LETTER TO PARENTS

LETTER TO PARENTS Cut here and paste onto school letterhead before making copies.SCIENCE NEWSDear Parents,Our class is beginning an earth science unit. We will be studying rock, one of the mostimportant earth materials. Our investigations will center on the properties and uses ofrock in many of its particle sizes—pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, and clay. The children will beworking extensively with materials, observing, comparing, and communicating what theylearn through their firsthand experiences with earth materials.Your child may ask for help finding a rock or two to contribute to our class rock collection.A rock from your yard or neighborhood is fine. As our study continues, your child will belearning more and more about rocks. Try to find opportunities to talk with your childabout sand, gravel, and soil, and ways people use these materials in construction (asphalt,concrete, bricks, mortar, etc.) and landscaping. This is an engaging theme for a familyouting.We’re looking forward to lots of discoveries and new experiences as we explore the earthmaterials that can be found all around us. If you have any questions or comments, or haveexpertise you would like to share with the class, please write me a note.Sincerely,FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Investigation 1: First RocksNo. 1—Teacher Sheet

NameDateMATH EXTENSION A INVESTIGATION 1: FIRST ROCKSStart with ten rocks.Sort them into three groups.Write a number sentence about your rock groups.FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Math Extension 1ANo. 14—Student Sheet

NameDateMATH EXTENSION B INVESTIGATION 1: FIRST ROCKSSimon collected these rocks.Write a story problem to go with Simon's rocks.FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Math Extension 1BNo. 15—Student Sheet

NameDateMATH EXTENSION A INVESTIGATION 2: RIVER ROCKSAfter separatingtheir river rockswith screens,each group inMr. Lee's classcounted theirlarge and smallpebbles. This iswhat theyfound.LargepebblesSmallpebblesGroup 154Group 223Group 363Group 425Group 552Make a graph of the number of rocks of each size.FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Math Extension 2ANo. 16—Student Sheet

NameDateMATH EXTENSION B INVESTIGATION 2: RIVER ROCKSYour class started a rock store. Everything is made fromrocks! Ian comes to buy some rocks. He has this muchmoney in his pocket.1 5 25 5 10 1 What can he buy?clay-bead necklacepet rock and crystal22 25 35 YESNOpolished pebbles50 YESNOFOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.YESNO6 cobbles5 eachYESNOMath Extension 2BNo. 17—Student Sheet

NameDateMATH EXTENSION A INVESTIGATION 3: USING ROCKSYou and your friends want to make clay bricks athome.1.Each person needs 2 cups of clay. How manycups of clay will you need?2.Each person needs 1 handful of straw. How muchstraw will you need?3.Every two people share 1 cup of water. How manycups of water will you need?FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Math Extension 3ANo. 18—Student Sheet

NameDateMATH EXTENSION B INVESTIGATION 3: USING ROCKSGinny and Harry are building a wall with bricks. Eachrow will have six bricks when they are done. The wall isfour rows tall.1.How many bricks will they need to finish each 34562.How many bricks will they need all together to finishthe wall?FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Math Extension 3BNo. 19—Student Sheet

NameDateMATH EXTENSION INVESTIGATION 4: SOIL EXPLORATIONSJay, Peter, Carol, Sally, and Mark are all in secondgrade. Their class went on a rock hunt.1.If each of the boys found five rocks, how manyrocks did the boys bring back to class?2.If each girl found four rocks, how many rocks didthe girls bring back?3.If all of these students put their rocks in one big pile,how many rocks would there be?4.If one boy then decided to take his rocks back outof the pile, how many would be left?FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Math Extension 4ANo. 20—Student Sheet

NameDateHOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION INVESTIGATION 1: FIRST ROCKSInvent a game that uses different kinds of rocks. Itshould use the properties of the rocks you have.Here are some examples. The goal of the game couldbe to put together similar-looking rocks, like rummy.Or the goal could be finding one rock among many.Or the goal could be to find ways that rocks are thesame, like the game of dominos or Crazy Eights.It could also be a brand new game that you invent.Have a family member help you write the directions forthe game so you can share it in class.FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Home/School Connection 1No. 21—Student Sheet

NameDateHOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION INVESTIGATION 2: RIVER ROCKSPlay the I Spy game. Gather 5–10 objects that share aproperty and place them on a table. A set might becomposed of pencils, pens, flatware, straws, andchopsticks because they are all long and narrow. A setof books and catalogs might constitute a second set, acollection of stuffed toys a third, and so on.Two players play the game. First the two playersorganize the objects from smallest to largest. Then oneplayer secretly chooses one object and compares it tothe others: "I spy something that is bigger thanand smaller than ." The second player guesseswhich object was chosen by player one. If the guess isincorrect, player one provides a second "I spy" hint.Swap roles and play again. Choose new sets ofobjects.FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Home/School Connection 2No. 22—Student Sheet

NameDateHOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION INVESTIGATION 3: USING ROCKSRocks are used as building materials everywhere youlook. We explored our school site for rocks in use.Where are rocks used in your neighborhood?Go on a scientific field trip around your home. Let yourchild act as leader, pointing out where rocks can befound. Look for big rocks in walls and gardens, and tinyrocks, in the form of sand and gravel, in pavement,concrete, bricks, and lots of other places. List the rocksin use for your child to share with the rest of the class.FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Home/School Connection 3No. 23—Student Sheet

NameDateHOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION INVESTIGATION 4: SOIL EXPLORATIONSOur study of rock sizes led us to a study of soil. We nowknow that soil is mostly rock particles and some humus.One important property of soil is its water content. Soilscientists often do tests to see how quickly water soaksinto and passes through the soil. This is called porosity.Test and compare the porosity of soil in two or moreplaces around your home.Use a trowel or metal spoon to dig a shallow hole in thesoil, maybe the size of a soda can, but not very deep.Pour in about a cup of water and time how long thewater takes to completely soak into the soil. Compareflower beds, gardens, edges of lawns, paths,sandboxes, and so on. Keep track of the time neededto soak into different soils and collect a little sample ofthe soil.Remember, in order to compare, the holes should bethe same size, and the amount of water should alwaysbe the same.FOSS Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Module The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCan be duplicated for classroom or workshop use.Home/School Connection 4No. 24—Student Sheet

rock in many of its particle sizes—pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, and clay. The children will be working extensively with mat