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Notes for teachers

I was able to do this lesson successfully utilizing my family’s long-standing rock collection from many years and locations. However, I

have included links to rocks that you can purchase to establish your collection if Earth Science is a standard you will be teaching year after year.

List of Materials- this is merely a list with prices of each material used. How to use each item is described in each lesson step.

amazon.com- 576 pre-sharpened pencils $35.69, 30 pack dry erase clipboards $46.99, 300 count sandwich bags $8.06, velcro coins $3.49, scotch thermal laminator $44.68

Home Depot: varying landscape rocks, pricing varies from $4 -$16. You need enough for each child to handle a few different rocks

non-rock items, could include: chalk, driftwood, chunk of concrete, a geode, a magnet, ball of aluminum foil, himalayan salt

rock samples for station 1: slate, marble, gneiss, schist, basalt, granite, pumice, quartz, limestone, coal, shale, sandstone Samples can be purchased through: etsy.com AgatesBIFandMore (geology professor and rock collector) or amazon.com eisco labs store prices vary from $4.25 - $33.99 per sample

more landscaping rocks, twine, clay, and popsicle sticks for STEM station

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Standards

4.E1U1.6 Plan and carry out an investigation to explore and explain the interactions between Earth’s major systems and the impact on Earth’s surface materials and processes.
4.G2.1 Compare the diverse ways people or groups of people have impacted, modiﬁed, or adapted to the environment of the Americas.

4.E1U1.7 Develop and revise a model using various rock types to show evidence that Earth’s surface has changed over time.
4.ESS1.1 Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

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Objective(s):

SWBAT deﬁne what makes an item a rock.

SWBAT identify the three major types of rocks and give examples. SWBAT label the stages of the rock cycle.

SWBAT complete a STEM challenge using design thinking to create a tool using rocks.

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

Engage your students by having them join you in your cozy learning area by the Smartboard. Pass out ziploc baggies that have in one real landscaping rocks, and in another, a few non-rock items from the supply lists. Have enough prepared baggies so that each student can engage with the phenomena over the course of 5-10 minutes. While the students are looking at the samples, display the driving question from the attached slideshow onto the board:

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Agenda (lesson time)

I prefer to put all of my lessons into one week/ﬁve day 5E formats with each day usually being devoted to one of the 5Es. However, I have taught this lesson in a shortened version for a 90 minute observation. It is important that you modify the lessons to ﬁt your classroom science time allotment.

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Hands-on Activity Instructions, Explain, Explore, Elaborate

I have ﬂip-ﬂopped explain and explore so that you can minimize some of the classroom shifting. You will do a whole group guided note-taking, and then break the students into three stations (2 exploration and 1 elaboration) before you come back together whole group for assessment
Now that your students are looking at the deﬁnition of a rock, pass out clipboards and pencils with a notetaking guide. Have the students follow along with the slideshow that explains what a rock is , the three types of rocks, and the rock cycle.
Student notes can be used as a formative assessment to tell you that they are ready to move onto exploration and elaboration stations.

Exploration Station One:

Students will sort the three types of rocks and engage with real-life examples. Using this link, Matching Rock Types

print and laminate as many copies as

you’d like to have at your station. Students will sort the types of rock examples into the three categories based on what they have learned from the slideshow. Allow them to engage with your real-life rock collection at this station as well.

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Exploration Station Two: Once again, print, laminate, and cut. Then create a reusable manipulative using velcro dots to match the pieces. Create as many as you’d like for your station. Rock Cycle Cut and Paste

Station Three, Elaboration: STEM design challenge:

Using the suggested materials in the supply list, have the students pretend that they live in neolithic times and must create a tool out of rocks. This activity can be limited to a single station rotation or can be expanded to an entire elaboration class period where students use design thinking to sketch a working design, build and design their model, and try it to see if it works, and then improve their product.

Assessment- the formal assessment for this lesson is a kahoot!

I have my students join me back in our cozy learning area and run the kahoot! via the Smartboard. They play using district provided Chromebooks. You can set up a free teacher kahoot account. If you have the students type in their ﬁrst names. you can go back to results and use these for grades if you need a formal grade.

https://create.kahoot.it/share/rock-cycle/205c7586- 0e9a-4fd1-a055-5a4e7a851fad

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Differentiation

Remediation

All universal accommodations are available. Students are not required to write notes during the slideshow. Anchor charts along with reinforcing written directions can be made available at each station.

Teacher should roam during station time to help students. Students can work independently or with partners.

Extension/Enrichment

If you teach integrated fourth grade science and social studies as I do, I have utilized fourth grade social studies standards for you. The STEM challenge station where the students make stone tools is supposed to correlate with Native American stone tool units in social studies. Depending on your time and scope, this could be a science lesson included as part of an ongoing social studies unit, where students are learning background history of native american lives during the neolithic era and asking themselves how ancient cultures utilized the resources around them to create tools, structures, other materials for daily living.

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