You've Got to Be Cool to Make Igneous Rocks

Crystals form before your very eyes! What sixth grader wouldn't enjoy this lesson on igneous rock formation? Using hot Salol, junior geologists observe the crystal formation process as the material cools. This comprehensive lesson plan...

Even though the student handouts are not included in the write-up, this lesson contains the instructions for terrific activities to use when teaching middle schoolers about metamorphic rocks. First, they compare granite to gneiss and...

What an exciting lab experiment to conduct with your high school chemistry class! Crystals are formed naturally in the environment. However, allow your blossoming chemists to create their own unique crystals using alum and water. You may...

Rocks can bend? Pupils investigate how heat and pressure produce metamorphic rocks by modeling them using clay, and then categorize samples based on observable characteristics. The instructional activity ends with a metamorphic rock...

Eighth graders review the processes that form the rocks on the surface of the earth. They will rotate to three stations to replicate the processes that create igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. This lesson is based on the 5E...

Today scientists watch other solar systems forming, helping to inform us how we got our start. The video covers what makes up the solar system, how we went from gas to a disk, how the planets formed, and the motion in the system. The...

Once again, a teacher is videotaped while lecturing his class when describing how crystals form and grow. It feels like you're sitting in a college classroom and taking a lecture from a very good instructor. His speaking style is...

High schoolers focus on a study of igneous rocks. They see how igneous rocks are formed, and how to distinguish them from other types of rocks. A crystal-growing activity is present, and learners create drawings that show where each...

Is the ice cooling down the water or is the water melting the ice? Here is a simulation that explores thermal energy transfer with iron, brick, and water. It demonstrates the flow of energy and what happens when each material is either...

Meet some interesting rocks. Learners discover information about the three types of rocks and different rocks that are within each group. They read imaginary interviews with six rocks as each rock tells the story of their formation and a...