The word “slate” has not been used consistently over time and in some industries. Today most geologists are careful not to use the word “slate” when talking about “shale.” However, in the past the word slate was often used freely in reference for shale.

This confusion of terms partially arises from the fact that shale is progressively converted into slate. Imagine driving your car eastwards in Pennsylvania through areas of increasing metamorphism, starting where the rock is definitely “shale” and stopping to examine rock at each outcrop. You will have a difficult time deciding where on that route “shale” has been converted into “slate.” It can be difficult to pick up a rock and apply the proper name where the rocks have been lightly metamorphosed.

In the coal mining industry of the Appalachian Basin, the word “slate” is still used by many miners in reference to the shale that forms the roof and floor of a mine, and for fragments of shale that are separated from the coal in preparation plants. Experienced miners train newer miners, and archaic language is passed along.

In the 1800s, elementary school students used a small piece of slate mounted in a wooden frame for writing practice and arithmetic problems. Writing was done with a small pencil made of slate, soapstone, or clay. The slate could be wiped clean with a soft cloth. Small slates were also used in schools and businesses to list daily events, schedules, menus, prices, and other notices. Today, over 150 years after writing slates started to disappear from schools, the word “slate” is still used in phrases such as “clean slate,” “wipe the slate clean,” “slated for today,” “put it on the slate” and more.