Science Challenge Description

1. Tiffany and I are doing a science project focused on objective 3 for 2nd grade involving investigating properties and uses of rocks, specifically sorting rocks based upon color, hardness, texture, layering, and particle size. In groups, the students will classify the color, hardness, texture, layering, and particle size of 5 rocks on a prepared matrix. They will use a digital microscope to study the rocks and illustrate/describe the features on the matrix. Then, they will compare and contrast the rocks according to directions on a prepared worksheet. The worksheet will sort the rocks by similarities between the features studied.
2. The content is investigating and comparing properties of rocks. The pedagogy involved is mainly hands-on experiences to discover the content. There will be directions and clarification on how to fill out the matrix and worksheet. This is good for the content because the content will be best learned and retained by actually observing the information on real rocks rather than simply reading or being lectured on them. The technology used will be a digital microscope. This will greatly aid in getting more detailed descriptions of the rocks, which accomplishes the learning of the content more completely.