|
||||
Schoolyard Geology |
Schoolyard Geology Home | Lesson 1 | 2 | 3 | Download |
Lesson 2: Rock Stories
Overview | Wish you could take more field trips? You can! Your own schoolyard is filled with great geologic features! In this lesson, students learn that a rock's properties tell stories about where it came from and where it has been. The lesson illustrates how to make geologic observations and gives background about the important properties of rocks to observe. Students then use those observation skills to describe rocks they find on their own Schoolyard. This web site describes specific "geologic" features found on playgrounds (with photos and rocks from example schools).
|
|
Learning Outcomes |
|
|
Materials | Photocopies. A schoolyard or area surrounding your school where you have permission to take your class during school hours.
Prepared graphics in a presentation, complete with commentary, are available for you to download as a Powerpoint or PDF file. Computer projector or overhead projector with color printer required. (optional)
Since students may need to sit on the ground during some outdoor exercises, it can be good to warn them a day ahead to wear clothes that can get dirty. This can heighten the anticipation, as well.
|
|
Time Requirements | 2-3 class periods Preparation: A few minutes of walking around your schoolyard looking for good examples of geologic building materials or natural rock outcrops and filling in a "mystery rock" description. |
|
Downloads | Download the instructions as a single PDF File Download PowerPoint file with all the images |
|
Background |
Class Period 0
| Introducing the Activity |
(Note: You can download a prepared presentation with this activity here)
Begin by asking students, "Close your eyes and picture 'a rock.' Did you picture a boring, grey stone?" Pass around a few sample rocks to your class. Or, alternatively, show these photographs on an overhead. Tell students that these are examples of a few rocks. Either in pairs or by raising their hands, ask the students to describe features of the rocks. Write some of their responses on the board. Tell students, "Not all rocks look the same, and the things that make rocks look a little different from one another give clues about each rock's 'story.' By making careful observations of a rock, geologists can tell where a rock came from and what has happened to it. Since every rock has a slightly different story, it's important to notice the differences in the rocks."
Using their own observations on the board, you can transition into a general discussion of important rock properties (see Class Period 1).
|
Instructions |
Class Period 1
|
|
Closing the Activity |
|
|
Homework | Give students a few blank copies of the Rock Description Table and have them fill it out for geologic materials at home or on their way home. Be sure to instruct them that they are NOT allowed to describe any roads (for safety).
Have students draw a picture of the history of one rock that they described. If they think that their rock came from a raging river, have them draw a picture of it.
|
|
Common Misconceptions |
Misconception: When completing the activity, many students go up to a rock whose grains are actually smaller pieces of rock and only recognize that the individual grains are rocks. They don't acknowledge that the whole thing is itself a rock made up of smaller rocks. Fact: In geology, we call a rock made up of other pieces of rock a sedimentary rock. If those pieces are made up of individual grains of sand, we call the bigger rock a sandstone. If those pieces are bigger, like pebbles or boulders, we call a huge rock with all the pieces together a "conglomerate." Many schoolyard rocks are conglomerates. Teachers should be sure to point out that the whole of a playground might be a single conglomerate rock because it is made up of pieces of smaller rocks cemented together into one piece. Ask students, "how big are the individual grains of the rock you found? How big is the whole rock, with all the grains put together?" |
|
Assessment |
|
|
Science Standards |
California Gr1, Sc4b. Record observations and data with pictures, numbers, or written statements. Gr1, Sc4e. Make new observations when discrepancies exist between two descriptions of the same object or phenomenon. Gr2, Sc3. Earth is made of materials that have distinct properties and provide resources for human activities. As a basis for understanding this concept: Gr2, Sc3a. Students know how to compare the physical properties of different kinds of rocks and know that rock is composed of different combinations of mineral Gr4, Sc4a. Students know how to differentiate among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks by referring to their properties and methods of formation (rock cycle). Gr4, Sc5a. Students know some changes in the earth are due to slow processes, such as erosion, and some changes are due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. Gr4, Sc5b. Students know natural processes, including freezing and thawing and the growth of roots, cause rocks to break down into smaller pieces. Gr4, Sc5c. Students know moving water erodes landforms, reshaping the land by taking it away from some places and depositing it as pebbles, sand, silt and mud in other places (weathering, transport, and deposition). Gr6, Sc2. Topography is reshaped by the weathering of rock and soil and by the transportation and deposition of sediment. Gr6, Sc2a. Students know water running downhill is the dominant process in shaping the landscape, including California 's landscape. Gr6, Sc2b. Students know rivers and streams are dynamic systems that erode, transport sediment, change course, and flood their banks in natural and recurring patterns. Gr6, Sc2c. Students know beaches are dynamic systems in which the sand is supplied by rivers and moved along the coast by the action of waves. Gr7, Sc4c. Students know that the rock cycle includes the formation of new sediment and rocks and that rocks are often found in layers, with the oldest generally on the bottom. Gr7, Sc7c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence. Gr9-12, ES3c. Students know how to explain the properties of rocks based on the physical and chemical conditions in which they formed, including plate tectonic processes. |
AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices | |