1st Session 

Elements, minerals and rocks

Task 1

 

The minerals industry is about quality of life, both for today and tomorrow. The minerals industry produces the raw materials for many of the items you use each day: the house you live in, the foods you eat, the clothes you wear,and the car your father drives. Everything from lipstick to breakfast cereal—even your toothpaste—could not be made without the minerals industry.

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Mining is the first step toward extracting the mineral resource. Mining is the initial selection process where the material that is desired is separated from the non desired material. Engineering is required to identify the resource and to finally optimize the extraction of the mineral resource. But, before going to the mine´s world, we have to differentiate elements, rocks and minerals: 

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TASK 

Write at least four sentences using the Present simple, an adverb of frequency where we can see how raw materials are used to make many of the items you use each day. For example: 

"I always clean my teeth with a brush and toothpaste. The toothpaste contains calcium and sodium".

iPhone (aluminum)

T-shirt (cotton)

Utensils like knives, forks, and spoons (some metals)

 

Now we are going to practice close observation of a mineral by drawing it; to learn what products are made from that mineral; to practice use of creative language arts, and drawing.  

Procedure:

1. On the top of your paper write the name of the mineral you have chosen.

2. Underneath, draw and color a picture of the mineral leaving at least 3 inches at the bottom.

3. At the bottom of your page, write a haiku* that relates to the mineral you have chosen. Try to think about specific aspects of the mineral that makes it different from other minerals.

* Haiku is a poem in three lines, with line of 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively. For example, for the mineral quartz:

          Quartz.

  White, clear, colors.

So pretty and so useful

  Find it everywhere

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4. What are some things made of brass/copper/ iron....?

On the back of the paper, list products that use now and

used in the past the mineral you have chosen and write

sentences with them.

For example: There was gold in my necklace.  

In the past, the lamps used to be made of bronze.

5. Read your Haiku to the group.