystallizing,

weathering, metamorphosing, compaction & cementing)22. What color is the typical rosette crystal? (amber)23. If a mining claim were left untended for a week it was up for grabs by the other

miners, unless what? (the miner was sick)24. The sluice is a longer version of the Long Tom, True or False? (True)

srf

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California Gold Production

Year Production Miners Value per ounce1848 $10,000,000 6,000 $16.001849 $40,000,000 40,0001850 $50,000,0001851 $60,000,0001852 $81,200,000 100,0001853 $65,000,0001854 $60,000,0001855 $55,000,0001856 $56,000,0001860 $45,000,0001861 100,0001865 $18,000,0001866-1990 $17,000,000/yr

1873 30,000(3/4 Chinese)

1990 $383.611995 $384.14

1848 to 1948: Gold production was about $2 billion. All the gold production in a century was worth less than the value of one year's agricultural output of the state in the 1960s.

Gold production from 1850-1865 ($172,387,985) was significant in maintaining federal currency during the Civil War.

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MINERALS

All of the Earth’s dynamic processes involve matter changing from one state to another. Minerals grow, melt, and dissolve or are broken and modified by physical forces. As the Earth’s surface weathers and erodes, some minerals are destroyed and others grow in their place.

Minerals are inorganic solids with a crystalline internal structure.

INTERESTING FACTS

Earth’s building blocks are elements and minerals. Of the 92 elements, 8 account for 98% of the weight of the Earth’s crust. Silicate (containing silicon and oxygen) minerals form more that 95% of the crust.

Within the crust most elements occur as minerals, over 2000 different kinds.

Diamond and graphite have the same chemical composition (they’re both made of carbon) but very different physical structure. This ability to

form more than one mineral with the same

chemical is called ‘polymorphism.’

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

An important physical attribute of minerals is their unique and orderly internal arrangement

(crystal form). Cleavage planes along planes

of weakness cause mineral to break in special

EXAMPLES

Most common and important rock-

forming minerals by type: igneous contains feldspars, micas, amphiboles,

pyroxenes, olivines, and quartz;

sedimentary contains quartz, calcite, dolomite, clays, halite, gypsum, and

FORCES AND PROCESSES

Crystals grow when lava cools and solidifies. They grow in the ocean, where they form from solutions as limestone, salts, and other mineral deposits. They grow at the surface, where minerals in common rocks react chemically with elements in the atmosphere. They also form and are destroyed deep within the Earth’s crust. There heat and pressure cause some crystal structures to break down and new minerals to form in their place, with amore dense, compact atomic structure.

CHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES

A mineral has a definite chemical

composition, in which specific

elements occur in definite proportions.

Minerals are characteristically susceptible to chemical change.

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Story for “Listen and Sketch” and for Whole Group Story MapGLAD Unit – “Geology and the Gold Rush”

This fictional story compiled by Sally Fox is based on fact and is derived mainly from excerpts of the book, Gold vs. Grain: California’s Hydraulic Mining Controversy, by Robert L. Kelley (published by Arthur H. Clark Co., 1959).

For “Listen and Sketch,” have the students fold a piece of legal-sized paper into 8 squares. Pencils down while they listen, then sketch what they imagined from the story in the first box, etc. Remind them sketches are for their brain and don't have to be beautiful, like drawings.

BOX 1

The floor of the Sacramento Valley is flat, almost featureless, and quite close to sea level. Meandering rivers cross it to empty into the cluster of bays near San Francisco. The longest of these rivers is the Sacramento, which emerges out of the north and flows 150 miles, swinging past the city of Sacramento and losing itself in the delta. West of the valley are the lumpy hills of the coast ranges; to the north the volcano known as Mt. Shasta dominates a vast complex of uplands, and to the east is the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the most imposing single geographic feature of California.

SKETCH

PENCILS DOWN

BOX 2

Down the long western slope of the northern Sierra Nevada rush four rivers: the Feather, the Yuba, the Bear, and the American. They do not drop from such great heights as those in the southern reaches of the Sierra, but they are powerful, torrential streams, especially in the spring when the great snow pack above them melts. Over eons of time they have cut the deep canyons and deposited flakes of gold dust throughout the region. The south fork of the American River is where James Marshall discovered gold in 1848 leading to the great worldwide rush of miners into California, the forty-niners.

SKETCH

PENCILS DOWN BOX 3

After the forty-niners found all the gold they could in the rivers and streams, many of them went downstream to the valley, to the flatlands, to become farmers and ranchers. Many farmers started farms and orchards in the rich soil of the valleys, fed by the waters of the rivers coming down the watershed of the gold fields. Some miners stayed in the mountains, trying new ways to find gold, like coyote holes and hydraulic mining. Hydraulic mining used water through a huge hose to blast

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away the dirt of a hillside and send the mud flowing through giant sieves to capture the gold flakes and ore in the bottom. In 1864, heavy, pounding storm hit the mountains after a 3-year drought. With all the water, the roaring hydraulic jets tore at the hillsides, and the rivers turned brown with mud. Meanwhile, gold poured into San Francisco from the hydraulic mines.

