This collection uses primary sources to explore twentieth-century mining in the Mojave Desert. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

This article discusses geologic misconceptions held by teachers and students and provides resources for formative assessment and teaching correct concepts.

This lesson teaches the students about the different layers of the Earth and how they work together. Students will be able to: Name and label the four layers of the Earth; Identify the main minerals that make up each layer; Explain how scientists formulated the idea that the Earth is comprised of four layers.

This online article provides explanation for how to maintain energy and health for an active body. Text for this article is appropriate for the upper elementary levels. A Spanish version of the article and a read-aloud option are also provided on the site.

These thematic lessons introduce students to the various phases involved in mining, different types of mines, how ore is processed, how mineral deposits were formed, how modern mines can operate safely and sustainably, and why minerals are important to our everyday lives.

This theme explores the different methods that can be used to extract and purify valuable minerals from mined ore. Students will conduct a series of experiments to learn about the processes of crushing, milling, extraction, leaching, flotation and purification.

This article provides links to inquiry-based, hands-on science lessons that teach elementary students about rocks and minerals. Literacy lessons and integrations are included for each science lesson.

This activity simulates the extraction of limited, nonrenewable resources from a "mine," so students can experience first-hand how resource extraction becomes more difficult over time. Students gather data and graph their results to determine the peak in resource extraction. They learn about the limitations of nonrenewable resources, and how these resources are currently used.

Students learn about minerals and the basic information about the ten kinds of minerals (macrominerals and trace minerals). Text for this article is appropriate for the upper elementary grade levels. A Spanish version of the article and a read-aloud option are also provided on the site.

This lesson introduces students to the natural resources that help plants grow. Students will work in small groups to explore natural resource items and discuss their importance to humans. The teacher then shares with students a booklet about the natural environment, which provides information via a series of concept maps and allows recording of students' experiences and thoughts through both writing and drawing. Students will also read, discuss, and illustrate booklets about seeds and plants.

Students will investigate the "hardness" characteristics of minerals. They will scratch the samples with fingernails, pennies, and nails and then classify the mineral sample according to the Mohs Hardness Scale.

Suggestions and resources for hands-on activities to teach elementary students about rocks and minerals.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explores the basic characteristics of rocks and minerals, the types of rocks, the rock cycle, and the specimens found in the polar regions. Find lessons that allow students to observe rock and mineral specimens, perform classification exercises, and read to develop their content knowledge.

This article assembles free resources from the Rocks and Minerals issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and 3-5.

This resource was created as a virtual lab demonstration to help students understand the composition of rocks in the earth's crust. It practices using a dichotomous key. The presentation is set up as a storyboard to help students understand how rocks in the earth's crust consist of only a few types of minerals. Scientists use the physical and chemical properties of rocks to identify the mineral composition in the rock, thus identifying the rock type.  I use this interactive presentation to introduce rocks and minerals. Typically it is the precursor to a lesson on the rock cycle. It is highly interactive and gives the students immediate feedback. This is very useful in the e-learning classroom environment.