The Rocks Project: The first field trip

Phase 2 began with planning for our field trip to the hills adjacent to the school. Our tasks included: gathering data, measuring, sketching, and studying rocks. We went out into the field (actually right outside our window) equipped with clipboards, pencils, paper, tape measures, and magnifying glasses. Many discoveries were made! The children measured rocks with their tape measures. When the tape measure wasn't long enough, they learned how to add on with a new measurement. They compared their own body lengths to the lengths of large rocks. They became more aware of the differences between inches and centimeters, and when to use each one. 

They found a shell, a worm, a katydid, some grass, a plant, some moss, some water or sweat all on rocks! As we walked to an adjacent hillside, we discovered large rocks embedded under the road, a rock shaped like the state of Illinois, trees growing out of rocks, a small rock holding up a big one, and a small cave next to a rock. We walked down the road about 50 feet, and investigated a bluff extending upward about 100 feet. We noticed layers, cracks, holes and other formations in rocks, a piece of metal stuck in a rock, and a cave in the bottom of the bluff that had been eroded by the elements.

They estimated the height of the bluff. They hypothesized which was stronger, a tree growing out of a rock or the rock itself. They speculated about how the cave got there. Lying on their backs, they observed the bluff from another perspective. Upon our return to the classroom, we documented a long list of our discoveries.

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Last revised: February 18, 1997