Getting Into It!

Love getting "down and dirty" and really doing learning versus just sit and soak it in. Here are two classroom events that I thought you'd enjoy seeing!!!

Event #1: Testing for Calcite
The students learned that calcite reacts with cold acid by producing many bubbles which either rise to the surface (think about boiling water on your stove) or stick to the surface of the calcite. When we tested 4 rocks we observed that the bubbling effect looked different in the vinegar than the calcite, so we decided to evaporate the vinegar to see what solids would be left behind. A geologist in the field would use hydrochloric acid for this test, but we used white vinegar for ours. Shown in these pictures are our results!!!

Photo 1: (labeled according to location on the tray)

Top: plain vinegar - our cold acid

Row 1: Marble (#3) and Basalt (#1) - both rocks

Row 2: Sandstone (#4) and Limestone (#2) - both rocks

Bottom: Calcite - mineral

Calcite - solid material reminded us of powdered sugar or crunchy snow

Limestone - this rock clearly shows evidence of calcite!

Sandstone - this rock had a solid remaining, but the structure of the crystal patterns and color was noticeably different from the calcite. After this test we were able to conclude that sandstone does not contain calcite.

Yesterday we began Unit 5 in math, which focuses on larger numbers. Today we practiced writing, reading, and ordering numbers through the ten thousands (10,000s). We learned a game called Number Top-It, and the kids loved the strategy involved in placing each digit to try to create the largest number!

One last reminder...tomorrow is Spirit Day!!! Wear your Westside or Packer apparel!!!