Activities
for
Rock
It! Series
by
Nancy Kelly Allen
Facilitate whole class
participating in shared reading and discussion of the books in the Rock
It! Series:
Minerals
and Rocks, Earth's Rock Cycle, Slate and Other Metamorphic Rocks, Limestone and
Other Sedimentary Rocks, Granite and Other Igneous Rocks, and
Identifying Rocks.
Read aloud
each book. Ask the following open-ended questions:
v
What
is a rock? What was your favorite rock in the book/books?
Why?
v
Have you
ever looked closely at a rock? Can you identify a particular kind of rock?
v
What is a
fossil? Have you ever seen a fossil? Ever found one? If so, where did you find
the fossil? Describe it. How are fossilized animals like or unlike animals
today?
v
Minerals
are part of our lives every day. How do we use minerals?
v
How is
coal used to make our lives better?
v
Discuss
different types of rocks. How are different types of rocks used? Why are some
rocks used for building stones and others are not?
v
How can
one type of rock change into another type?
v
Describe
the differences in rocks. What is the rock cycle? How long does it take one rock
to change into another? (Some change quickly, others take eons).
v
What do
all rocks have in common? (They all come from igneous rock and are made of one
or more minerals).
v
What
changes rocks? (Weathering, erosion, heating, cooling, and pressure).
Activity:
Making Sedimentary Rocks
Discuss
how sedimentary rocks are the product of weathering and erosion.
Make
Sandstone
Materials per student:
1
paper cup
1
marker
cementing
solution (2 parts water to one part Epsom salt)
1/4
cup sand
1
hand lens
Directions:
Discuss
how sandstone is made by nature. Sedimentary rocks form in layers. Minerals in
water flow through the layers and harden the tiny rocks into solid rock.
v
Print
the letter “A” on the paper cup.
v
Fill the
paper cup half full of sand.
v
Slowly
add cementing solution until all of the sand is wet.
v
Place the
cup in a warm place until the sand dries completely.
v
Carefully
remove the sandstone from the cup.
v
Use a
hand lens to closely observe the sand.
Writing
activity:
Describe
the sandstone. What is the texture? Color? Weight? How has the sand mixture
changed?
Making
Coal
Discuss
how coal is formed from plant material and minerals.
Materials
per student:
1
paper cup
1
Marker
cementing
solution (2 parts water to one part Epsom salt)
1/4
cup mud
1/4
cup decomposed leaves
1
hand lens
v
Print
the letter “B” on the paper cup.
v
Fill a
paper cup half full of mud and decomposed leaves.
v
Slowly
add cementing solution until leaves are wet.
v
Place the
cup in a warm place until the mixture dries completely.
v
Carefully
remove paper cup from the coal.
v
Use a
hand lens to closely observe the coal.
Writing
activity:
Describe
the coal. What is the texture? Color? Weight? How has the mud and leaf mixture
changed?
Making Sedimentary rocks.
Discuss how sedimentary rocks
are formed in layers. The layers of mud, sand, pebbles, plants, and seashells
are built up over a long period of time. Top layers squeeze water out of the
bottom layers and press the lower layers together. Over time, new rocks form.
These
cookies represent layers of sedimentary rocks.
Ingredients:
1cup
butter
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz.) package chocolate chips
1 (12oz.) package M&M’s
2 cups chopped nuts
Materials:
clear
13"X 9" baking pan
can opener
oven
oven
mitts
Directions:
v
Melt the
butter in the baking pan.
v
Sprinkle
crumbs over the butter.
v
Pour
condensed milk evenly over the crumbs.
v
Spread a
layer of chocolate chips over the crumbs.
v
Spread a
layer of M&M’s over the chips.
v
Spread a
layer of nuts over the M&M’s.
v
Gently
press down the layers.
v
Bake at
350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes.
v
Let cool.
v
Observe
the layers.
v
Cut into
bars and eat rocks!
Writing
activity
Describe
how the items formed in layers. Notice that under pressure and heat, the items
remained in layers. Compare and contrast the making of these bars to the forming
of sedimentary rocks.
Making Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks
Discuss
how metamorphic rocks are formed by heat and pressure.
Materials
per student:
1/2
cups mini-marshmallows
1/4
cup chocolate chips
1-2
tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1
paper plate/pan
1
mixing bowl
1
spoon
hot
plate/microwave
v
Each
student will receive marshmallows and chocolate chips on a paper plate. Explain
how the marshmallows and chips represent sediment and the peanut butter is the
mineral that holds the sediment together to form sedimentary rocks.
v
Each
student will use the spoon to mix together marshmallows, chocolate, and chips.
