Mining Matters: Deeper and Deeper, Discovering Rocks and Minerals

Event Date:November 14th to June 2023


Deeper and Deeper In-Service Workshop for Teachers





Activity Overview


In partnership with CIM Northern Gateway, Near North District School Board, Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord, and Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario, Mining Matters will be delivering 30 virtual workshops reaching over 600 students across our vast family of schools. Workshops will be delivered for grade 4 students and available in French and English.


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To celebrate North Bay Mining Week, November 14 to 18, the CIM Northern Gateway Branch is generously subsidizing the delivery of up to 30 Mining Matters synchronous learning workshops for grade 4 classes to help support your delivery of the Rocks, Minerals and Erosion curriculum and promote awareness of the importance of the mining industry to the region. Workshops are approximately one-hour and must be scheduled between November 14, 2022, and June 16, 2023. Teachers may select from one of the following workshop topics:


WORKSHOP OPTION 1: Minerals

Students will learn the difference between rocks and minerals, conducts tests geologist use to examine the physical characteristics of minerals, use their observations to identify mystery minerals and gain an understanding of how minerals are used in daily life. Each student will receive an individual kit containing mineral testing equipment and a mystery mineral sample.


WORKSHOP OPTION 2: Rocks

Explore the rock cycle, gain an understanding of how each of the three rock groups are formed through a series of demonstrations, discover some of the clues to look for to help determine which of the rock group a rock is from, and then use those clues to identify a mystery rock. Each student will receive a mystery rock sample, magnifying glass and materials to create a model of one of the three rock groups.


WORKSHOP OPTION 3: Mining

Explore the mining cycle, compare and contrast surface and underground mines, discuss the costs and benefits of mining, and learn about responsibilities to the environment and communities. Each student will receive a cookie mine, satellite image of a landscape, play money, mining tools, an environmental permit and a rock sample.


WORKSHOP OPTION 4: What on Earth is in your stuff?

Examine maps to locate where rocks, minerals and metals are found in Canada. Learn that everything in our world that isn't grown is made using non-renewable resources that are extracted from the Earth. Work in teams to develop and present a short story that connects rocks, minerals, metals to your everyday life. Discuss finite resources and the importance of conservation by reducing, reusing, recycling and being a responsible consumer. Each student will receive materials to make the card game "What's Yours is Mined", copper wire to create a metal sculpture, and four mini samples of minerals used in everyday life.

Please respond with your name, email, phone number, school, grade level(s), workshop selection, language of instruction, number of students and two date/time choices to provide some flexibility with scheduling. Please also confirm if this is an in-class workshop (one computer, projector and screen), or if this is a remote workshop for students learning at home.






Pathway Reflections


The Mining Matters workshop is an Experiential Learning (EL) opportunity that uses a guided model of discovery and exploration that connects curriculum to the world around us.

Experiential Learning is a trusted teaching and learning approach that encourages students to participate in an engaging learning activity, reflect thoughtfully upon the meaning of the activity with respect to their understanding and skill development, and to apply their knowledge to new and related challenges.

The Mining Matters Reflections tool is a resource you may use to engage your students and enrich the overall learning experience of the workshop. The questions included are founded on the principles outlined in the Experiential Learning Cycle.

Downloadable EL Mining Matters Reflection Form

We can be mindful of and think about the questions in Part 1 DURING our experience. We can record our thinking and respond to them after.
Part 1 - PARTICIPATE
The 'What' - Joining in the Deeper and Deeper Workshop
Think about what you are doing during the workshop. What are you exploring? What are you learning?

What are you thinking about during the workshop? What are you feeling?
We can respond to the Questions in Part 2 and part 3 after the experience.
Part 2 - REFLECT
The 'So What?' - We consider what we are learning from the workshop experience.
We can reflect on the workshop experience and ask ourselves these questions:

What have you learned about yourself? Did you enjoy the workshop? Why or why not? Explain.

What have you learned about other people?

What have you learned about the world?

Have you learned about any future opportunities (e.g. new things you might like to explore or careers you learned more about)?

Have you learned about anything else? Explain.
Part 3 - APPLY
The 'Now What?' - Consider future learning and pathways.
Has my learning from the Deeper and Deeper workshop guided me to want to know more about the topics or about careers in mining? Explain.

What questions do I have now?
(You might think about: careers in mining, learning that could happen at school or at home, places to explore, or other questions.)

Accessing the Mining Matters Reflections PDF to print to share with your students to complete.

The information your students share with you can support you in your planning following this experience. Engaging in this reflective process supports students' development of metacognitive skills as well as provides a form of self-assessment of and for learning.

If you would like to know more about the Experiential Learning Cycle and Experiential Learning visit Experiential Learning for Educators.

Experiential Learning Process Image





Resources


Celebrate North Bay Mining Week Flyer [EN]
Celebrate North Bay Mining Week Flyer [FR]

Deeper and Deeper Inservice Workshop Flyer [EN]
Aller au fond des choses: À la découverte des roches et des minéraux [FR]
Explore the Mining Industry Promo Video

About Mining Matters

Mining Matters is a charitable organization dedicated to educating young people to develop knowledge and awareness of Earth sciences, the minerals industry, and their roles in society. Mining Matters offers educational resources that meet provincial curriculum expectations. The organization provides current information about rocks, minerals, metals, mining and the diverse career opportunities available in the minerals industry.

MiningMatters.ca

About CIM Northern Gateway Branch

The Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM) Northern Gateway Branch is volunteer driven and is focused on bringing a higher level of understanding of the minerals industry to the region and promoting mining to the next generation of industry leaders. To achieve this, the Branch is involved in a number of educational initiatives with all levels of education including regional post-secondary institutions specializing in the minerals industry.

https://branches.cim.org/northern-gateway/home/