| Lesson Number |
At-Home Activity
(Parental involvement and/or supervision are essential while
students carry out these activities.) |
4.1
Earth: A Layered Planet |
Brainstorm with family members other
models that can be used to roughly represent the layered Earth (e.g.,
the human cell: the nucleus in the centre, the nuclear membrane,
the cytoplasm and the cell membrane). |
4.2
Minerals: Building Blocks of Rocks |
Research (via the Internet or library)
your birthstone and those of your family members. |
4.3
How Minerals are Mined and Processed |
- Share what you have learned in this lesson about underground
and strip mines and tailings ponds with your family.
- Inquire in your community about whether there are, or have
ever been, any mines in the area. If so, what kind(s)?
|
4.4
Inquiry Investigation: Mining Chocolate Chips |
Look around your home for materials
other than chocolate chip cookies that could be used to conduct
the investigation in this lesson. If you repeated the investigation
using a new material, what changes would you need to make to the
experimental design? Try it!
|
4.5
Explore an Issue: Mining for Minerals |
Survey friends and family members to
determine what position they would take if the scenario presented
in this lesson were to take place in their community. Apply what
you have learned to your classroom assignment. |
4.6
Erosion and Weathering |
Discuss with a grandparent of senior
member of your community the landforms that existed in the community
in their youth. Compare their descriptions to how the landforms
appear today. |
4.7
Learning About Soil |
- Ask family members if they are aware of cases where many trees
or other vegetation were removed from areas within your community
over a long period of time. What were the results?
- Discuss with family members why they might use peat moss in
gardening projects.
|
4.8
Inquiry Investigation: Components of Soil |
n/a
|
4.9
Soil and Plant Growth |
Examine the types of plants growing around
your home. Are they planted in the right kind of soil? If not, how
could you improve the soil conditions? (Consult the library or Internet
for reference materials, if necessary.) |
4.10
Case Study: Farming and the Soil |
Contact family members or acquaintances
in the farming community and discuss what you have learned in this
lesson. Ask what measures they have adopted to manage their soil. |
4.11
Erosion: Carving the Landscape |
Make a list of concepts or terms that
you find difficult to understand. Discuss these with family members
and/or seek clarification from your teacher. |
4.12
Inquiry Investigation: Mountains to Molehills |
Are there any areas on your family property
or on nearby properties that are susceptible to water erosion?
If so, apply what you have learned in this investigation to help
your parents manage the problem area.
|
4.13
Mountains to Rock |
Go on a hike with adult family members
to search for sedimentary rock formations. Examine the rock face
to differentiate layers of sedimentary rock. |
4.14
Fossils: Rock's Timekeepers |
n/a |
4.15
Case Study: Drifting Continents |
Fill the kitchen sink with hot tap
water, being careful to avoid burns. (a) Place cardboard cutouts
of the plates into the water. Describe what happens.(b) Add a
few drops of dish soap to the water. Describe what happens.
How does this help to explain continental drift? (The cardboard
plates will float close together when first placed into the sink
once the water has settled. When the soap is added, they move
apart. This demonstration simulates how the plates moved when
Pangaea broke apart. Addition of the soap simulates the forces
that were at play, causing the movement of the plates.) |
4.16
Moving Plates |
Using two sponges to demonstrate,
explain the way plates move to a sibling, parent or relative.
|
4.17
Inquiry Investigation: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Mountain Ranges |
Brainstorm with family members what you
think should be included in an emergency earthquake survival kit
for your home. Write a list and determine a good place in your home
where the survival kit should be stored. |
4.18
Career Profile: Cracking the Secrets of the Earth's Crust |
Visit the following site and learn
how to build your own seismograph:
Build Your Own Seismograph.
Work with an adult family member to build one and test it to
see if it will differentiate wave magnitudes. Remember to wear
safety glasses during construction! |
4.19
Design Investigation: Preparing for Earthquakes |
Research the earthquake-resistant features
of the CN Tower in Toronto. |
4.20
Mountains from Rocks |
n/a
|
4.21
Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks |
Explore in and around your home to find
examples of sedimentary rock. For what types of things are these
rocks used? Why is it unlikely that you will find igneous or metamorphic
rocks in Ontario? |
4.22
Volcanoes: Mountains from Magma |
n/a |
| Design
Challenge |
Note to parents: Since the Design
Challenge may be used by teachers as a performance assessment
opportunity, parents should consult with the teacher to determine
the appropriate degree of parental involvement in their child's
completion of the Design Challenge.
|
| Unit
Summary |
The Unit Summary in your textbook
lists all the learning expectations you have covered in the unit
and identifies the specific lessons in which the knowledge and
skills have been developed.
You can use the Unit Summary to help you create a personal study
guide in preparation for an end-of-unit test:
- Copy down the list of learning expectations from your textbook.
These are grouped under three headings: Understanding Concepts,
Applying Skills, Making Connections.
- For each learning expectation, locate the appropriate lesson(s)
in the unit where the expectation was covered. These are listed
at the end of each expectation (e.g., 2.1).
- Flip to the appropriate lesson(s) for each expectation and
make study notes of the key ideas or skills you learned.
|
