Curated OER
Minerals Make Rocks
Students examine that all rocks are made from one or more minerals (or plant material, as in the case of coal). They make mock rocks and discuss the difference between a rock and a mineral.
Curated OER
What's Under My Feet?
Students choose one rock from a collection of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. They use multiple resources to create an informational brochure highlighting their rock. The brochures are combined into a class rock museum to be...
Curated OER
Rocks and weathered rocks
Students connect rock and mineral formation with the changes rocks and minerals undergo at the earth's surface. They observe changes produced by weathering and relating these observations to chemical processes such as oxidation,...
Curated OER
Rock and Their Properties: Days 2-4
Students engage in cooperative research projects in order to study about the properties of the three basic rock types and the processes that form them. They plan and develop their products.with the resources for conducting their...
Curated OER
It's All in the Rocks
Students think critically to determine fact or inference when examining sedimentary layers with embedded fossils. They are being introduced to geology as well as evolutionary biology.
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Rocks and Their Properties: Day 5
Students demonstrate their knowledge of rock formation processes in varied ways by sharing their cooperative research projects with the class. They generate well-framed questions in response to each presentation.
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Rock Solid
Students investigate the three types of material stress related to rocks. They watch a PowerPoint Presentation, view an online animation of the three types of rock stress, identify the various types of rocks, answer true or false...
Curated OER
Engineering For The 3 Little Pigs
Students engage in a lesson which demonstrates the importance of rocks, soils and minerals in engineering and how using the right material for the right job is important. The students build three different sand castles and test them for...
Curated OER
Rock vs. Mineral - Lesson #1
Young scholars describe visual, textural, and other physical qualities of sample rock specimens. Using compare and contrast skills, students sort and classify the specimens according to their assessments of the qualities present in each....
Curated OER
Rock vs. Mineral - Lesson #2
Students visually distinguish between those rocks that appear to be made of one substance, vs. those that appear to have more than one. This leads to the distinctions that indicate the different types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary and...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Baseball Rocks!
Students investigate rocks, minerals and the rock cycle before they participate in a videoconferencing activity with another class that tests their knowledge. They create PowerPoint presentation with questions about rocks and mineral...
Curated OER
Sculptured Landscapes
Young scholars research glaciers, how they are formed and what kind of landforms they carve out of the rock they pass over. They organize their findings into a mock newscast in a presentation for the class.
Curated OER
Box Cars Math Games
Students grow vegetable sections without soil, using water and pebbles or small rocks. They explain different ways that plants grow and grow vegetable sections using water and small rocks.
Curated OER
"101 Amazing Earth Facts" Game
Students read for comprehension, work cooperatively to learn "101 Amazing Earth Facts," and compete as teams in a Jeopardy-like game.
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Geology: How to Make a Rock
Second graders examine the various kinds of rocks and make a flipbook about them. They draw pictures of the rocks and write several sentences about how each type of rock is made. They discover the differences in the rocks by making...
Curated OER
You've Got to Be Cool to Make Igneous Rocks
Students describe how igneous rocks are formed, design a classification system to group igneous rocks and develop a controlled experiment to prove that the rate of cooling affects the size of the crystals.
Curated OER
Rock Hounds
Students receive a basis for understanding the three main classifications of rock: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. They engage in a hands-on activity designed to give them an appreciation for rocks and minerals.
Curated OER
Rock Density Lab
Students use a balance and weigh a rock sample. They weigh the rock suspended on a sling in a glass of water. They tabulate the rock's density using the two weights and compare the density of various rocks of similar sizes.
Curated OER
The Rock Family
Students research the characteristics of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks using the Internet. They evaluate websites for use before they organize the research information into a table. They use software to complete a concept map.
Curated OER
The Great Rock Sort
Students describe and sort rocks according to their physical properties. They listen to a story and discuss what they know about rocks, then work with a partner to discuss how their sample rocks differ from each other.
Curated OER
Edible Soils
Students create soil profiles, including rock, clay, silt, sand, and humus, in clear plastic cups out of edible materials.
Curated OER
How to Make a Rock
Second graders watch demonstrations and conduct experiments that show the three different types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Curated OER
Mining Simulation
Eighth graders put their knowledge of rocks and minerals into perspective by seeing how minerals can be mined and the difficulties and costs of mining. They explore the environmental impacts of mining.
Curated OER
Let's Take a Rock Apart!
Learners examine a crushed rock and sort the minerals they find in that rock by color and other properties.