Image of two rocks with heart shaped crystals

Courtesy of Uruguay Minerals

Hearts of Stone

Miners in Uruguay found sparkly purple gems in the shape of hearts.

By Laine Falk

From the February 2024 Issue

Students understand how to get information from text and images.

Lexile® measure: 610L

Featured Skill: Key Details,

Vocabulary: miners, eureka, geode, amethyst

Topic: Science,

Courtesy of Uruguay Minerals

Two years ago, miners in the country of Uruguay were hard at work. Their job is to find sparkly gems hidden deep inside rocks and caves.

They were breaking rocks with axes. They worked and worked. Would they ever find any gems? Then they broke open another rock. Eureka!

There was a heart-shaped geode! A geode is a hollow part of a rock with crystals or gems inside. This geode had glittering purple gems called amethysts.

Would you want to find beautiful hearts like these for Valentine’s Day?

video (1)

Slideshows (1)

Activities (4)

Answer Key (1)

video (1)

Slideshows (1)

Activities (4)

Download All Quizzes and Activities

Answer Key (1)

Science Focus

Rocks and Minerals

Social Studies Focus

Maps and Globes

Implementation

Small group; whole group; independent reading

Pairings and Text Connections

**From the Storyworks 2 archive:**

“Cave of Crystals” (February 2021) Students can read about a geode as big as a cave. We've created a special skills page to help students compare and contrast these two articles.

“Me Want Cookie Monster Rocks!” (February 2022) Students can read about another incredible rock shaped like Cookie Monster!

Before-Reading Resources

Text Preview Bookmarks

(10 minutes) Kids can cut out the nonfiction bookmark and use it to preview the text.

Play the Vocabulary Slideshow

(5 minutes) Help students become familiar with vocabulary ords they will see in the article.

Watch the Big Question video, “Rocks and Minerals”

Provide students more background knowledge about this topic.

Nonfiction text features (30 minutes)

Take a close look at the photo. Ask children to share what they notice about it. Help them understand that we get information from pictures.

Point out the smaller photo. What does it show?

After-Reading Skills Practice

(15 minutes for each activity)

Quiz: Comprehension check

Nonfiction Text Feature Hunt: Help students find nonfiction text features in the article.

Compare and Contrast: Using the printable “Two Sparkly Discoveries” students can compare and contrast the heart geodes and the crystal cave.

Text-to-Speech

Hearts of Stone

More About the Article

Science Focus

Rocks and Minerals

Social Studies Focus

Maps and Globes

Implementation

Small group; whole group; independent reading

Pairings and Text Connections

Before-Reading Resources

Suggested Reading Focus

Nonfiction text features (30 minutes)

Take a close look at the photo. Ask children to share what they notice about it. Help them understand that we get information from pictures.

Point out the smaller photo. What does it show?

After-Reading Skills Practice

(15 minutes for each activity)

Quiz: Comprehension check

Nonfiction Text Feature Hunt: Help students find nonfiction text features in the article.

Compare and Contrast: Using the printable “Two Sparkly Discoveries” students can compare and contrast the heart geodes and the crystal cave.

Help/Support

Help/Support

Subscriber Information

Hearts of Stone

More About the Article

Science Focus

Rocks and Minerals

Social Studies Focus

Maps and Globes

Implementation

Small group; whole group; independent reading

Pairings and Text Connections

Before-Reading Resources

Suggested Reading Focus

Nonfiction text features (30 minutes) Take a close look at the photo. Ask children to share what they notice about it. Help them understand that we get information from pictures. Point out the smaller photo. What does it show?

After-Reading Skills Practice

(15 minutes for each activity) Quiz: Comprehension check Nonfiction Text Feature Hunt: Help students find nonfiction text features in the article. Compare and Contrast: Using the printable “Two Sparkly Discoveries” students can compare and contrast the heart geodes and the crystal cave.

Help/Support

Help/Support

Subscriber Information

Connect with Us

Nonfiction text features (30 minutes)

Take a close look at the photo. Ask children to share what they notice about it. Help them understand that we get information from pictures.

Point out the smaller photo. What does it show?

(15 minutes for each activity)

Quiz: Comprehension check

Nonfiction Text Feature Hunt: Help students find nonfiction text features in the article.

Compare and Contrast: Using the printable “Two Sparkly Discoveries” students can compare and contrast the heart geodes and the crystal cave.