4th Grade Geology
GRAVEL PIT
1/2 Day Trip to Fox Science Preserve
(Morning trip: 9:30-11:30; Afternoon trip: 12:20-2:00)
(Teachers, please feel free to cut and paste this text into a new document to personalize the letter for your class. If possible, please also consider sending the letter digitally to save paper.)
Family Letter Translations (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish)
Students start learning as soon as they board the bus! Minerals and rock formation are discussed, and samples are passed around to study.
Michigan geologic history is presented, with concentration on the facts that Michigan:
A.) was once under the ocean (350 - 550 million years ago) and this is why we find
fossils in some rocks (click images below for full screen view); and
B.) was changed by the GLACIERS (the most recent ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago) - these massive ice sheets transported materials, altered the surface (topography), and deposited lakes, including the GREAT LAKES.
Out in the field, students use observational skills and critical thinking to discuss rock samples and geological phenomena they find. Students are encouraged to collect a variety of sample types, and to consider if the sample is IGNEOUS, SEDIMENTARY, or METAMORPHIC.
Limestone is broken open by naturalist guides so the students can look for fossils. Students smell the sample and discuss the distinct oily smell. For teachers, parents and naturalists, here is a video illustrating FOSSIL FUEL formation and extraction.
For teachers, here is a VIDEO SERIES from the University of Oklahoma, covering 35 geologic concepts at the college course level.
Teachers can also find lots of geology teaching resources on the Earth Science Week Website.
Russell Perigo provided this slide show of rock samples from Fox Science Preserve. It will help students determine what types of rocks they collected.
TEACHERS - you can print this guide for use in the classroom. Russell Perigo developed this for the Sally Ride Science Fair. Students can place the guide on desks and put their "finds" in the appropriate area.
GLACIERS: this article explains how glaciers shaped Michigan
Why Michigan is shaped like a mitten: A Glacial Review
There have been four Ice Ages in the Earth’s history. In the last Ice Age, the Pleistocene Epoch began and lasted from approximately two million years to 12,000 years ago. During this time, warm and cool temperatures alternated and glaciers retreated and advanced in interglacial periods. Around the world, glaciers carved and influenced much of today’s landscape, including the Great Lakes and the state of Michigan.
Like bodies of water, the first glaciers flowed south from what is now Canada seeking the areas of least resistance. It is believed that the Great Lakes were once ancient riverbeds, providing the glaciers perfect pathways south.
With each advance and retreat of the glaciers, the shape and water level of the lakes changed. These changes weren’t happening in a matter of months, but over thousands of years.
by Hannah Ettema
On the bus, students may see a rock that has been shaped into a sphere. Click on the link below to see how Mr. Sczcygiel and students were able to make the perfectly "round" rock you see on the left! The picture on the right shows how the slabs (cross-sections of rocks) were made so that students could see "inside" different types of rock.
First, TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME, then click HERE.