4th grade Mystery Science Rock Study

The study of rocks in 4th grade includes erosion and weathering. Often there is confusion on the concepts and hands on activities prove to make experiences stick out in a child's mind. In comes Mystery Science! The start of the unit is "Could a Volcano Pop Up in Your Backyard?" I love to see their faces when the question is posed and the video launches in to the story of Paricutin. We take a poll and they are pretty sure it could never happen but soon doubt creeps in and then you have them! Partners are  picked and they must graph volcanos around the world and put the maps together.

This is a great activity and the discussion that comes from their observations is the best part. The lesson is so well organized and fits the time frame perfect.  The next lesson deals with volcano classification and we experiment with thin vs thick lava.

Here they are in action.

They are so engaged and working with one another to test out the samples.  Again the conversation that happens is my favorite part of the lesson.  If you haven't tried out Mystery Science you can give it a free trial and then see for yourself how well likes the lessons are for all age groups.  

The third lesson leads students to wonder will a mountain last forever? Just watch...

Needless to say we had fun finding out!