Suggestions and resources for hands-on activities to teach elementary students about rocks and minerals.

This informational text introduces students to the discipline of geology, and specifically polar geology. Students meet Julie Codispoti, assistant curator of the U.S. Polar Rock Repository, and learn how she overcame an initial dislike of science to become a geologist. Students also learn that rocks, like books, can teach us about the world long ago. The text is written at a grade two through grade three reading level. This version is a full-color PDF that can be printed, cut and folded to form a book. Each book contains color photographs and illustrations.

This informational text introduces students to the discipline of geology, and specifically polar geology. Students meet Julie Codispoti, assistant curator of the U.S. Polar Rock Repository, and learn how she overcame an initial dislike of science to become a geologist. Students learn that rocks, like books, can teach us about the world long ago. The text is written at a grade two through grade three reading level. This is a PDF containing the informational text and a glossary.

This informational text introduces students to the discipline of geology, and specifically polar geology. Students learn that rocks, like books, can teach us about the world long ago. The text is written at a kindergarten through grade one reading level. This version is a full-color PDF that can be printed, cut and folded to form a book. Each book contains color photographs and illustrations.

This informational text introduces students to the discipline of geology, and specifically polar geology. Students learn that rocks, like books, can teach us about the world long ago. The text is written at a kindergarten through grade one reading level. This is a PDF containing the informational text and a glossary.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explores the basic characteristics of rocks and minerals, the types of rocks, the rock cycle, and the specimens found in the polar regions. Find lessons that allow students to observe rock and mineral specimens, perform classification exercises, and read to develop their content knowledge.

This article assembles free resources from the Rocks and Minerals issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and 3-5.

This informational text introduces students to the life cycle and migration of the sanderling, a bird that winters on beaches in the Southern United States and South America but breeds in the Arctic during the summer months. The text is written at a grade two through grade three reading level. This version is a full-color PDF that can be printed, cut and folded to form a book. Each book contains color photographs and illustrations.

This informational text introduces students to the life cycle and migration of the sanderling, a bird that winters on beaches in the Southern United States and South America but breeds in the Arctic during the summer months. The text is written at a grade two through grade three reading level. This is a PDF containing the informational text and a glossary.

This informational text introduces students to the life cycle and migration of the sanderling, a bird that winters on beaches in the Southern United States and South America but breeds in the Arctic during the summer months. The text is written at a kindergarten through grade one reading level. This version is a full-color PDF that can be printed, cut and folded to form a book.

This informational text introduces students to the life cycle and migration of the sanderling, a bird that winters on beaches in the Southern United States and South America but breeds in the Arctic during the summer months. The text is written at a kindergarten through grade one reading level. This is a PDF containing the informational text and a glossary.

This article reviews the book "Using Science Notebooks in Elementary Classrooms" by Michael Klentschy and provides basic information about the role of notebooks in instruction and assessment.

This article describes how elementary teachers can use modified writer's workshops to help students organize information in their science notebooks.

This article highlights science lessons about mammals, mammal diversity and adaptations, and polar mammals. Literacy integrations and alignment to national standards are included.

This article provides geography lessons to teach elementary students about the polar regions. Literacy extensions are included for each lesson.

This article describes how the 2007 film The Golden Compass portrays the polar regions.

In this issue of the free online magazine Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, learn about the tools and technologies scientists use to study the land, ice, ocean, atmosphere, and living creatures of the polar regions. Students can also learn about the day-to-day life of a scientist working at the South Pole and plan their own research expedition.

This article assembles free resources from the Science at the Poles issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5.

This article features children's literature about scientists and scientific research in the Arctic and in Antarctica.

This article describes the basics of thermography or thermal imaging, and how this technique can inspire a data collection activity to teach about heat transfer and energy efficiency.