Rocks and Minerals
updated August 11, 2015
Recorded here is my own personal collection of articles, resources, favorite links, teaching ideas, and lesson plans. It encompasses many years, from the very beginning of my experience studying and learning about Waldorf to the present time. People from all around the world visit my site and recommend it to others. Welcome!
This site records my journey. I hope my honesty is encouraging and helps break down some barriers that may prevent people from trying Waldorf ideas. Because this is an ongoing site documenting my curriculum experiences and ideas, some materials are more Waldorf-y than others. Please feel free to take what you like and leave the rest.
Rocks and Minerals lesson plans
for Class 6
(pdf)
Mission Statement
Below is the booklist for this unit. Please realize that there is a difference between books I would recommend as must-haves -- and which are worth tracking down --
and books that I used simply because I already owned them. I've put an asterisk by the books I most strongly recommend.
Booklist: Teacher Preparation
* From Nature Stories to Natural Science: A Holistic Approach to Science for Families
by Donna Simmons
Path of Discovery - Grade 4: A Program of a Waldorf Grade School Teacher
by Eric Fairman
* Science as Phenomena for Homeschoolers K-8
by Barbara Dewey
* Teaching Geography by Roy Wilkinson
Mudworks: Creative Clay, Dough, and Modeling Experiences
by MaryAnn Kohl
* The Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage
by Ianto Evans, et al
Earth, Water, Fire, and Air: Playful Explorations in the Four Elements
by Walter Kraul
* The Forgotten Arts and Crafts: Skills from Bygone Days
by John Seymour
* Rock and Gem
by Ronald Bonewitz
* Educating the Will
by Michael Howard
Rocks and Minerals (FlashCharts)
Additional Resources: Just for Fun
Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem
by Richard Kurin
The Great Clay Adventure: Creative Handbuilding Projects For Young Artists
by Ellen Kong
The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
* Whittle Your Ears
by Barbara Dawson Betteridge (recommended if you need a Class Play; includes "The Castle of the Kingdom of the Stones")
Additional Resources: Picture Books and Poetry
Week One
Snowy Flowy Blowy: A Twelve Months Rhyme
by Nancy Tafuri
Thank You, Santa
by Margaret Wild
Chester the Worldly Pig
by Bill Peet
Basho and the River Stones
by Tim Myers
Everybody Needs a Rock
by Byrd Baylor
On My Beach There Are Many Pebbles
by Leo Lionni
If You Find a Rock
by Peggy Christian
Week Two
Rocks & Minerals (The Question & Answer Book)
by Elizabeth Marcus
The Burning Mountain
by Anico Surany
Volcanoes and Earthquakes
by Robert Irving
* How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World
by Faith McNulty
* The Pebble in My Pocket: A History of Our Earth
by Meredith Hooper
A Journey Through Time in Verse and Rhyme
edited by Heather Thomas
Week Three
Pome and Peel
by Amy Ehrlich
A Child's History of the World
by V.M. Hillyer
* The Story of a Nail
by Irving & Ruth Adler
Week Four
* Buried Sunlight: The Story of Coal
by Raymond Janssen
The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo
by Irving Stone
Be sure that you have posters of natural features such as the Grand Canyon, sand dunes, waterfalls, and so on with which to decorate the classroom walls.
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