Every Rock Tells a Story - Mineral description chart

Canada Science and Technology Museum is held a 3-day professional development workshop in July 2014 for elementary school teachers across Canada.
Mining Matters to delivered two of these workshop to 40 teachers and provided French and English resources.

1. Every Rock Tells a Story – Minerals
Image source: Geology.com
Description content source: Geolgogy.com and Mineralseducationcoalition.org

Sample Photo Description
Hornblende
and Mica
(Biotite)



Hornblende is a field and classroom name used
for a group of dark-coloured amphibole minerals
found in many types of igneous and
metamorphic rocks. It is a rock forming mineral.
A few rocks consist almost entirely of
hornblende.

Biotite is a name used for a large group of rock
forming minerals that are commonly found in
igneous and metamorphic rocks. Biotite is a
primary mineral found in a wide range of
crystalline igneous rocks such as granite,
pegmatite and diorite. It also forms under
metamorphic conditions when argillaceous (a
sedimentary rock formed from clay deposits)
rocks are exposed to heat and pressure to form
schist and gneiss.
Feldspars
(Albite and
Orthoclase)


Feldspar is rock-forming mineral a large
component of the Earth’s crust. Feldspars
crystallize from magma in both intrusive and
extrusive igneous rocks, as veins, and are also
present in many types of metamorphic rock.
When feldspar weathers from igneous or
metamorphic rocks, it can accumulate as sand.
It is, however, easily weathered, and eventually
will break down into clay. Feldspars are also
found in many types of sedimentary rock.
Quartz
Quartz is the most common minerals in the
Earth's continental crust. Chemically, quartz is
silica, or silicon dioxide, SiO2. Quartz is
physically and chemically resistant to
weathering. When quartz-bearing rocks become
weathered and eroded, the grains of resistant
quartz are concentrated in the soil, in rivers, and
on beaches. It is found in most types of rocks:
igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary.