Discoveries – Geology

The first topic of the new year for the Discoveries is Geology. For the first three weeks of the term they focused on mountains, rocks, Pangea, plate movements, earthquakes, volcanoes, the rock cycle, coal, petroleum, metals and gems.

Their second week back finished with a wonderful workshop held by Mark Smalley (BBC Radio 4 presenter) and Tom Walmsley (from Nature Connection and Eco Lab), who shared with the group their geological knowledge and expertise. The children wrote poems inspired by the rock collection and, choosing a rock each, they conversed with it and asked it questions! They also learned about fossils and Tom’s pet kestrel ‘Sandy’.

To supplement this learning at home, the children needed to complete one of the following projects…

Mountain Study
Choose a mountain, or mountain range, to research. Focus on how it was formed, as well as other features. Present to the group in their chosen format (could be a poster, a booklet, a 3D model…)

OR

Rock or Metal study
Choose a type of rock, or metal, to research. Focus on its properties and origin. Present to the group in their chosen format (could be a poster, a booklet, a 3D model…).

🏆 Bonus credit was awarded for anyone that rewrites the words of a rock song to be about mountains or rocks!

The children enjoyed presenting their projects to each other using a variety of mediums and presentation styles!