Seventh Grade Students Learn about the Use of Clays in Everyday Products

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1 Seventh Grade Students Learn about the Use of Clays in Everyday Products Mark E. Dubey Audrey C. Rule Clary Middle School, Syracuse City Schools, Syracuse, New York, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, 250-G Wilber Hall, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, New York 13126, ABSTRACT Clay minerals are widespread at the Earth's surface, compose a large percentage of sedimentary rocks, and are important components of many common products including brick and tile, tableware, sanitaryware, paper, paints, plastics, rubber, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Knowledge of the role of clay industrial products supports attainment of science knowledge goals in middle school (Rule and Guggenheim, 2007). This simple pretest-intervention posttest study presents effective examples of clay science activities for middle school students that highlight the multiple uses of clay minerals in common products and support learning of other geoscience concepts such as crystal structure and resulting physical properties of materials. A class of twenty-one students at an urban middle school in central New York State participated in the study. Student scores on the pretest averaged 52% correct compared to 83% correct on the posttest taken seven weeks later, indicating the efficacy of the activities in teaching clay science concepts. A written survey three weeks after lessons had concluded showed students learned much about clay properties and clay use in everyday objects along with enjoying group work and the hands-on materials with clues. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW Importance of Studying Clay - Clay minerals are the most abundant minerals at the Earth's surface, being major components of soils (determining many soil properties) and sedimentary rocks, along with blanketing much of the world's ocean floor (Moore & Reynolds, 1997). Clay minerals are important in many geological applications including correlation of stratigraphic sections, determination of environments of deposition and temperature indicators for generation of hydrocarbons (Murray, 1999). Most clay minerals are the chemical weathering products of feldspars and other silicate minerals that formed deep within the Earth. When these minerals interact with the earth's atmosphere under cooler and lower pressure conditions, they weather to form more stable clay minerals. These new hydrated alumino silicates generally have very tiny crystals on the same size order as cigarette smoke particles or viruses. This small size, along with other properties such as platy shape and absorption of water between particles resulting in plasticity, makes them ideal for many industrial applications. Clays have been used from prehistoric times in brick and tile construction and for pottery. Kaolin clays are used extensively in the paper industry to produce a bright white, non-porous matte to glossy surface that accepts ink. They are also used in ceramics and as fillers in rubber, plastics, and paints. Because of electrical, thermal, and ultraviolet light resistance, talc is used in porcelain electrical fixtures and as filler for plastics used to make computer housing, lawn furniture and dashboards. Smectite clays are used in cat litter, drilling muds, foundry sand, wine and oil clarification, and for pelletizing iron ore (Odom, 1984). A variety of clay minerals contribute to the cosmetics industry, being used in medicine tablets, toothpaste, lipstick, eye makeup, face powder, and facial masks. New processing techniques of the future will likely result in improved clay products that utilize engineered pillared clays, nanocomposites and organoclays (Murray, 1999). Because clays play such an important part in everyday products, students need to have basic understandings of these valuable minerals. Clay Science Supports Learning of Geoscience Principles - Rule and Guggenheim (2007) suggested a standards-based clay science curriculum for prekindergarten through high school students. The inclusion of clay science topics in the middle school geoscience curriculum helps students understand that clay minerals play a large role in the rock cycle. They are major constituents and cements in sedimentary rocks, occur as foliated minerals in metamorphic rocks, and are present, most notably as micas, in igneous rocks. As students investigate petrology, classifying rocks by mineralogy and grain size are important activities. Chemical weathering of many silicate minerals to clays is a widespread process occurring at the Earth' surface. These concepts about rock-forming processes are noted in two documents of national science standards, the Benchmarks for science literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993; Chapter 4. The Physical Setting, C. Processes that shape the Earth) and the National science education standards (NSES) (National Research Council, 1996; Earth and Space Science Content Standard D, Structure of the Earth System). Additionally, investigating the uses of clay minerals in everyday life and how the layered crystal structures and platy habits of clays with resulting physical properties make them suitable for different industrial or product uses supports content standards from chapter eight of the Benchmarks, The Designed World, Part B, Materials and Manufacturing, along with the Physical Science Content Standard B, Structure and Properties of Matter of the NSES This study evaluates the use of a set of materials designed by the second author (A. Rule) and hosted by the Clay Minerals Society on their website, to teach how various products make use of the different physical properties of clays. As discussed above, these activities support national standards for middle school students. Therefore, we conducted our evaluation with seventh grade students in science class. In the following sections, we explain the design of our study, describe classroom-tested activities for middle schoolers learning about clay science, give 282 Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 55, n. 4, September, 2007, p

2 Section 1. Circle the products/items below that usually contain clays. Pill tablets Glass windows This sheet of paper Toilets Electric cords Bath towels Bar soap Blue jeans Rubber sink mats Hairbrushes Cardboard packages Ice cream Latex wall paint Water faucets Rubber car tires Ballerina slippers Nails, screws, bolts Toothpicks Magazines Garden soil Facial tissue Fancy teacups Candles Stuffed animals Hardwood floors Flower pots Sweaters Wrenches Lipstick Talcum powder Eye shadow Concrete sidewalks Plastic lawn furniture Watches Kitty litter Frying pan Yam Toothpaste Wooden crate Ballons Shoe polish Satin ribbon Bathroom wall tiles Quilts Roll-on deodorant Wedding rings Car dashboards Chocolates Section 2. Match the following terms on the left with their descriptions on the right. 1. e Porcelain a. A red-orange pottery used for flowerpots and bricks. It is inexpensive and does not hold water. 2. i Stoneware b. A technique for forming pottery by rolling the clay into long "snakes" that are spiraled to make the walls of the pot. 3. j Earthenware c. A coating of ground glass that is painted on the pot and fired to form a usually glossy, colored or transparent coating. 4. a Terracotta d. A technique for making pottery items by forming and assembling flat clay pieces 5. f Pinch pot e. A type of hard, white pottery used for toilets, sinks, and fine china because it is pure white and does not allow water to pass through it. 6. c Glaze f. A piece of pottery formed by pushing and molding the clay with the fingers. 7. g Slip g. A coating of wet clay that is painted or dripped on the pot and fired to melt and form a coating. 8. d Slab construction h. A very hot oven for firing pottery. 9. b Coiling i. A tan or gray pottery that is heavy and durable. It is used for floor tiles and crockery. 10. h Kiln j. Inexpensive pottery that is cream-colored and used for everyday dishes. It is often colorfully decorated. Section 3. Choose the best answer for each statement or question below. 1. The usual shape of clay mineral particles: a. Round spheres that slide over each other. b. Blocky pieces that fit together like bricks. c. Flat platy particles that stack or cover each other. d. Irregular pieces that fit together like puzzle pieces 2. Clays are used to coat all copy paper and magazine paper. Why? a. Clays are very expensive and therefore make the best quality product. b. Clays do not mix well with water and so make the paper water-proof. c. Clays produce a rough surface that absorbs and spreads the ink. d. Clays form a bright, smooth surface and can be glossy. 3. Clays are added to plastics for lawn furniture, car dashboards, and computer housing. Why? a. They make the plastic tough and resistant to UV radiation. b. They make the plastic soft, sticky, and flexible. c. They do not mix well with plastics and so rise to the surface to form a chalky coating. d. They decrease the weight of the products. 4. To "fire" a pot means: a. To bake it in a hot oven until the clay partially melts. b. To break the pot into little pieces so it can be re-used. c. To shoot at a clay disk in rifle practice. d. To build a fire inside a piece of pottery to make it harder. 5. Why is clay a part of make-up and paint? a. Because it blends well with rubber, plastic, and rock. b. Because pure clay is white and can take added colors. c. Because clay produces a rough, textured surface. d. Because it is tan blending with skin or makes earth-tone paint. 6. Some medicines contain clay. Why? a. Clay has a strong odor that masks the taste of the medicine. b. Clay reacts with many chemicals in the body. c. Pure clay can be pressed into tablets. d. Bacteria are attracted to the clay and removed. 7. Many parts of electrical equipment contain clay. Why? a. Clay melts easily and is used in fuses to break circuits. b. The copper metal is mined from clay deposits. c. Clay is used in the packing material to prevent breakage. d. Clay resists electricity when mixed in plastic wire coating. 8. Why is cat litter or kitty litter made of clay? a. Because it is lighter weight than sand and easier to handle. b. Because the clay color hides the animal waste. c. Because the clay absorbs the urine before it can create ammonia. d. Because the dusty smell attracts cats. 9. Why is clay used in toothpaste? a. Because it forms a gel that will dissolve in your mouth. b. Because it is gritty and scrubs teeth. c. Because it contains elements that build healthy teeth. d. Because it kills germs that cause tooth decay. 10. Why does lipstick contain clay? a. The clay keeps the lipstick moist and smooth. b. The clay gives the lipstick a darker, richer color. c. The clay makes the lipstick powdery. d. The clay is expensive and allows the price to be higher. Table 1. Pretest/ Posttest with answers in bold. evidence of the efficacy of this approach, and explain student reactions to the lessons. METHOD Participants - One class of twenty-one seventh grade students (12 male, 9 female; 15 African-American, 6 Euro-American) at an urban middle school in a large city in central New York State participated in the study. Ninety-two percent of the students in this school qualify for the free or reduced lunch program, indicating the poverty status of the population. Permission was obtained from the State University of New York at Oswego Committee for Research on Human Subjects, Dubey and Rule - Use of Clays in Everyday Products 283

3 Day Introduction Lesson Topic Activity Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Where today do you think you may have come into contact with a product made from or containing clay? Where today have you come into contact with a product made from or containing clay? Daily Writing Practice activity Think of one clay product that you will use today. If that product did not exist how would your life be affected? Draw a quick design of a ceramic bowl that represents your personality and tell how it does so. Summarize your knowledge of clay and clay products. Lesson 1. Introduction to clay What is clay? How is clay different from sand? How do people use clay? Lesson 2. Introduction to clay Properties of clay including vocabulary words such as rheology, plasticity, slurry, filler, gel, and insulator. Lesson 3 Introduction to clay uses with analysis of the purpose of clay in many products. Dialectic discussion about clay usage in society. Lesson 4 Introduction to ceramics Guest Speaker Kevin Felderman, graduate of fine arts and sculpting, who discusses pottery techniques. Lesson 5 Science and culture Impact of clay on society. Ancient to modern humans' use of clay. Examine SEM photographs of clay particles. Do 3 of the 6 stations as described in Table 3. Do another 3 of the 6 stations as described in Table 3. Group assignment of presentation on clay's use in society and how it has impacted their lives. Students make a collage of clay products with images from magazines and the Internet and organized around a theme. Students present their collages to the class. Students design a clay product to scale. Students create pinch pots. Students work on presentations. Students play Clay products scavenger hunt game (Rule, 2007b). Students give short presentations. Table 2. Schedule of a week of activities that focused on clay science for Seventh Graders Station Activity References CD-ROM on mining and online mining game Foundry Box Kaolin Products teaching Materials Talc Products Teaching Materials Smectite Products Teaching Materials Ceramics Examples Tonka Construction video game. Brief introduction to mining practices through a video game that showcased heavy mining equipment and allowed the student to manipulate equipment and create his or her own mine in map view. Start-a-Mine online game simulates searching for a talc ore body and developing the mine. The first author's father was experienced in foundry work and metallurgy. He provided samples and examples of aluminum and magnesium castings and green sand molds, along with pictures of military / aerospace equipment in which the castings were used. Students match cards that tell kaolin properties and uses with corresponding kaolin products to demonstrate their awareness of the uses of kaolin clays. Students match cards that tell talc properties and uses with corresponding talc products to demonstrate their awareness of the uses of the clay mineral talc. Students match cards that tell smectite properties and uses with corresponding smectite products to demonstrate their awareness of the uses of smectite clays. Students explore example pots or ceramic products that show a variety of glazes, body compositions and techniques. They match cards that describe different techniques and terms ( e.g., porcelain, terra cotta, pinch pot, slip) with the corresponding objects. An image of the correct item is shown on the reverse of the card with a brief explanation for self-checking. Hasbro Interactive, Available from bookstores and toy stores. Minerals Program of the Canada-Ontario Subsidiary Agreement on Northern Ontario Development (NODA), Rule, 1997a. Available online from the Clay Minerals Society Website. Rule, 1997b. Available online from the Clay Minerals Society Website Rule, 2007a. Available online from the Clay Minerals Society Website. Table 3. Station choices for students. from the school principal, and from students' parents/guardians for the study to be conducted. Set-up of Study - This study has a simple pretest - intervention - posttest design to document student learning about clays facilitated through the use of specific sets of materials designed to teach about clay minerals and their roles in manufactured products. The pretest/posttest instruments were identical and shown in Table 1. This assessment instrument was divided into three parts. Part 1 measured students' familiarity with use of clay in common products; Part 2 determined knowledge of ceramics terms; and Part 3 addressed conceptual understanding of physical properties of clay and their roles in specific products. The terminology associated with common ceramics was selected for Part 2 of the pretest/posttest for two reasons: 1) student familiarity with ceramics, and 2) the close ties of ceramics to everyday life. Rule (2007) found that most preservice teachers knew only of clay's use in ceramics and we surmised that this might also be true for our students. Therefore, because students probably had some familiarity with ceramics, we thought learning about the different types of ceramic bodies and pottery techniques 284 Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 55, n. 4, September, 2007, p

4 Figure 1. Smectite clay product cards would be meaningful and useful as they came into contact with ceramic items during their daily lives. Students took the pretest six weeks before the weeklong instruction on clays began, and took the posttest the class period after the weeklong instruction concluded. Additionally, three weeks after the unit had ended, we asked students to respond in writing to a survey that asked them three questions: 1) What did you learn about clay through the clay lessons? 2) What did you enjoy about the clay lessons? and, 3) What would you change about the clay lessons? This survey allowed the instructor to determine the instructional parts most meaningful or motivating to students and to improve the activities. Instructional Activities for Clay Science - This unit on the properties of clay minerals and their use in common products followed geoscience lessons on the rock cycle, including identification of common minerals, clay-rich sedimentary rocks such as shale, claystone, and mudstone, metamorphic rocks such as phyllite and schist, and igneous rocks (which include micas). The activities for this weeklong unit focused on the physical properties of clays and how these allow clays to be put to many industrial uses. Table 2 shows the lessons that were chosen for the week of science instruction that focused on clay science. For the first two lessons, the instructor set up six different lesson stations of hands-on activities in the classroom thereby allowing students to work in small groups. The teacher began each lesson with a writing activity (as shown in the second column of Table 2) to introduce the material to be studied, to assist students in self-questioning, to integrate writing with science, and to provide the teacher with clues to students' thinking. This activity was the "exploration phase" of a lesson following the Learning Cycle Teaching Model (Atkin and Karplus, 1962; Karplus and Lawson, 1974), which supports a constructivist view of science learning. Then the instructor proceeded with the "explanation phase" by explaining information to students via an electronic presentation or class discussion (third column of Table 2). The remainder of each class period comprised the "expansion" phase in which students engaged in activities that applied the concepts presented by the teacher. The six stations used in the first two lessons are described in Table 3. Three of the six stations focused on the role of clay minerals in common products, highlighting three clay minerals/ mineral groups: talc, kaolin, and smectite. Each activity consisted of a set of twelve actual products and twelve corresponding cards. The student removed the products from the box and then chose a card. The front of the card described the key physical properties of the clay mineral and its role in the product. For example, in the kaolin clay products set, the front of one card stated, ">Blends well with oleoresins in plastics; > Increases electrical resistance; and >Improves stiffness and hardness of plastic housing." After reading these clues, the student examined the twelve products and chose a product (a piece of plastic-coated electrical wiring) in which kaolin had the stated role. The corresponding product was pictured on the back of the card along with this explanation, "Calcined clays improve the electrical properties of PVC and rubber-coated wires." Example cards from the smectite clay products set (Rule, 2007a) are shown in Figure 1. On the last class day, everyone played the Clay Products Scavenger Hunt game (Rule, 2007b). The teacher made several sets of the game so that all students could play at once in small groups of three or four students. The object of the game was to move through the rooms of a house, identifying and collecting a card for one clay product from each room (Each room contained eight products, four of which contained clay and four of which were non-clay products). The main game board is shown in Figure 2. Students also worked on several projects during the unit. One project involved collecting images from magazines or the Internet related to a clay theme and Dubey and Rule - Use of Clays in Everyday Products 285

5 Timing of Assessment Number Correct on Part 1 out of 48 Number Correct on Part 2 out of 10 Number Correct on Part 3 out of 10 Total Correct out of 68 Total Percent Correct Pretest 27.8 (9.1) 4.0 (2.0) 3.9 (1.8) 35.7 (10.6) 52.5% (15.6) Posttest 41.9 (4.7) 7.1 (1.8) 7.2 (1.3) 56.2 (5.5) 82.7% (8.1) Table 4. Mean Pretest and Posttest Scores for 21 students. Standard deviations shown in parentheses Figure 2. Clay products game board. arranging them to form a collage. Possible themes included: "clay in building materials," "clay in the kitchen," "types of clay tableware," and "clay in cosmetics." On another day, students integrated mathematics with science in drawing a scale model of a larger ceramic item. They also made ceramic pinch pots with potter's clay. A final group project involved students in making a two to five minute presentation on how the use of clay has impacted society from ancient to modern times. Students had the option of using an electronic slide presentation, a movie clip, a poster, or overhead projector transparencies. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Pretest/ Posttest Scores - The pretest and posttest results for all test sections individually reported and combined are shown in Table 4. Students improved their knowledge of clay products, ceramics, and clay mineral properties through the unit of lessons as indicated by the rise in total mean scores from pretest (52.5%) to posttest (82.7%). A t-test statistic was calculated for the pretest and posttest scores to determine if the mean score on all questions of the pretest was significantly smaller than the mean score on all questions on the posttest. The P-value was much less than a 0.05 significance level (P-value=4.4 E-9), indicating that the pretest mean was significantly smaller than the posttest mean. Similarly, a t-test statistic was calculated to compare the mean pretest and posttest scores on each of the three sections of the test. The first section of the test measured students' knowledge of products that contained clay minerals and pretest-posttest scores were significantly different (P-value=3.3 E-7), indicating that students were much more aware of clay's role in many common products. On the second section of the test that addressed different types of ceramic bodies, glazes, styles and techniques, students also made significant progress from pretest to posttest (P-value=1.5 E-6). Finally, a t-test statistic was calculated for the multiple choice section (last section) of the test. Again, the results of this test showed that posttest scores on this section of the test, which focused on concepts of physical properties of clays related to use in products, were significantly higher than pretest scores (P-value = 1.8 E-8). Teacher's Observations - The teacher (M. Dubey) observed that student engagement and success were high throughout the unit on clay science. All students improved their performance from poor pretest scores to achieve passing grades on the posttest. Scores on the posttest ranged from 95.6% to 67.6% with only one score below 70% and five scores above 90%. Four of these twenty-one students usually failed tests and assignments in science class, indicating the efficacy of this approach under which all students in the class achieved passing grades. The variety of activities in the unit allowed students to learn in ways that matched their interests or learning presentations somewhere within the unit of study. Clay Presentations - Students were asked to work in a group of three to make a two- to five minute presentation that demonstrated the use of clay in society and its impact on their lives. Technology was infused into this assignment as students chose between a PowerPoint presentation of five slides using clipart, a 30-second multi-media clip of music and/or video from the school's shared database of thousands of videos, and a more traditional overhead projector or poster presentation. Students worked well together and reflected on the impact of clay in their lives as they displayed images of many everyday products containing clay. Student Reactions to the Lessons - Student responses to the survey questions were listed on the lines of a spreadsheet and sorted into categories stating similar sentiments. The results for questions 1, 2, and 3 are summarized in Table 5, Table 6, and Table 7, respectively. Most students listed several ideas for each question. 286 Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 55, n. 4, September, 2007, p

6 Most frequent responses to question: "What did you learn about clay from the lessons?" N Cosmetics such as lipstick, lip gel, make-up, nail polish, facial masks, toothpaste are made with clay. 15 Many things (household items, "normal" objects) are made of clay. 13 Various properties of clay (gel, can be shaped, can harden when fired, blends with other materials, pure and 10 bacteria-free, many colors). Talc is a filler (in plastic, paint, lawn furniture, bar soap). 6 Surprised to find clay in many things (more things than you think). 4 Identify items using clues. 3 Need to listen to the teacher and get along with people in group. 3 Clay is from the ground and soil. 1 Table 5. Student responses to the question, "What did you learn about clay from the lessons?" Most frequent responses to question: "What did you enjoy about the clay lessons?" N Group work; got to choose own groups; everyone got along and helped each other. 14 Clues for items: liked how items were explained; liked figuring out the items using the clues; identifying the clay 9 products. Touching/ tactile/ hands-on aspects: Enjoyed feeling things; we got to work with our hands and touch the 7 objects. Computer work: seeing different clays on the computer; searching for clay information on the computer. 5 Playing the games and activities. 4 Posters, presentations, speaking; the presentations we did on different minerals; making the posters. 4 Fun: having fun while learning; it was fun. 3 Finding out what has clay in it; most of the items in my bathroom contain clay. 3 Learning new words/ vocabulary. 1 Choice in the activities. 1 Students indicated that they had learned much about clay's use in everyday products, in particular, cosmetics such as make-up, lipstick, facial masks, and toothpaste. This response is connected to these teenagers' interests in personal appearance and shows that students are motivated when new ideas are connected to their real world experiences. Students mentioned they had learned many different properties of clay and the reasons clay minerals were used in various products, a central objective of the lessons. They relayed their surprise in finding clay in so many common items. Students reported their interest in learning how to identify objects from clues, the main activity in the three games used during the stations explained in Table 3 (Rule, 1997a; Rule, 1997b; and Rule, 2007a) and learning to work in groups. Such group work has been identified as a crucial workplace skill: Carnevale, Gainer, and Meltzer (1988) identified seven most important skills needed by employers, among them was group effectiveness, which included interpersonal skill, negotiation, and teamwork. Student responses to the second question concerning what they enjoyed about the lessons were also very encouraging. Students enjoyed the group work that involved researching and presenting to others information about clays, indicating that discussion among a community of learners and ownership /choice within the activities were important components that made the lessons effective. These middle school students were excited by the guessing games of matching objects to clues about the properties of clay in manufactured items. This finding is very similar to the comments made by urban high school students using another set of materials that involved matching cards and objects, the nitrogen cycle materials, as described in Townsend, Rule, Meyer, and Dockstader (2007). In that study, students identified the hands-on materials as enhancing understanding and the objects and matching activity as being motivating. In another study of elementary students that compared students learning landform vocabulary under three conditions (Rule, Graham, Kowalski, and Harris, 2006), students reported that matching, sorting, and laying out materials helped them learn. Tactile aspects of the work, such as handling objects, ceramic items, and matching to cards, were recognized by students as motivating. This finding is supported by other research. Rayneri and Gerber (2004) developed an Table 6. Student responses to the question, "What did you enjoy about the clay lessons?" Most frequent responses to question: "What would you change about the clay lessons?" N Nothing needs to be changed. 9 Instructions should be clearer. 7 Make games harder and more challenging. 6 Answer should not be on back of card - too easy. 6 Give more or fewer objects in box. 4 Work with clay and make something. 3 Have presentations outside. 2 Loudness of class - quiet the class. 2 Table 7. Student responses to the question, "What would you change about the clay lessons?" instrument to assess students' perceptual learning modes, finding that underachieving students desired more tactile learning opportunities than higherachieving students. Montessori (as explained in Sobe, 2004) found that tactile experiences motivated students and helped them focus their attention. Additionally, in the study by Rule, Graham, Kowalski, and Harris (2006), students identified the tactile aspects of handling objects and forming landforms in damp sand as being very motivating and enjoyable. Students also enjoyed interacting with the computer simulation of a clay mine and searching the Internet for clay information. Several students mentioned that they had "fun while learning." In response to the last question about improving the activities, nine students, almost half of the class, reported that nothing should be changed about the clay lessons they had experienced. As one student put it, "I wouldn't change anything because it was perfect." Other students mentioned that game directions could be clearer and having the answers on the reverse sides of the clue cards was too tempting, therefore making the game too easy. Teachers may want to alter the materials by removing the answers from card backs and placing them on an answer sheet that can only be accessed after the cards have been paired with the objects. Dubey and Rule - Use of Clays in Everyday Products 287

7 Several students indicated their interest in clay by suggesting that students be given additional clay and allowed to make something with it. Although time and resources did not allow this during the unit described in this study, this is a good direction for expanding the unit in the future. CONCLUSION Students enjoyed the clay science lessons described in this paper and found them meaningful because of their authentic real-life connections. Moreover, all students increased their knowledge of clay's use in common products significantly from pretest to posttest. Student survey comments of the group work, the hands-on matching activities, the tactile nature of much of the work, and the ability to choose projects, providing ownership, supported the efficacy of this method of teaching. Students learned about the rheology of dry and wet clay and the physical properties of clay minerals. Additionally, students were surprised and pleased to learn about the role of clay in so many products with which they have daily contact. Therefore, we recommend that these activities be used with future students in teaching concepts of clay's use in everyday life. REFERENCES American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993, Benchmarks for science literacy, Washington, DC, Author, 454 p. Atkin, J. M., and Karplus, R., 1962, Discovery or invention?, The Science Teacher, v. 29, p Carnevale, A. P., Gainer, L. J., and Meltzer, A. S., 1988, Workplace basics: The skills employers want, Washington, DC, The American Society for Training and Development, U.S. Department of Labor. Hasbro Interactive, 2000, Tonka construction, Pawtucket, RI, Hasbro, Inc. Karplus, R., and Lawson, C. A., 1974, Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) Teachers' Handbook: University of California, Berkeley, California, 179 p., U. S. Government Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Document No. ED Minerals Program of the Canada-Ontario Subsidiary Agreement on Northern Ontario Development (NODA), 2005, Start-a-mine. ca/mms/scho-ecol/mine/start_e.htm (10 May, 2006). Moore, D. M., and Reynolds, R. C., Jr., 1997, X-ray diffraction and the identification and analysis of clay minerals (second edition), Oxford, Oxford University Press, 378p. Murray, H. H., 1999, Applied clay mineralogy today and tomorrow, Clay Minerals, v. 34, p. 39. National Research Council, 1996, National science education standards: Observe, interact, change, lear`n, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 262 p. Odom, I. E., 1984, Smectite clay minerals: Properties and uses, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, v. 311, p Rayneri, L. J., and Gerber, B. L., 2004, Development of a student perception inventory, Roeper Review, v. 26, p Rule, A. C., 1997a, Talc products teaching materials, available online from the Clay Minerals Society website: EduResources.html (July 30, 2007). Rule, A. C., 1997b, Kaolin clay products teaching materials, available online from the Clay Minerals Society website: eduresources/eduresources.html (July 30, 2007). Rule, A. C., 2007a, Smectite clay products teaching materials, available online from the Clay Minerals Society website: (July 30, 2007) Rule, A. C., 2007b, Clay products scavenger hunt, available online from the Clay Minerals Society website: EduResources.html (July 30, 2007) Rule, A.C., 2007c, Preservice elementary teachers ideas about clays, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 55, p Rule, A. C., Graham, L. E., Kowalski S., and Harris, M., 2006, Learning landform vocabulary through different methods: Object boxes, sand and dough creations, or puppet plays, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54, p Rule, A. C., and Guggenheim, S., 2007, A standards-based curriculum for clay science, Journal of Geoscience Education, Sobe, N., 2004, Challenging the gaze: The subject of attention and a 1915 Montessori demonstration classroom, Educational Theory, v. 54, p Townsend, M., Rule, A. C., Meyer, M. A., and Dockstader, C. J., 2007, Teaching the nitrogen cycle and human health interactions, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 55, in press. 288 Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 55, n. 4, September, 2007, p