Rocks and Minerals Lesson Plans
You can use these hands on lessons to get kids 'rocking' in geology!
By Jennifer Sinsel
Children love to collect things, and over the years, my students have shared collections ranging from coins and bottle caps, to objects as unique as eggshells and glass frogs. However, the most popular collections among elementary students often consist of rocks and minerals. Rocks and minerals hold a certain allure for children; they can be beautiful, unique, and mysterious all at the same time – and we as teachers can capitalize upon this natural fascination to teach geology content, as well as skills in classification, observation, and research.
Although most students don’t realize it, there is a difference between a rock and a mineral. Minerals are naturally occurring, homogeneous solids with crystalline structures. Rocks are made up of two or more minerals, and they can be further classified into three major groups: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Igneous rocks (such as obsidian and granite) are formed when melted rock, or magma, cools. This can happen either slowly or quickly, depending on whether the rock is cooling above ground or underground. Sedimentary rocks (such as limestone and conglomerate) are formed when sediment or pieces of other rocks are cemented together to form another rock. This can happen when layers of sediment are deposited on top of each and harden over time. Metamorphic rocks (such as gneiss and marble) actually come from other rocks that have been under intense heat and pressure. If you look closely at a metamorphic rock, you can often see flattened mineral grains.
In order to better understand these three types of rocks, it is a good idea to create a model. Using materials such as chocolate bars, graham crackers, frosting, different flavors of taffy, peanut butter, sandwich cookies, walnuts, gum drops, and marshmallows, ask your students to create an igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock. In order to make the models as authentic as possible, they should also have access to a microwave or hot plate. After sharing their “rocks” with the rest of the class, allow them to eat their creations!
For more ideas on teaching about rocks and minerals, try the following lesson plans.
Rocks and Minerals Lesson Plans:
In this lesson students learn about the physical characteristics of minerals. They use rocks and candy to put items into groups. They fill out a Pet River Rock worksheet. Students guess which rock their classmates chose using a description. They classify minerals.
Students learn about how rocks are formed and transformed into new rocks. They learn vocabulary and work in groups to perform experiments with crayon shavings that are used to simulate rocks and rock fragments.
In this lesson students conduct a scavenger hunt in which they look for minerals in their classroom, at home, etc . . . An excellent worksheet is included!