Major themes or topics: rocks, minerals, gems, crystal, identification, elements, atoms

Key content: Students explore gems and mineral specimens of every size, shape, and color of the rainbow to understand how rocks and minerals are part of our everyday life.

Focus questions: What is the difference between rocks and minerals? Why are minerals important to our daily life? How can we identify minerals?

DCPS alignment: Grade 4 ELA, Unit 4 - Rocks and Minerals