Explore Learning: Gizmos!

For the first two weeks of Science, we have been studying Minerals. I wasn't sure how exciting this unit was going to be. I mean, at first glance, rocks and minerals don't appear too thrilling. Thank goodness I was completely wrong. All it took was some enthusiasm and some awesome technology and my friends were hooked...

Over the past two weeks we've learned lots of cool things like:
a) All rocks are made of minerals
b) Over 3,000 minerals have been identified
c) Minerals can be identified by testing their physical properties (color, luster, streak and hardness)
d) A Diamond (Miss Donofrio's favorite) is the hardest mineral :)

We observed and collected our own data with about 7 types of minerals in class. Friends really enjoyed the hands-on experience. Because we didn't have a huge variety of minerals, we brought in some AWESOME technology to help us out.

explorelearning.com is a website that offers something called 'Gizmos.' Gizmos are online simulations that power inquiry and understanding of Science and Math. The screen shot below shows just a glimpse of our 'Mineral Identification' Gizmo. With this Gizmo, my friends were able to explore 26 different minerals and test all the physical properties with just a few clicks of a mouse! I was impressed with how REAL this virtual experience felt. We collected a ton of data and reached the conclusion that the only way to really identify a mineral is to test all the physical properties. What's really great about this website, is that each friend in my class has a username and password and can access the Gizmos in and out of school. After exploring with the Gizmo for a couple of days, minerals started flooding backpacks and friends couldn't wait to share one they just found or one that had been taking up space on their shelf for years. I feel great because I know how much they got out of the experience and how now they look at something as simple as a rock or mineral very differently than they did just two weeks ago. :)