SKETCH

PENCILS DOWN

BOX 4

Good news for the hydraulic miners was bad news for farmers. Out of the streaming Sierra came a gigantic mud flow. The leftover dirt and debris from the mines that miners had dumped into mountain canyons in the fifties began to invade the flatlands in a muddy flood, and an anguished cry came from the valley, and from farmers, as brown waters swept over unprotected farms and towns. Hundreds of acres of fruit orchards along the river were dying from the contaminated waters. Who would help the farmers save their trees and fields? Who was to blame for the muddy waters? In 1872, a tidal wave of mining debris from the Spring Valley Mine flowed over grain fields, buried fences, and choked the peach trees to death. The farmers decided to get together to fight back.

SKETCH

PENCILS DOWN

BOX 5

The farmers pooled their money and filed a lawsuit against the Spring Valley Mine. They asked for $2,000 in damages and for an injunction that would stop the company from mining. The jury said it was a tough question and they didn’t think the mud choking the farmers orchards and covering their fields could be proved to be only from Spring Valley Mine. The gentlemen of the jury returned a verdict of “not guilty” by turning down the farmers’ lawsuit.

SKETCH

PENCILS DOWN

BOX 6

In 1874 the farmers tried again. This time they issued a manifesto against hydraulic mining in general by protesting that the practice ruined the land downstream. They hoped to get a protest group started but nobody seemed to care. Nobody seemed to care until a catastrophe struck. In January 1875, a storm moved in and deluged the mountains and flatlands for a week with snow, rain, thunder, and lightning. Days later, the swollen brown waters of the river were rushing along toward the town of Marysville. The levee broke and a torrent of water rushed into the streets. In

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wild confusion women and children were rescued, barns, sheds and frame houses began floating about, and a little boy drowned.

SKETCH

PENCILS DOWN

BOX 7

The tide of public indifference was beginning to turn against the miners. The farmers went to court time and again protesting the damage to their property by the mining interests. Once in a while a judge even found in favor of the farmers but the wealthy mining companies appealed, continued to argue against shutting down the hydraulic mines. They built some canals instead to send the water in a safer direction. For years the hydraulic miners and the farmers argued. When it didn’t rain, the farmers and townspeople were safe from floods. Then a big storm would come and threaten to wash the towns away. Finally in 1878, the California legislature began to debate the problem. Would they write a law to protect the farmers? Or would they protect the hydraulic mining companies?

SKETCH

PENCILS DOWN

BOX 8

After nearly 5 more years of lawsuits and bills proposed but voted down in the State legislature, the farmers were worried and disappointed by so many decisions against them. They made a compromise in 1880 in a bill called the Drainage Act. California decided to hire professional engineers to make observations, run tests, and give their opinions. After a few years, it didn’t solve the problem. A visit through the town of Marysville showed the tips of the gravestones in the cemetery barely poking out above the mud from the latest flood. Finally, in 1884, the State Supreme Court said, “No person has a right to cover his neighbor’s land with mining debris.” Hydraulic mining was outlawed. The farmers could grow their crops in peace.

THE END

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Learning Log

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Name ___________________________

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Interactive Journal

Name ______________________ Room ___

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Todo el mundo necesita una roca(Spanish translation by Gloria Fimbres of Everyone Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor)

¡Qué lástima me dan los niños que no tienen una roca como amiga!

Qué lástima me dan los niños que nada más tienen: bicicletas, triciclos, caballos, elefantes, pescaditos, bomberas y otros juguetes si no tienen una roca como amiga.

Por eso decidí darles mis “diez reglas para encontrar una roca.”

No nada más qualquier roca sino una roca que uno haya buscado y guardado por mucho tiempo, quizás para siempre.

Si alguien pregunta, ¿Por qué es tan especial esa roca?” No le contestes. Yo no les contesto. Nadie debería saber que es tan especial acerca de la roca de uno. Bueno, déjame decirte acerca de mis diez reglas.

Regla No 1: Si puedes, ve a una montaña que esté hecha de puras rocas. Una montaña que tenga miles de millones de pequeñas, lustrosas y hermosas rocas. Si no puedes ir a una montaña, ve a qualquier otro lugar—un callejón, un caminito.

Regla No 2: Cuando estés buscando tu roca, no dejes que papás ni mamás ni hermanos ni hermanas ni amigos te hablen. Hay siempre que buscar una roca en silencio cuando todo está quieto y callado. No permitas que haya perros ladrando o abejas zumbando alrededor de tí. Pero si algo así sucede, NO TE PREOCUPES. (La peor cosa que puedes hacer es ir a buscar una roca cuando estés preocupado.)

