A PROJECT ON ROCKS

Greetings from beautiful Grafton, Illinois, (population 1,500) on the banks of the Illinois River, northwest of Alton, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. We have been eager to share our experiences with our Project on Rocks which began on February 19 and ended on April 19 (today).

We worked together- (Dot Schuler and 21 second graders worked on the project for a part of each day, and Eileen Borgia, Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, visited once a week. Dot wrote a daily summary of events; Eileen wrote on the days she was there. Our thoughts, questions, and reflections were shared daily on e-mail. Now we want to share our long story with you.

Phase 1

To begin the project on rocks, Dot made a web to become aware of her own knowledge of rocks, and to brainstorm the different avenues of investigation that the children might pursue in their study of rocks.

A letter was sent to parents, explaining that we would be studying rocks, and requesting that each child bring in a collection of rocks in an egg carton or ice cube tray. It included an invitation to families, relatives and friends, to share their expertise on rocks.

On the first day, Dot told three personal stories about rocks and invited them to think of personal events that involved rocks. She suggested thinking about famous rocks that they had visited, games played with rocks, jewelry or other things made of rocks, a special rock that they like, a special place they like to go to look for rocks, etc.

Through a "Three-Step Interview" technique and through a pre-reading strategy called "cubing," the children shared, discussed and wrote about their previous experiences with rocks.

Phase 2

Phase 2 began with planning for our field trip to the hills adjacent to the school. For about a week after our field trip, we investigated rocks in activity centers. The children: painted memories; dictated stories; graphed the number of rocks in each student's collection; categorized rocks; and made Venn diagrams, comparing and contrasting the lower hill to the upper hill.

Three experts visited. The first two guest speakers were geologists and the third expert showed the children how to make a rock garden in a transparent sphere.

Later, the children conducted experiments to determine various properties of rocks. They used balance scales and gram weights for weighing; magnifying glasses to determine luster and finer detail; water for buoyancy and absorption; magnets to test for metals; plastic, pennies, and nails to test for hardness; and vinegar to test for calcite. They recorded their findings on rock and mineral charts.

Our formal experimentation was followed by investigations on their own. Two different groups interviewed people in the school. One group asked what rocks are made of; the other group asked what rocks are used for. Interviews were documented with photographs and displayed on posters.

Jonathan wanted to find out how rocks change, and froze a rock in a cup of water. He also froze plain water in a vial with a lid. He observed that the water in the vial "higher-upped." His discovery was recorded in a flow chart. Actually, the rock made no changes, so he speculated that it takes much time for changes to occur. He also changed the shape and size of two pieces of sandstone by rubbing them together. Another group planted lima bean seeds in a clear glass and then poured plaster of paris over the top. The question was, "Can the seed grow through the rock?" Another group made a papier-mâché model of a volcano.

They also made a diagram to represent the ground underneath the volcano. Another team made a papier-mâché model of Devil's Tower, a National Monument in Wyoming that one of the children had visited. Shannon and Kayla created a puppet show. Others made a rock from plaster of paris mixed with other small rocks.

Two children were in charge of transforming our wall into a bluff, with the assistance of one of their fathers! Cinquain poems were mounted on papier-mâché rocks to be placed at the bottom of the bluff.

Throughout the project, reading, writing, dialogue through journals, and discussions about the investigations helped the children share their knowledge and experiences. Children often chose to stay and work in lieu of afternoon recess. Parents and members of the community were hearing about the project from the children, and occasionally sent in an object, a picture, or an offer to help.

Phase 3

By early April, we sensed that the children were growing tired of their study of rocks and it was time to enter Phase 3 and bring our project to a close. Our beautiful three-dimensional bluff, complete with paper vines, trees, small rocks, an occasional bird, a cave at the bottom, and houses on top, was the focal point of our final display. In Nelson's words, "It was something for people to remember." Invitations were sent to parents, colleagues, and the community. Parents volunteered to provide refreshments.

Posters explained each experiment. Each team kept a "boulder folder" during the project, and all of our representations (stories, poems, activities, etc.) were stored there. Each team selected work samples for the display, making sure that each child contributed at least two finished products. Children’s paintings and writings adorned all the walls.

The project on rocks culminated on a warm, clear evening in mid-April when sixty-four people gathered in our classroom to discover what the children had learned about rocks. The superintendent, principal, teachers, parents, siblings and neighbors all listened to a child-produced puppet show on rocks, and then circulated in our crowded space, viewing our displays and listening to the children's explanations.

Our volcano "erupted" many times, to the delight of our guests. With "rock and roll" music softly playing in the background, we heard positive comments, such as, "They did so much work," "This really turned out great," "You've worked so hard," "You don't even need explanations, the displays tell it all."

One mom even said, "So what's next?" Our project on water, conceived during observations of condensation in our rock garden / terrarium, is already in Phase 1!

Dot Schuler 

Grafton Elementary School
PO Box 205
Grafton, IL 62037

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Last revised: February 18, 1997