Carolyn N. Kinder
The unit on “Crystals: What Are They and What Holds Them Together?” is to help students learn about crystals and their structure. The unit will deal with what is a crystal, the three states of matter, their properties, structure, ions and salts and crystal growth. The students will do some hands on activities with crystal creations, such as crystal on a string, and snowflakes. The unit will deal with methods of growing crystals. One method is by preparing a saturated solution and the other is growing crystals by evaporation. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages that will be discussed.
The unit can be taught to students in grades five through eight. The Science and Math teachers are encouraged to use a team teaching approach. Other features that will be included in the unit are content, lesson plans, resources, and a bibliography.
(Recommended for Science classes, grades 5-8)
Key Words
Crystals Geology Earth Science