Regla No 3: ¡Agáchate! ¡Más! ¡Más! ¡Todavía más! Probablemente tendrás que sentarte en el suelo, con tu cabeza casi tocando la tierra. Tienes que mirar a tu roca frente a frente. Do otra manera, no me culpes si no encuentras una muy buena.

Regla No 4: No escojas una roca que sea muy grande. Te arrepentirás más tarde por que no cabrá en tu mano ni cabrá en tu bolsillo. Una roca del tamaño de una manzana es muy grande. Una roca del tamaño de un caballo es demasiado grande.

Regla No 5: No escojas una roca muy chiquita. Se te podría perder fácilmente o un ratoncito se la podría comer pensando que era una semilla. (Créemelo, eso le pasó a un niño que vive en Arizona.)

Regla No 6: El tamaño tiene que ser perfecto. Tiene que sentirse cómodo en tu mano cuando la cierres. Tiene que brincar un poco en tu bolsillo cuando corras. Alguna gente toca su roca mil veces al día. No hay muchas cosas en esta vida que se sientan tan bien al tocarlas como lo puede ser una roca perfecta.

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Regla No 7: Busca el color perfecto. Este puede ser gris con un poco de rosa y un poco de color plateado lustroso. Algunas rocas que se ven son en realidad de otros colores pero tú únicamente las puedes ver cuando parpadeas y cuando el sol las baña con su luz. Otra manera de ver los colores en tu roca es sumergiéndola en un arroyo de aguas cristalinas (esto es si te encuentras uno en tu camino).

Regla No 8: La forma de tu roca es cuestión tuya. (Hay una niña en Alaska que únicamente prefiere rocas lisas. No me preguntes por qué. A mi me gustan boluditas.) Lo que hay que recordar acerca de la forma es lo siguiente: cualquier roca se mira bien con otras 100 rocas alrededor en una loma. Pero si tu roca va a ser algo muy especial, debe verse muy bien solita en la tina del baño.

Regla No 9: Siempre huele las rocas. Las rocas tienen su propio olor. Algunos niños pueden saber, nada más oliendo, si una roca vino del centro de la tierra, o del océano, o de una montaña en donde el viento y el sol la tocaron todos los días por millones de años. Vas a descubrir también que los adultos no pueden distinguir estas cosas. ¡Qué lástima! Es porque ellos no pueden oler tan bien como los niños.

Regla No 10: No le pidas ayuda a nadie al buscar tu roca. He visto una lagartija escoger su roca en un desierto lleno de rocas y sentarse ahí solita con su roca. He visto un caracól caminar entre 20 rocas y pasarse todo el día para llegar a la que quería. Tu eres el único que puede escoger y lo harás cuando estés listo.

¡Bueno! Esas son las diez reglas. Si se te ocurren más escríbelas. Por lo pronto voy afuera a jugar un juego en el que únicamente se necesitan dos: mi roca y yo. Sucede que aquí en mi mano, ahorita, tengo mi roca.

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"Water is sometimes sharp and sometimes strong, sometimes acid and sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet and sometimes thick or thin, sometimes it is seen bringing hurt or pestilence, sometime health-giving, sometimes poisonous. It suffers change into as many natures as are the different places through which it passes. And as the mirror changes with the colour of its subject, so it alters with the nature of the place, becoming noisome, laxative, astringent, sulfurous, salty, incarnadined, mournful, raging, angry, red, yellow, green, black, blue, greasy, fat or slim. Sometimes it starts a conflagration, sometimes it extinguishes one; is warm and is cold, carries away or sets down, hollows out or builds up, tears or establishes, fills or empties, raises itself or burrows down, speeds or is still; is the cause at times of life or death, or increase or privation, nourishes at times and at others does the contrary; at times has a tang, at times is without savor, sometimes submerging the valleys with great floods. In time and with water, everything changes"

Leonardo da Vinci

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Team Member Names ________________________________________________________________________________

MINING and EXCAVATING SIMULATIONChocolate Chip Brownie Geology

1. Spend a minute or two observing your plot of “land.” Look for characteristics that remind you of real soil and landforms.

2. Draw a bird’s eye view of your plot of land. Label all the parts you can compare to real soil.

3. Each teammate shouldraw a side view of your plot of land in your Geologist’s Field Book. Label all the parts you can compare to real Earth. Remember to use the scientific vocabulary you have been learning.

4. Use the implements provided (two types of toothpick) to gently excavate your mining claim.

Observations (What we observe.) Questions (What we wonder.)

______________________________ Predictions (Our ideas.)

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5. Separate the different kinds of “rocks” and other items you find. What do they make you think of in real soil?

The ___________ makes us think of _______________________ because

____________________________________________________________.


____________________________________________________________.


____________________________________________________________.


____________________________________________________________.

Write a few sentences about your soil sample as if you were explaining it to someone (for example, a friend, a sibling, a parent).

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

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project glad – la mesa-spring valley school district€¦ · web viewin geology this refers to...

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