National Park Service
Rock Ranking
Junior geologists sort rocks and soil. They separate a sample of river gravel by size, shape, color, and other characteristics. To include Common Core standards, you could have little ones graph the number of particles in each sample.
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....
Curated OER
Weathering and Erosion
Fourth graders take a look at the effects of weathering and other geologic activities found in the environments in which they live. Along with a guided geologic walk outside of campus, there is also an effective in-class demonstration of...
Curated OER
Rocks and Soil: What is the Land Made of?
Students identify rock classifications and rock cycles. In this rocks and soils lesson students complete experiments on rocks and how they are symbols in the Bible.
Curated OER
Environmental Studies: The Environment Rocks!
Rock exploration, so exciting! After reading the book Everybody Needs a Rock, the class makes sandwiches to better understand that the Earth is made in layers. They then use a description of the 3 types of rock to conduct an observation...
Kenan Fellows
Sustainability: Learning for a Lifetime – Soil
Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...
Curated OER
Science:Effects of Weathering
Seventh graders take an outdoor observation walk around the campus and take soil samples. Working in groups , they conduct experiments with rocks and soil that demonstrate the effects of different types of erosion.
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
Students are able to describe earth processes (e.g., rusting, weathering, erosion) that have affected selected physical features in students, neighborhoods. They are able to identify various earth structures (e.g., mountains, faults,...
Curated OER
Soil Scrolls
Third graders examine soil samples and explore the what happens in each layer of the subsoil. They work in cooperative groups to create a scroll that shows what takes place in each layer, and discuss why much of the activity is in the...
Curated OER
Making & Breaking : The Rock Cycle
Students examine the rock cycle and how rocks can change over time. For this geotechnical engineering lesson students draw a diagram of the rock cycle.
Curated OER
Soil Investigations
Middle schoolers examine the basics about soil. In this soil lesson students describe the physical properties of soil and explain what soil profile is.
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
First graders examine different types of rocks and minerals. They create models of the rocks and minerals they find interesting. They discuss and explain three ways in which the earth changes.
Curated OER
SOIL
Second graders name the various materials that comprise soil, including weathered rock and other organic matter; and explain that soils differ in their color, texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support the growth of many...
Curated OER
What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Soil
Young scholars conduct an experiment to evaluate whether plants need soil to survive and grow. They plant two seeds, one with soil and one without, make predictions, and record and analyze the seed germination results on a worksheet.
Curated OER
Rock Cycles, Crayon Cycles
Students examine the rock cycle and the path that rocks go through to rearranged in different ways. They define key vocabulary terms, then in small groups conduct a variety of experiments using crayon shavings as simulated rocks and...
Curated OER
Rock Solid
Students investigate the three types of material stress related to rocks. They watch a PowerPoint Presentation, view an online animation of the three types of rock stress, identify the various types of rocks, answer true or false...
Curated OER
Let's Take a Rock Apart!
Students examine a crushed rock and sort the minerals they find in that rock by color and other properties.
Curated OER
Soil Types
Fifth graders examine how sand and rock fragments in soil are products of erosion or the weathering of rocks. They listen to the book "Sand" by Ellen J. Prager and answer discussion questions. Next, they analyze sand samples and sort...
Curated OER
A Model of the Rock Cycle
In this rock cycle worksheet, young scholars use different colored crayons to represent different types of rocks. They follow step by step procedures to model the rock cycle with the crayons. Students draw the rock cycle, show...
Curated OER
Weathering
Second graders explore weathering and how the water cycle plays a part in weathering. For this weathering lesson, 2nd graders put gravel and sugar cubes in a jar and shake, simulating weathering. Students use the scientific method...
Curated OER
Rock Cycle SIOP Unit
Young scholars collect rocks, identify them, classify them, investigate their properties, and more. In this rocks lesson plan, students also experiment with soil and erosion and weather.
Curated OER
Erosion
Fifth graders engage in some activities that will help them to identify erosion and explain the causes of erosion. They also look into ways that humans can slow the process of erosion in some cases. After a teacher-led demonstration,...
Curated OER
Keeping Soil in Its Place
Fourth graders investigate erosion. In this Science lesson, 4th graders explore the role of weathering and plant growth related to erosion. Students define the components of soil. Students explore the history of the Dust Bowl.
Curated OER
Our Earth
In this Earth's environment worksheet, learners complete a crossword puzzle given 35 clues about a variety of topics related to our Earth. Topics include ecosystems, precipitation, biomes, energy transfer, soil, weathering and rocks.