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...
Curated OER
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.
Columbus City Schools
Sedimentary Rocks
Turn your class discussion of rock formation from ho-hum to holy hornfels! Junior geologists gain experience in identifying rock types and rock origins, with an emphasis in hypothesizing the environment needed to form certain rocks. The...
Science Friday
Mineral Madness
Science does not need to be as hard as a rock. Pupils test 10 different minerals to determine their properties. The learners observe luster, streak, hardness, and fluorescence for each specimen. Afterwards, they compare and contrast the...
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...
K-State Research and Extensions
Size It Up
The three types of rock aren't classic, punk, and hard. The chapter covers everything scholars need to know about rocks. Pupils compare rocks, learn about their formation, see how rocks change, and follow every step of the rock cycle....
Curated OER
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.
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,...
Central Bucks School District
Igneous Rocks Lab
Searching for a simple igneous rocks experiment to assist pupils with rock classification based on texture and composition? In the activity, pupils view multiple rocks in various ways to determine texture and composition. They then...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Different Minerals
In this minerals worksheet, learners read about the relationship between elements, rocks and minerals. They experiment using 6 different colored gumdrops to represent 6 common elements. Students construct gumdrop and toothpick models of...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Minerals
Students apply rules to compare and rank the hardness and softness of minerals. They perform a scratch test on four unknown mineral samples, read a bar graph that illustrates the comparative hardness and softness of four named minerals,...
Curated OER
The Rock Cycle
In this rock cycle instructional activity, students will review the characteristics of the three rock types: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. Students will also compare and contrast rocks and minerals. This instructional...
Curated OER
Moon Mining
Go on a moon mining expedition from the safety of your classroom with this space exploration simulation. Using simple models of the moon's surface prepared ahead of time by the teacher, young scientists are challenged with locating and...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Crayon Rock Cycle
Middle schoolers view rock samples and model the formation of rocks with crayons. In this rock cycle lesson, students view and describe the three types of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. They model the formation of these...
Curated OER
Minerals of The Earth's Crust
For this earth science worksheet, middle schoolers find the vocabulary words related to minerals by unscrambling the letters. They also complete other word puzzles.
Curated OER
Chocolate Chipping Away at the Rock Cycle
Eighth graders identify the different types of rocks. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders compare and contrast rocks and chocolate cookies. They explain how materials are recycled beneath the Earth.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
What a Hard Test!
Fifth graders complete an exercise that introduces them to Moh's scale of mineral hardness. The scale is presented on the worksheet, and learners answer three questions which have them assign a hardness rating based on some clues. For...