Berkshire Museum
Backyard Rocks
You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...
Scholastic
Lesson Five: The Earth, Rocks and Minerals
Apply the principles of geology to a series of collaborative, hands-on class activities. Young earth scientists learn more about igneous, metamorphic, and sedentary rocks before classifying and weathering rocks that they find....
Virginia Department of Education
Mineral Identification
What's the difference between a rock and a mineral? And what properties are used to identify minerals? The first installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes prompts young scientists to identify a set of...
Curated OER
Earth Rocks!
Students study the basic elements of the Earth's crust: rocks, soils and minerals. They categorize rocks, soils and minerals and how they are literally the foundation for our civilization. They also explore how engineers use rock soils...
Curated OER
Mineral Matters
Middle schoolers 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...
Curated OER
Sediment Sleuths
Are you looking for a good, solid lesson on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a lesson. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing sediments from local water sources....
Curated OER
Using KidPix
Students discover how to use a software program known as KidPix. They create a slideshow noting the differences between rocks and minerals. They share their slides with the class.
Curated OER
Rock Hounds
Students receive a basis for understanding the three main classifications of rock: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. They engage in a hands-on activity designed to give them an appreciation for rocks and minerals.
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,...
Curated OER
Sampling Rocks
Students collect and sort rocks based on visible characteristics. For this statistics lesson, students determine adequate sample size and categorize rocks based on characteristics. The book Everybody Needs a Rock is read to discuss the...
Curated OER
4.2: Exploring Rocks
Students collect and look at rocks and write down information about them in science notebooks. They make comparisons and sort the rocks according to their properties, and then discuss their findings with their classmates and put them on...
Curated OER
Making & Breaking : The Rock Cycle
Students examine the rock cycle and how rocks can change over time. In this geotechnical engineering instructional activity students draw a diagram of the rock cycle.
Curated OER
Moh's Hardness Test
Young geologists utilize Moh's hardness scale to help them correctly sort and classify different types of rocks. This lesson has everything you need, including an excellent example of the Mohs' Hardness Test, to successfully implement...
Curated OER
Mystery Minerals
Learners minerals and how they form. They investigate the classification of minerals according to physical properties. Students watch a video about mineral characteristics. In groups, learners participate in hands-on activities and...
Curated OER
This is Your Rock, This is My Rock
Students study the identity of rocks and minerals that can be found in Utah. They examine the characteristics that identify the rocks and minerals by using a hand lens and write them down on an index card. They role play as detectives by...
Curated OER
Minerals and the Products of Mining
Students plot where minerals come from and have an awareness of how mineral use makes the world interdependent. They examine how to identify some sort of mineral products they use each day.
Curated OER
Rock and Roll with Music and Movement
Fourth graders improvise music and dance to express their analysis of types of rocks. They discuss the three classes of rocks, list describing words, and create a short musical piece and dance to symbolize the rock they are dancing.
Curated OER
Rocks Lesson Plan
Students become familiar with the characteristics of rocks and use them to sort. In this rocks lesson plan, students view a video, then try to identify various rock samples.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Minerals and Rocks
Students identify and interpret various minerals and discover how to identify and classify them. They identify and discuss how people describe objects and how scientists describe objects. From there, students look at a set of common...
Curated OER
Rocks, Minerals, and Fossils
Fourth graders do 5 different lab stations to explore rocks, minerals, and fossils.
Curated OER
This is Your Rock, This is My Rock
Fourth graders review the types of rocks and minerals they see in photographs. Individually, they are shown a sample of rocks or minerals and classify them based on their characteristics. They give their observations to another...
Curated OER
Sediment Sleuths
Students classify sediments based on their physical characteristics, such as size, shape and color. They identify and describe rocks and minerals that are common to their region of the state.
Curated OER
Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources: Mining in B.C.
Students explore energy by categorizing rocks. In this British Columbia geology lesson, students define many different vocabulary terms associated with mining such as sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Students utilize sample rock...