Petrographic Microscope Home Kit for Smartphones part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Lynne Elkins, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
This is a useful set of design instructions to build a home microscope kit for illustrating the properties of polarizing/petrographic microscopes with a smartphone camera. It can be used for any number of class ...

Virtual Lab: "Big Nine" Silicates in Thin Section part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Catherine Macris, Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
This virtual lab activity uses Virtual Microscope to help students create their own ranked lists of diagnostic properties for the "Big Nine" silicate minerals/groups, which includes quartz, muscovite, ...

Creating a Partial Pressure Diagram for the Cu-CO2-O2-H2O System part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Terri Woods, East Carolina University
Students will be guided through the procedure for creating a partial-pressure diagram in the low-temperature system Cu-CO2-O2-H2O system for the minerals cuprite, tenorite, native copper, azurite, and malachite. ...

Mineral Identification part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Katryn Wiese, City College of San Francisco
Mineral Identification online (developed for remote learning during COVID-19 pandemic); students will explore the various characteristics of minerals and then apply them to identify unknowns.

Understanding Polyhedral Diagrams part of Spatial Thinking Workbook:Teaching Activities
Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students identify individual polyhedra in a variety of diagrams and answer questions about shared oxygens in diagrams of common silicate structures.

Critical Minerals Summit part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Clementine Hamelin, William & Mary
This activity combines elements of role-play, jigsaw, and galley walk activities to introduce students to critical minerals, their place in the context of geology, their societal and economic importance as well as ...

Utilizing X-Ray Instrumentation Combined with 3D Printing to Increase Student's Conceptualization and Understanding of Unit Cells part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
James MacDonald, Florida Gulf Coast University
3D printing in the geosciences has been occurring for more than a decade (e.g., Hasiuk, 2014). It can be an easy and effective method to help teach landforms, fossils, porosity, and other areas of the geosciences ...

Exploring Critical Minerals part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Hannah Aird, California State University, Chico Karen Viskupic, Boise State University Katherine Ryker, University of South Carolina Rachel Teasdale, California State University, Chico Doug Czajka, Utah Valley University
This active learning activity has students working in small groups to understand the geologic context, global sources and usage of a specific metal. Metals considered are Ni, Li, Cr and REE, as well as a prework ...

Catology: adding fun to mineralogy and petrology part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Emma Hunt, Furman University
This activity set uses cats, the ultimate meme, to help students build conceptual models to better understand concepts in mineralogy and petrology. Cat memes bring fun to the classroom, which helps maintain ...

Crossword Puzzles to Review Mineral Concepts part of Activities
Laura Wetzel, Eckerd College
Students complete a crossword puzzle to review the physical properties of minerals that are helpful in hand specimen identification. Mineral names and characteristics are particularly well-suited for a crossword format. Two versions are provided, one at an introductory level and one for more advanced undergraduates. Instructor files provided are easy to customize.

Rock & Mineral Bingo part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Kate Pound, North Hennepin Community College
This is a rock and mineral 'Bingo' that is based on knowledge and skill (not luck). It was designed as an entertaining and interactive means of developing and improving student rock and mineral ...

Gestures for Miller Indices part of Spatial Thinking Workbook:Teaching Activities
Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College; Barb Dutrow, Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Students use one hand to gesture crystallographic axes and the other hand to represent planes designated by Miller Indices.

Comparing Phyllosilicate Structures part of Spatial Thinking Workbook:Teaching Activities
Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students compare the chemistry and structures of biotite, muscovite, and chlorite.

Deciphering Mineral Structure Diagrams part of Spatial Thinking Workbook:Teaching Activities
Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students compare mineral structures shown in ball-and-stick, space filling, and polyhedral diagrams.

Understanding Mineral Cleavage via Gestures part of Spatial Thinking Workbook:Teaching Activities
Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students use gesture to convey information about mineral cleavage and the relationship between crystal structures and cleavage planes.