Be a mineral expert - beginning to identify minerals

'Be a mineral expert - 1; beginning to identify minerals'. This is the first of a series of mineral identification activities. Here pupils base their identification just on the properties they can see, i.e. colour, crystal habit (shape and proportion), lustre (reflection of light) and cleavage (regular breakage pattern).
This series of activities on minerals can be used in a variety of lessons, ranging from the nature of minerals as the ‘building blocks’ of rocks to the origins and recycling of useful elements in the Earth. Search the website for similar activities.