Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
Review the difference between rocks and minerals using this resource. Learners identify and investigate the physical properties of these objects. They create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast types of rocks. This is a motivating way...
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Rock On! Featuring the Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Trio!
Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.
Curated OER
Mineral Matters
Students work in a team to use the ProScope Digital USB Microscope and a computer to collect microscopic images from a variety of mineral specimens. They compare specimens and determine how they are alike and different by comparing their...
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Identifying Minerals
Students compare and constrast a wide variety of minerals and rocks. They test them for streak, luster, color and other characteristics. They view an exhibit and compare their answers to them.
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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,...
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Rocks and Minerals
Fifth graders examine different types of rocks and classify rocks by their different characteristics. In small groups they sort their rocks into two categories, then create three categories to sort by on a sorting worksheet. Next, they...
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Rock vs. Mineral - Lesson #1
Students 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....
American Museum of Natural History
Grow Rock Candy
The best way to study crystals is to make your own! A hands-on lesson shows learners how to make their own rock candy from household materials. While they watch the crystals grow, they discover their structure and can even eat their...
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Mystery Minerals
Students minerals and how they form. They investigate the classification of minerals according to physical properties. Students watch a video about mineral characteristics. In groups, students participate in hands-on activities and...
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Let's Rock
Students investigate the property of rocks and how to distinguish among the different types. They explore the hardness of rocks and perform streak tests to determine mineral color. They classify rocks according to their properties.
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Rocks and Soil
Students explore the physical properties of rocks. They explore the three different types of rocks and are able to compare and contrast their different properties. Students simulate the creation of sedimentary rock, they also...
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Metamorphic Magic!
Students explore the steps involved in the formation of metamorphic rock as they prepare a cookie receipe. As part of the process, sedimentary rocks are created and changed through heat to a metamorphic cookie.
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Crystals
Students investigate patterns in solids, the structures of crystals and rocks made up of minerals. For this crystals lesson plan, students review solids, make patterns with Styrofoam balls, make crystals in the lab and observe their...
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Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion
Fourth graders describe the difference between minerals (composed of the same substance throughout) and rocks (composed of two or more minerals). They recognize that there are three classes of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
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Rocks, Minerals, and Fossils
Fourth graders do 5 different lab stations to explore rocks, minerals, and fossils.
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Exploring Rocks
Students collect and examine rocks. They record information about the rocks they have collected in their notebooks. They compare and contrast different rocks and complete a class chart at the end of the lesson.
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What on Earth is in the Earth?
Students explore the physical properties of sand, soil, and rocks and sort, classify, compare, and contrast the materials found in the soil. The differences between the living and non-living parts of the soil is discussed.
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Erosion And the Cycling of Rocks And Minerals
Middle schoolers investigate the concept of erosion by water in a problem solving activity. In small groups, they are assigned either sand, potting soil or rocks to construct a mountain that will hold up to a sprinkler can of water...
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Rocks in our Backyard
Students examine igneous and sedimentary rocks. They observe and identify geological formations in their community, analyze igneous and sedimentary geological layers using a geological map, and use GPS to locate geological formations.
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Field Research Project: Comparing the Parent Rock Material of the San Francisco Terranes With Local Soil Types
Students investigate rocks and minerals and take a field trip to sample soils. They analyze rocks and soil, research the geological terrenes of the topology of San Francisco, and produce a lab research report.
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I Spy
Second graders investigate the properties and uses of rocks. They sort magazine pictures into the categories of living and nonliving, play a game of I Spy for objects made of rock, and make rubbings of the rock items for their Rock...
It's About Time
The Changing Geography of Your Community
Lead your class in exploring their local communities as well as the general environment. As they determine continental distributions by investigating minerals, rocks, and fossils located in their local region, pupils construct a...
Curated OER
Rock Identification Lab
Eighth graders compare and contrast the three different types of rock. In this earth science activity, 8th graders classify rock samples according to their correct rock type. They design their own data collection table.
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Rock Sorting Activity
Students organize rock samples according to their properties. In this earth science instructional activity, students predict whether they are igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary. They compare their prediction with the actual type.