Michael Conte, Jr.
In the beginning . . . sounds like a fairy tale yet is the point that we must start our discussion and interestingly enough is the source of many questions asked by the children. Children walk to school every day and see the results of geologic activity, yet either ignore it completely or take it for granted. The children at our school can see a major geological representation of this activity, West Rock, yet would be hard pressed to discuss or detail specific information about it.
However, just to say here is Connecticut with its Western and Eastern Highlands, Central Valley and Coastal Lowland would leave a tremendous void of information necessary to draw conclusions and make inferences. It is with this in mind that I do start, In the beginning . . . , and delve into our geologic history. In this section the children will gain a knowledge of the many facets involved with the formation of the Solar System, specifically the Earth. During the unit of study the children will be able to discuss the continental drift theory, the formation of volcanoes, valleys and the mountain building theories. All of these events and theories discussed will provide an excellent mechanism to help the children develop the higher level thinking processes of critical and deductive reasoning and extrapolation based on evidence supplied. The children will then be able to use these skills in discussing the formation of Connecticut.
As we narrow down the scope of our discussion and center on the geologic activity relevant to Connecticut, the children will be able to list and describe these geologic forces of glaciation, erosion and volcanic and mountain building. The children will be able to provide information of the types of rocks native to Connecticut, how they were formed, their location and finally the importance they had in forming the industry of the state.