Form into a ball or rock shape.
v
Explain
that metamorphic rocks form under heat and pressure. Place the “sedimentary
rocks” in a microwave or over a hot plate in a pan. Let students observe how
the sedimentary “rocks” melted and formed metamorphic rocks.
v
Observe
and discuss the changes in form and structure of the new rocks. Write a
paragraph explaining how the sedimentary rocks changed to metamorphic rocks.
Making
Igneous Rocks
Discuss how igneous rocks formed from hot liquid
deep inside the earth. When the hot liquid spewed above ground through a
volcano, extrusive igneous rock formed. Hot liquid that cooled underground
formed intrusive igneous rock.
Materials
per student:
Spray
cooking oil
1
Paper or plastic cup
1
Pan/paper bowl
1
paper plate
1
spoon
hot
plate/microwave
1/4
cups mini-marshmallows
1/4
cup chocolate chips
1/4
cup M&M’s
Directions:
v
Spray
pan/bowl with cooking oil.
v
Add
marshmallows.
v
Place pan
over hot plate or bowl in microwave.
v
Melt
marshmallows.
v
Explain
how the marshmallows represent molten, igneous rock.
v
Add
M&Ms and chocolate chips to represent how molten rock or lava comes in
contact with other rocks.
v
Again,
place in heat source to show how lava is so hot it melts other rocks. When
cooled, students eat the cool, hard igneous rock.
Earth Layers
Use
a boiled egg to demonstrate the different layers of the earth.
v
Cut
a boiled egg in half.
v
The shell
represents the crust which is about 6-40 miles;
v
the white
represents the mantle which is about 1800 miles;
v
the yolk
represents the outer core which is about 1,375 miles.
v
Press a
small, red candy into the center of the yolk. The candy represents the hot,
inner core, which is about 1,750 miles.
Rockin’ and Writin”
Materials per student:
1 small rock
Several markers/assortment of
paint
Each student will paint a rock.
The rock can represent an animal or other object.
Students
will write an adventure story about the rock. What kind of rock is it? Where was
the rock found? How can the rock be used to help people—building stone, road
building, etc. How is this rock different from other rocks? How is it similar?
Making
Fossils
Materials:
1 cup of used coffee grounds
1/2 cup of cold coffee
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
Wax paper
Mixing bowl
Some small objects to make
impressions in the dough
Empty can or a butter knife
Toothpicks, optional
String to hang your fossil,
optional
Directions:
Stir
the together the coffee grounds, cold coffee, flour, and salt until well mixed.
Knead
the dough together and then flatten it out onto the waxed paper.
Use
the can to cut out circles of the dough or use the dull knife to cut slabs large
enough to fit your "fossil" objects.
Press
your objects firmly into the dough. When you take the object out, you have your
"fossil". If you want to hang the fossil, poke holes into the edge to
hold the string.
Let the
fossil dry overnight and then hang it if you wish.
Hidden
Treasure Rocks
Using
the same recipe, form dough into round rocks. Press an indention into one side
of the rock. Place small objects, such as marbles, beads, etc. in the
indentation. Carefully, mold the rock around the objects so they are completely
covered and inside the “rock.” Air dry the rocks or bake in oven at 250
degrees until dry. Don’t include treasures that will melt inside the rocks.
Hide the rocks in various locations. Create a treasure map so the rocks can be
located by following clues. Finders can break the rocks and take out the hidden
treasures.
Geodes
Geodes
(Greek geoides, "earthlike"). How are geodes earthlike in shape?
Geodes
are round or oblong rocks
containing a cavity that is lined with rock
crystals. Geodes
form from sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Many geodes are found in desert
regions, but these rocks be found almost anywhere including creek beds. Geodes
filled or partially filled with minerals. When a geode is broken, the minerals
inside are revealed. Geodes are ordinary on the outside but spectacular on the
inside.
Geodes can form in different
ways. They can begin as bubbles in volcanic rock. After the eruption of a
volcano, the rocks land and eventually make their way to a river. Here, they
settle in the mud at the bottom. These soften rocks collect sediment at the
river bottom and form crystals inside.
Geodes also form around animal
burrows, mud balls, or tree roots in sedimentary rock. If a hollow cavity
remains on the inside of the shape, the outer shell hardens and water seeps in
depositing minerals which develop into crystals. The process resembles mineral
deposits inside a cave, on a smaller scale. These miniature caves can offer us a
small slice of beauty. It’s always exciting to see what’s inside.
The
most common mineral found in geodes is quartz, but
amethyst
and calcite are also found.
