Introduction

Picture this: you and your classmates arrive at school one morning to find out that Mrs. MacKay has an important announcement to make. A team of geologists just discovered a new rock or mineral in Upstate, New York. Your class has been invited to act as Junior Geologists, and assist in deciding if the new sample is a rock or a mineral.

Based upon what each of you learned in your science class about rocks and minerals, it is up to you to decide if the new material is a rock or a mineral. You may use the internet as well as textbooks and library resources.

In the following WebQuest, you will use the power of teamwork and the abundant resources on the Internet to learn all about Rocks and Minerals. Each person on your team will learn one piece of the puzzle and then you will come together to decide if the newly discovered sample is a rock or a mineral.

The Quest

Are all rocks minerals?

The Process and Resources

In this WebQuest you will be working together with a group of students in class. Each group will answer the Quest. As a member of the group you will explore Webpages from people all over the world who care about Rocks and Minerals. Because these are real Webpages we're tapping into, not things made just for schools, the reading level might challenge you. Feel free to use the online Webster dictionary or one in your classroom.

You'll begin with everyone in your group getting some background before dividing into roles where people on your team become experts on one part of the topic.

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

Use the Internet information linked below to answer the basic questions of who? what? where? when? why? and how? Be creative in exploring the information so that you answer these questions as fully and insightfully as you can.

• Rock Cycle Movie - Use this website to begin your quest. You will watch a short movie that will describe the rock cycle. Be sure to take notes! There will be a short quiz at the end.
• Mineral Identification Movie - Use this website to begin your quest. You will watch a short movie that will help you identify minerals. Be sure to take notes! There will be a short quiz at the end.

Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Individuals or pairs from your larger WebQuest team will explore one of the roles below.

2. Read through the files linked to your group. If you print out the files, underline the passages that you feel are the most important. If you look at the files on the computer, copy sections you feel are important by dragging the mouse across the passage and copying / pasting it into a word processor or other writing software.

3. Note: Remember to write down or copy/paste the URL of the file you take the passage from so you can quickly go back to it if you need to to prove your point.

4. Be prepared to focus what you've learned into one main opinion that answers the Big Quest(ion) or Task based on what you have learned from the links for your role.

Junior Geologist

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to Junior Geologist:

1. What are rocks made of?
2. Name three different rock samples and one key fact about each sample.

• Identification of Rocks and Minerals - This site will provide the necessary information to help classify the mineral sample by explaining the difference between rocks and minerals. It will also help the Junior Geologists identify the properties of minerals.
• Rocks for Kids - A fabulous site for any Junior Geologist who is determined to classify the newly found sample as a rock.
• Rock Album - This website is a photo album of rock samples and a brief description of each rock. This will help determine if our mystery sample is a rock.
• The Rock Cycle - This website will help identify how rocks change from igneous, to sedimentary, to metamorphic.
• Rock Cycle Song - A fabulous song that can be incorporated into your Power Point Presentation.

Science Professor

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to Science Professor:

1. How are sedimentary, igeneous, and metamorphic rocks made?
2. How are rocks and minerals formed?
3. Collect three examples of rocks on the internet, and write one key fact about each sample.

• Rock Hounds - This website will prepare the Junior Geologists for the task at hand.
• Cool Rocks! - Junior Geologists will love to explore this site. There are a number of pictures to examine to determine if the new sample is a rock, or a mineral.
• Mining Mineral Resources in the USA - This website will take you on an interactive journey to identify where minerals are mined in the U.S.
• Fast Facts - This website will provide wonderful facts about rocks and minerals.

Research Specialist

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to :

1. What are three common minerals found in households?
2. Name three different mineral samples, and tell one key fact about each.
3. How are minerals formed?
4. Where are minerals found?

• Minerals and Metals at home - Junior Geologists can use this site to help determine if their new sample is something that can be used in a household. This website will provide interactive slides to help identify minerals that are found in common households. There is also a quiz that will challenge the Junior Geologists to correctly identify minerals, and their use in a household.
• Mineral Identification - This will help you identify various types of minerals. This website contains pictures of minerals as well as a description to help identify if our mystery sample is a mineral.
• The Wonderful World of Minerals - More wonderful information about Minerals. There are also links to Gems and Birthstones. This will help you to identify whether or not your sample is a mineral.
• Desert Rocks - This website helps explain where rocks come from, and what they are made up of.

Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus

You have all learned about a different part of Rocks and Minerals. Now group members come back to the larger WebQuest team with expertise gained by searching from one perspective. You must all now answer the Quest as a group. Each of you will bring a certain viewpoint to the answer: some of you will agree and others disagree. Use information, pictures, movies, facts, opinions, etc. from the Webpages you explored to convince your teammates that your viewpoint is important and should be part of your team's answer to the Quest. Your WebQuest team should write out an answer that everyone on the team can live with.

Phase 4 - Real World Feedback

You and your teammates have learned a lot by dividing up into different roles. Now's the time to put your learning into a PowerPoint Presentation that you'll present to the class. Together you will create a PowerPoint that contains opinions, information, and perspectives that you've gained. Here's the process:

1. Begin your PowerPoint Presentation with a statement of who you are and why you are creating this presenation.

2. Give background information that shows you understand the topic.

STATE THE QUEST AND YOUR GROUP'S ANSWER.

3. Each person in your group create a slide that gives two good reasons supporting the group's opinion. Make sure to be specific in both the information (like where you got it from on the Web) and the reasoning (why the information proves your group's point).

4. Have each person on the team proofread the message. Be sure to include pictures as well as facts on your slides.

Your Contact is: Ask a Geologist - Ask Earl on Yahooligans

Conclusion

So is an elephant smooth, rough, soft, or hard? Well, when you're blindfolded and only *looking* at one part, it's easy to come up with an answer that may not be completely right. It's the same for understanding a topic as broad or complex as Rocks and Minerals: when you only know part of the picture, you only know part of the picture. Now you all know a lot more. Nice work. You should be proud of yourselves! How can you use what you've learned to see beyond the black and white of a topic and into the grayer areas? What other parts of Rocks and Minerals could still be explored? Remember, learning never stops.