Minerals and Their Properties

While it's unlikely that 8th grade boys will sit through a discussion of “cleavage”--even when it pertains to rocks--without snickering, Minerals and Their Properties, the opening program in the Rocks and Minerals Series, does an otherwise fine job of defining minerals, detailing their properties, examining their chemical structures, and discussing some of their uses. Geared toward middle school students (grades 5-8), this tape is a good follow-up to Uses of Rocks and Minerals (VL-5/00) and Real World Science: Rocks and Minerals (VL-3/00), which are aimed at younger children. The comprehensive teacher's guide includes correlations with the National Science Education Standards, the full video script, pre-and post-viewing quizzes, and lab sheets for fun experiments like making rock candy (hey, it's scientific). The only thing I didn't see was our old junior high school cafeteria trick: making a round-bottomed salt shaker lean at a 45 degree angle by sprinkling some salt (square grains) beneath it. And kudos are due for the good music (solo steel guitar). Heartily recommended. The other titles in the series (series price: $299) are: Rocks and the Rock Cycle, Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks and Sedimentary Rocks and Fossils. Aud: I, J, H. (R. Reagan)