Now we are approaching exam time, our ELI today is a good revision exercise, as are the other activities in the 'Picturing . .' series - 'Picturing igneous rocks 1 - visualise and draw igneous rocks from a verbal description'.

Related revision activities can be found in the table at the end of each 'Picturing . . ' activity:

   

Following on from looking at metamorphic rocks last week, today we investigate an exceptional piece of slate - 'Every rock tells a story; reading the rock history from an exceptional specimen of slate'.

Related activities can be found in Rocks in our Earth Materials category.

   

Today's ELI is 'Building Stones 4 - Metamorphic rocks; what are the differences between metamorphic rocks commonly used as building stones'.

This activity uses photographs of metamorphic rocks used for ornamental purposes. This activity follows ‘Building Stones 1’ and is intended for pupils to deepen their understanding of metamorphic rocks. A table showing how the series of Earthlearningidea building stone activities link together is given on the final page.

Related activities can be found in Rocks in our Earth Materials category.

   

Today we are continuing our theme of slope stability with 'Sandcastles and slopes; what makes sandcastles and slopes collapse?'

This activity investigates the factors which affect the angle at which loose materials rest before they begin to slide.

Related activities can be found in the Natural Hazards category - Landslides and failing slopes.

   

'Failing slopes; modelling how rock cliffs and slopes can collapse'.

This activity investigates the factors which affect the angle of slope at which materials fail and slip. It could be used in a lesson on slope failure itself, or as an application of the physics of friction.

Watch the teaching video