Make
a Geode.
Ingredients:
2 cups water
6-8 tablespoons borax* (Mule Team 99 is one brand)
1 clean egg shell half, per student
2-3 egg cartons for a classroom
waxed paper
Activity:
v
Create
a solution of borax and water. Fill a jar with boiling water. Add borax one
tablespoon at a time until no more will dissolve. This will be about three
tablespoons per cup of boiling water.
v
Place
small pieces of waxed paper in the egg carton sections.
v
Set the
clean egg shell halves in the carton on top of the waxed paper.
v
Pour a
small amount of the borax solution into the egg shell halves.
v
In a few
days, or less, crystals will form inside the shell.
Graph
the daily changes in the geode. Write observations daily.
Make
Toothpaste
When you brushed your teeth
today, you used these rocks and minerals–Calcium carbonate (a type of
limestone rock), and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). If you used a fluoride
gel, you used sand and feldspar.
You can make your own
toothpaste.
Materials
per student:
½
teaspoon calcium carbonate (grind up antacids, such as TUMS into a powder)
¼
teaspoon sodium bicarbonate in small plastic cup (baking soda)
Add
just enough water (with eye dropper) to make a paste
Assortment
of food colorings and flavorings
Assortment
of commercial toothpastes
Activity:
v
Divide
students in to groups of four. Each group is responsible for developing one
recipe.
v
Each
student will sample tiny amounts of various commercial toothpastes and record
texture, flavor, and performance.
v
Using the
basic recipe, each group will formulate a toothpaste recipe that is appealing.
v
When
creating toothpaste, keep records of various recipes and reasons those recipes
were not selected. Explain why the recipe used to create the toothpaste was
selected.
Writing
activities:
Each group will write a
commercial about their product. Why will this toothpaste worth buying? How will
it help the person who uses it?
Give the product a name.
Illustrate a marketing poster.
On a chart, compare and
contrast classroom toothpaste to commercial toothpaste.
Research: What minerals are
found in commercial toothpastes?
Seeing Through Glass
Discuss how glass had been used
for more than 5,000 years. Glass is formed from molten minerals that cool
quickly. Lava forms glass when it hits water.
Glass is a popular product in
our everyday lives. More than 40 billion glass containers are produced in the
U.S. each year.
Research
and writing:
How are rocks used to make
glass? What are the different uses of glass?
Count and chart the number of
windows in your classroom and school building.
Money, Money, Money
Metal is found in rocks, and
coins are made from metal. Metal is a good choice for coins because metals
are durable. They are hard to break, They won't shatter like stone, and they
won’t burn like wood. Metals can be melted quite easily and fromed into coins.
Long ago, people traded for
what they wanted. If one person had a wheel made of stone and wood and another
person had a chain made of metal, they often traded items. The system is called
barter.
About 3,000 years ago, people
in the kingdom of Lydia in ancient Turkey had a unique idea: use gold and silver
coins for money. The amount of each coin was stamped on it.
Write a fiction story about how the person
developed the idea of using coins for money. Your story should have a beginning,
middle, and ending. Where did they find the metal? How did they press the metal
into coins? Students may read or tell their stories to the class.
Write an interview of the
person who invented coins for money.
Write a newspaper account of
how the kingdom of Lydia changed when coins were first introduced as money.
Locate modern-day Turkey on a
map or globe. What kind of money is used in Turkey today? What is the name of
the money used in Turkey?
Soaking
Up Water
Discuss how some rocks absorb
water because they have pore spaces within them. Rocks absorbing water is part
of the weathering process that breaks down rocks into small pieces. When water
fills a cavity in a rock and the temperature drops, water freezes and expands.
The expansion breaks apart rocks.
Materials:
A
container larger than a brick
large
measuring cup or container with volume markings on it
assortment
of bricks and rocks (sandstone, granite, limestone)
Activity:
v
Place
a brick in a container.
v
Pour a
measured amount of water into the container. Cover the brick with water.
v
Leave the
brick in the water for at least 30 minutes.
v
Ask
student to record what they see happening and to explain why it is happening.
v
Remove
the brick from the container.
v Pour the water in the container into the measuring cup.
v
Have
students calculate the amount of water soaked up by the brick.
v
Ask
student to record their conclusions.
v
Repeat
the procedure by freezing and thawing a brick, that has absorbed water, every
day for one month. Chart and graph results.
v
Repeat
the procedure with different kinds of rocks.
v
Record
observations and conclusions.
v
Chart
and graph results.
v
Which
rocks weather quickly?
