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LESSON PLAN FOR PLAY-DOH MINING
Episode Two 202 – Forces That Shaped Indiana (Earth Science)
Dig down deep enough in Indiana and you'll find the elements that make our world rock-solid, from simple
gypsum to the sedimentary rocks that makes the Hoosier state famous around the world. Where does it all
come from, what is the force behind it all, and just as importantly, where does it all go? Science teacher and
host Rick Crosslin takes you around the state to show you how Indiana has been sculpted by natural forces
over thousands of years. No matter how you cut it, Indiana rocks!
Funded by:
Dr. Laura Hare Charitable Trust
Indiana Department of Education – Center for School Improvement and Performance
Veolia Water Indianapolis
Overview
Students will gain an understanding of the process of mining natural resources.
Background information
Natural resources such as coal, gas and oil are often hard to find and difficult to extract from the Earth. The
techniques used to locate these resources are map reading, geology, core samples, and understanding the
Earth’s rock layers. Geologists, map readers and other scientist study data to interpret where natural
resources can be found. Oil, gas and cola are fossil fuels from living materials. Often scientist use index fossils
to find these deposits. Index fossils are fossils of organisms that are associated with a particular time period
or ancient environment. Much like an index card in a library – an index fossil helps locate natural resources.
By knowing where index fossils are found we can infer the location of the natural resources. It is very
important to know how big and how rich the natural resource deposits are, therefore scientists make core
drillings. A core drilling determines the size and quality of the natural resource. The core drillings are very
expensive so scientists must use research to determine where and how many they will use.
Connections to the Indiana Academic Standards for Science, Grades 4 - 7
4.1.3, 4.2.4, 4.3.5, 4.3.6, 4.3.7, 4.6.3
5.1.3, 5.2.7, 5.3.6
6.1.2, 6.2.7, 6.3.15, 6.7.2
7.3.8, 7.3.10, 7.7.2
Science Process Skills
• Calculating
• Communicating
• Hypothesizing and predicting
• Inferring
• Interpreting data and drawing conclusions
• Measuring
• Posing questions
Estimated Time Requirement
One 45- minute session
Materials for creating the mining activity
• Two pieces of Play Dough in the same color
• One piece of Play Dough, white
• Grid sheet with North marked on it (a PDF of the sheet is available on the website)
• Two transparency of the grid sheet
• A piece of PVC pipe, or a clay rolling pin
• Wet erase markers (to write on the transparencies)
• Straw
• Small stick or paintbrush
Objectives
Students will be able to:
identify the process of removing natural resources from the Earth,
create their own mine of natural resources,
extract the natural resource.
Procedure
Anticipatory set:
• Visit the website: www.IndianaExpeditions.org
• View the Forces That Shaped Indiana Indiana Expeditions segment
• View the video lesson from the this episode
Preparation prior to the lesson: Print materials.
• Download the mining grid
• Print and photocopy the grid, each team of students will need one paper mining grid and two
transparencies of the mining grid
Lesson sequence:
• Inform the students that today they are going to learn
about the process of mining natural resources.
• Start the mining activity by collecting the materials listed
• Divide the students into teams, each team will make their
own mining grid
• Using the PVC pipe/rolling pen, roll one piece of the
colored play dough over the grid on the paper. You may
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cover the grid, but leave the North indicator showing
Take two pieces of the white play dough (represents the coal) and using the PVC pipe/rolling pen, roll
the coal flat
Place the two pieces of coal on top of the colored play dough on the sheet
Line up the North of the transparency to the North of the paper.
Using a wet erase marker outline the coal seam on the transparency
Roll out the other piece of colored play dough, it should be the same size as the first one
Using your PVC pipe or your fingers flatten the second piece of colored play dough over the coal
seam, you should not be able to see the coal seam
Trade your mining grid with another group’s
Put the second transparency over the mining grid
Begin to drill core sample with the straw
Lift up the transparency and use the straw to take your core sample
With a wet erase marker mark where you took your core sample: fill the square in you have found
coal and make an “X” if there is no coal
Place the straw through all layers of the play dough
Twist the straw
Remove the straw and use the end of a paintbrush or a small stick to push out the play dough
Observe the play dough, does it have any of the coal in it? Or, is it just the soil?
With a wet erase marker mark where you took your core sample: color in the square if you have
found coal and make an “X” if there is no coal
Repeat drilling, testing and marking until you have determined where and how much coal there is
When you are finished look at the original transparency to see if you found all of the coal
Closure:
• Discuss, as a class and then ask the students how this relates to real-world habitats.
Suggested Student Assessment
Objectives:
Ask students to write and/or illustrate what they did during this activity and what
they learned from their participation in the activity.
Check their grid and to their core samples and to their partners key
Extending the Lesson
Encourage students to do some research on the different mining techniques.
Go to the mineral workshop website and obtain the estimated cost for drilling core samples. Explore the
economic impact of core samples.
Source of Lesson
Orebody Play-doh Mining Activity- 2006, Brock Mayes
Department of Natural Resources, Reclamation Division, Minerals Workshop 2008
Contact Coleen Baughman, [email protected] for more information about the lesson or future
workshops
To learn more, visit the website at
www.IndianaExpeditions.org