Unit Plan
Utah State Office of Education

Utah Science: Rocks & Minerals

For Students 9th - 10th
A unit on rocks and minerals presented with interactive and classroom activities. Gain understanding of rocks, weather, erosion, earthquakes, and relative dating with this resource.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Rock Jeopardy!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students reinforce their understanding of rocks, the rock cycle, and geotechnical engineering by playing a trivia game. They work in groups to prepare Jeopardy-type trivia questions (answers) and compete against each other to demonstrate...
Handout
Geography 4 kids

Geography4 Kids: Biosphere: Erosion

For Students 3rd - 8th
What is erosion? Here's a brief look at the process of erosion ..what it is, how it happens, effects. Useful for the younger researcher.
Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Weathering and Erosion

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes how solid rock is worn down through weathering.
Article
eSchool Today

E School Today: Physical Weathering

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn how weathering changes rocks.
Graphic
US Geological Survey

Usgs: Erosion of a Sea Stack Over 100 Years

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This series of photos dramatically illustrates the process of mechanical weathering known as rock abrasion. Taken over a 100 year span, you can see the effects of rock abrasion on Jump-off Joe, a sea stack at Nye Beach in Oregon. The...
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Rock Abrasion

For Teachers 9th - 10th
During a study of rock weathering, students model the process of rock abrasion.
Unit Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic: Study Jams! Science: Landforms, Rocks & Minerals: Sedimentary

For Students 3rd - 6th
A slideshow, a karaoke song to sing along to, and a short multiple-choice quiz on sedimentary rocks and how they are formed.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Engineering for the 3 Little Pigs

For Students 3rd - 5th
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate 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...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating the Minnesota River's Glacial History Near Henderson, Mn.

For Teachers 6th - 8th
While visiting three separate sites in or near the Minnesota River valley, students will question the deposition environment of rock types found and the creation of the valley itself. Students will discover find types of rock found far...
Article
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: What Are the Biological Processes of Weathering?

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about biological factors in the weathering and breakdown of rocks.
Interactive
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Interactives: Rock Cycle: How Rocks Change

For Students 5th - 9th
Find out how rocks and rock layers change with erosion and weathering.
Unit Plan
CPALMS

Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Weathering, Erosion, and the Rock Cycle

For Students 6th - 8th
Learn about the processes involved throughout the creation of sedimentary rock.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Rain Erosion: Does the Rate of Water Effect Erosion?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this lab, students investigate whether the rate of water falling (rain) affects the amount of erosion (soil movement). This experiment could lead to further questions: how does grass or rocks effect soil erosion, does erosion lead to...
Handout
Other

Rocks and Minerals: The Rock Cycle

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about various rock types and the rock cycle.
Activity
Other

Moorland School: Earth Science Zone: The Rock Cycle

For Students 9th - 10th
Did you know the rock cycle is a continuous cycle that takes hundreds of millions of years? This webpage explains how sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks are formed. It also gives examples of each type of rock. Also includes a...
Article
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: What Is Weathering?

For Students 9th - 10th
A definition of the process of weathering.
Activity
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: The Earth Trek Gravestone Project

For Students 9th - 10th
The Gravestone Project, part of the global citizen science program called EarthTrek, seeks volunteers to visit cemeteries around the world and collect scientific data on how marble gravestones are weathering.
Unit Plan
Idaho State University

Idaho State University: Landslides, Slope Failure, Other Mass Wasting Processes

For Students 9th - 10th
Slope failure is the downslope movement of rock debris and soil in response to gravitational stresses. Three major types of mass wasting are classified by the type of downslope movement. The types of movement, falls, slides, and flows...
Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Salt Crystallization

For Students 5th - 8th
Learn how salt crystallizes and the weathering effect that this has on rocks and on structures.
Handout
Australian Museum

Australian Museum: Sedimentary Processes

For Students 9th - 10th
Everything you need to know about sedimentary rocks and the processes by which they are created, including weathering, soils, environments, and classification.
Lesson Plan
Other

The Geologic Society of America: Towel Geology [Pdf]

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
This lesson is a demonstration in how geological layers form and erode using just a stack of towels. The author describes this lesson as GeoArt, which means one looks at geologic processes through both a scientific and an artistic lens.
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Engineering for the Earth

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young students are introduced to the complex systems of the Earth through numerous lessons on its natural resources, processes, weather, climate and landforms. Key earth science topics include rocks, soils and minerals, water and natural...
Handout
University of Nebraska Omaha

University of Nebraska: Landforms

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about the formation of the Grand Canyon to weathering processes is provided along with a link to photos of the Grand Canyon.