![[Different kinds of rocks you might find]](../ice3.gif)
Teacher background:
- Most of the rocks we find in Central New York are grayish rocks made
of sediment (sand, lime, and mud).
- We also find colorful rocks with crystals. These are very common in
the Adirondack mountains in northeastern New York and in southern Canada.
- During the Ice Age glaciers scraped southward from Canada, and, like
bulldozers, they pushed colorful crystal pebbles and boulders along
in front of them.
- When glaciers melted they left these colorful pebbles behind.
- These colorful pebbles are clues that glaciers were once in your neighborhood!
Teacher instructions:
- Take a walk and have each student collect several small rocks from
around the school.
- Have the students sort the rocks into three categories:
- Gray rocks - these are rocks made of sediment. Some might even
contain fossils!
- Colorful crystal rocks - these are rocks that may have been carried
to your neighborhood by a glacier 12,000 years ago.
- Mystery rocks - these may be pieces of concrete or rocks carried
into your neighborhood by people.
- How many colorful rocks did you find?
- How many gray rocks did you find?
- Did you find any mystery rocks?
- Did you find any rocks with fossils in them?
Main Message: Classifying rocks can answer questions about the history
of an area.
Connections: Activity 7, "Ice Age Mud from an Ancient
Pond," will allow students to classify rocks and fossils from the
mud surrounding a Mastodon.
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The
Paleontological Research Institution