Sedimentary Rock Jar
Discuss
how sedimentary rocks, such as coal and limestone, are formed under water and in
layers.
Materials:
glass
jars with lids
water
rocks
pebbles
sand
soil
Student will bring in samples
of soil, sand, pebbles, and rocks. Fill jar one-third full with equal mixture of
soil, sand, pebbles, and rocks. Add water. Place lid on jar and shake carefully.
Place jar in classroom and
leave undisturbed.
Writing:
Students will predict what will
happen and explain why. Heavier, larger materials will settle to the bottom of
the jar. Lighter, smaller materials will form the top layers.
Have students observe the
changes and write about their predictions and results.
Insect
in Amber
Discuss
how insects became fossilized in prehistoric times. Amber is a resin secreted by
pine trees. The resin or sap is sticky. If an insect flew or crawled into the
resin, it was caught and could not escape. Resin from the pine tree would
continue to drip over the insect. Eventually, the insect was completely covered
in resin. The layers of resin hardened into a fossil over time and the insect
was preserved.
Activity
Make a replica of an amber fossil
Materials:
1 small plastic insect, per student
1 bottle cap, per student
clear nail polish (a drop of orange food color will give an amber color to the
nail polish)
Directions:
v
Place
a tiny plastic insect inside an up-turned bottle cap.
v
Slowly
drip nail polish over the insect.
v Set the cap in an area to dry.
v
Repeat
the process several times until the insect is completely covered in nail polish.
Writing activity:
Students will write a fictional account of the prehistoric world and describe the conditions surrounding the insect that became a fossil. The fictional account can be a skit, story, newspaper article, or an interview of the insect.
Core
Content
RD-04-2.0.7
Children
will make inferences or draw conclusions based on what is read.
RD-04-4.0.1
Children will connect
information from a passage to children’ lives (text-to-self), real world
issues (text-to-world) or other texts (text-to-text - e.g., novel, short story,
song, film, website, etc.).
WR-04-1.1.2
In
Personal Expressive Writing,
·
Children
will communicate the significance of the writer’s life experience by narrating
about life events or relationships.
·
Children
will apply the characteristics of the selected form (e.g., personal narrative,
personal memoir).
·
Children
will create a point of view.
Children
will sustain a suitable tone or appropriate voice.
WR-04-1.1.2
In
Literary Writing,
·
Children
will communicate to an audience about the human condition by painting a picture,
recreating a feeling, telling a story, capturing a moment, evoking an image, or
showing an extraordinary perception of the ordinary.
·
Children
will apply characteristics of the selected form (e.g., short story, play/script,
and poem).
·
Children
will create a point of view.
·
Children
will use a suitable tone or appropriate voice.
Children
will apply a fictional perspective in literary writing when appropriate.
MA-EP-4.1.1
MA-05-4.1.1
Children will analyze and make
inferences from data displays (drawings, tables/charts, tally tables,
pictographs, bar graphs, circle graphs with two or three sectors, line plots,
two-circle Venn diagrams).
MA-04-4.1.2
MA-05-4.1.2
Students
will construct data displays (pictographs, bar graphs, line plots, Venn
diagrams, tables).
SS-EP-4.1.1
Children
will use geographic tools (e.g., maps, globes, mental maps, charts, graphs) to
locate and describe familiar places at home, school and the community.
SS-EP-4.4.1
Children
will describe ways people modify the physical environment to meet their basic
needs (food, shelter, and clothing).
AH-05-4.3.2
Children
will improvise to tell stories that show action and have a clear beginning,
middle, and end. (Literary elements)
SC-EP-1.1.1
Students will classify material objects by their properties.
Objects are made of one or more
materials such as paper, wood, and metal. Objects can be described by the
properties of the materials from which they are made. Those properties and
measurements of the objects can be used to separate or classify objects or
materials.
SC-05-1.1.1
Students will describe the physical properties of substances (e.g., boiling
point, solubility, density).
SC-04-1.1.1
Students
will explain how matter, including
water, can be changed from one state to another.
SC-04-1.2.2
Students will infer causes and effects of pushes and pulls (forces) on objects
based on representations or interpretations of straight-line movement/motion in
charts, graphs, and qualitative comparisons.
SC-04-2.3.1
Students will classify earth materials by the ways that they are used; explain
how their properties make them useful for different purposes.
SC-04-2.3.2
Students will describe and explain consequences of changes to the surface of the
Earth, including some common fast changes (e.g., landslides, volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes), and some common slow changes (e.g., erosion, weathering).
SC-04-3.5.1
Students will use representations of fossils to