Everyday Use of Minerals (Math/Science)
Standard Addressed: Earth Science
Students know how to identify common rock-forming minerals (including quartz, calcite,
feldspar, mica, and hornblende) and ore minerals by using a table of diagnostic properties.
Lesson Objective:
Students will understand why minerals are important in our everyday world. They will also
incorporate math with science.
Materials:
Iron fortified cereal (Total)
Ceramic magnet
toothpaste tube
regular cereal
plastic baggie
construction paper
water
Student Talk Strategies: (Descriptions at end of lesson)


Report to a Partner
Think-Pair-Share
Classroom Management
Find free handouts from http://www.mii.org/3everyday.php for Engage discussion.
Bring toothpaste tubes to class for Explore.
Assemble construction paper for brochure in Evaluate.
Photocopy baby and per capita handouts from mii.org for Extend.
ENGAGE: Connect to Prior Knowledge and Experience, Create Emotionally Safe
Learning Environment, Preview New Vocabulary
Estimated time: 10 minutes
Teacher’s Role
Teacher Questions
Teacher engages students in
discussion about minerals and
their importance.
Report to a partner- Each
Students Report to a Partner
student reports his/her own
before they answer the
answer to a peer. The
teacher’s questions.
students then listen to their
partner’s response. Both will
report what partner shared
when prompted.
Teacher downloads handouts from What are minerals used for?
http://www.mii.org/3everyday.php What minerals do you think
for students to use in the
we see everyday?
Students’ Role
Each group of students talks
about information they find
in their handout: pencils,
discussion.
Where do we find minerals
daily?
light bulbs, money, and so
on.
Based on the information in
the handout and what we
know, how do we use
minerals every day?
Where do we find minerals
in the home?
Just like in the handouts:
pencils, light bulbs, money,
maybe the kitchen.
Students will explore the use
of minerals in pencils, light
bulbs, money, etc.
EXPLORE: Hands-On Learning, Contextualize Language, Use of Scaffolding (Graphic
Organizers, Thinking Maps, Cooperative Learning), Use of Multiple Intelligences, Check for
Understanding
Estimated time: 20 minutes
Teacher’s Role
Teacher Questions
Students’ Role
Open a box of iron fortified cereal
and place a few flakes on the
table. Using a ceramic magnet,
see if the iron flakes will attract to
the magnet. Then crumble up the
flakes into very fine pieces, mix
them in a plastic baggie with
water to make a cereal paste
(about the consistency of thick
soup), and see if the iron will
attract to the magnet away from
the flakes.
What do you think will
happen? Will the magnet
attract the cereal? (If there
is iron in the cereal, it
should attract the magnet, if
you are using a strong
magnet.)
No – the magnet won’t
attract cereal because cereal
doesn’t have iron in it.
(This is a misconception, but
will help students explore
that our food does have
small amounts of iron in it.)
Look at a toothpaste tube and
discuss the ingredients listed.
The toothpaste tube should list the
ingredients and will include mica,
silica, and possibly phosphate.
Why do we have minerals in
toothpaste? Why do the
manufacturers think
minerals are important in
toothpaste?
Why doesn’t it attract the
cereal? (Some cereals won’t
have enough iron.)
Some minerals are used to
clean and some are used to
whiten teeth.
EXPLAIN: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing to Communicate Conceptual
Understanding
Estimated time: 10 minutes
Teacher’s Role
Teacher Questions
Students’ Role
Teacher leads students in making
Think, Pair, Share: Students
Students Think, Pair, Share
meaning through group
discussion.
Background Information for
Teachers: see attached
first think of their own
their answers to the
answer to the questions then questions.
share with the person next to
them and finally report to
class.
Is the iron in the cereal the
same type of iron in nails
and cast iron pans?
Yes. If it is attracted to the
magnet, so it is the same
iron.
How important are minerals
to us?
We could not live without
these minerals today.
We would live in the dark
What would happen if we
don’t have enough minerals? without light bulbs; we
would have to find other
ways to write without
pencils; we might have
problems with our teeth .
EVALUATE: Thinking Maps, Summarize Lesson and Review Vocabulary, Variety of
Assessment Tools, Games to Show Understanding
Estimated time: 20 minutes
Teacher’s Role
Teacher Questions
Students’ Role
There are 14 necessary mineral
nutrients for growth and good
health. They include calcium,
chlorine, copper, iron, zinc,
magnesium, manganese, sodium,
phosphorous, potassium, and
selenium.
Find out information about
one of these minerals. Tell
why it’s important to the
body and what foods give
you the mineral.
Students will research one of
the minerals necessary for
nutrition and will present
their findings to the class
through a product of their
creation.
Teacher asks students to do a web
search for different minerals
including quartz, calcite, feldspar,
mica, and hornblende as well as
different ores (galena which is
lead and hematite which is iron),
and where they are found today.
Students work with their
partners to do a web search
on a mineral or ore.
Each group of 2 students will
research a different mineral or ore
and will develop a 3 part brochure
to show information about the
mineral, why that mineral is
important, and where it is found.
They present their brochure
to the class.
EXTEND: Group Projects, Plays, Murals, Songs, Connections to Real World, Connections
to Other Curricular Areas
Estimated time: 10 minutes
Teacher’s Role
Teacher Questions
Students’ Role
Teacher helps students extend the
lesson by doing math calculations.
What part of the total
number of grams in Total
cereal is from minerals?
Math Extension:
Make circle or bar graphs
showing the breakdown of
minerals in a box of cereal.
Resources:
http://www.mii.org/3everyday.php
periodic table
California Department of
Education mineral chart
Decimals: Have students
determine the mineral
composition of their body
and write the number for
each mineral as a decimal
and a fraction.
Student Talk Strategies
Adapted from Avenues, Hampton Brown, 2007.
Earth's Crust
Oxygen 46.6%
Silicon 27.7%
Aluminum 8.13%
Iron 5.0%
Calcium 3.63%
Sodium 2.83%
Potassium 2.59%
Magnesium 2.09%
Other 1.43%
Teacher Background Knowledge
Minerals are simple building blocks found in nature. They are different from rocks because
rocks can contain many minerals.
Many cereals are fortified with iron and other minerals. Our bread and milk is also fortified with
iron and minerals. Iron is an essential part of our blood.
Minerals are needed for growth and maintenance of body structures. Calcium, magnesium and
phosphorous are essential parts of bones and teeth. Iron is important part of blood. Minerals are
also needed to maintain the composition of the digestive juices and the fluids that are found in
and around cells.
Toothpaste is made with abrasives (from rocks) that rub the plaque away. Abrasives are
minerals like silica, limestone, and phosphate minerals. Most toothpaste is made white with
titanium dioxide made from minerals. The sparkles in some toothpaste come from mica, a
mineral common in many rocks. The toothpaste container is made from plastic that comes from
petroleum.
All living things need minerals. Life processes cannot occur without them.
Resources:
Common minerals and their uses
http://www.mii.org/commonminerals.html
Mineral Information Institute
http://www.mii.org/
Minerals your body needs.
.http://www.time-to-run.com/nutrition/minerals.htm
www.cellular-nutrition-guaranteed.com/essential-minerals.html
Everyday Use of Minerals (Math/Science)
List the ideas that you and your partner have about where we find minerals
every day in our lives.
What happened when you touched the magnet to the baggie with the cereal
and water inside? Use the sentence frame to start your answer.
The magnet
cereal.
the
in the
What do the minerals in the toothpaste do to your teeth?
Use this space to make notes about the mineral you are researching.