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TRANSCRIPT
The Rock Cycle This packet was made by Liesl
©homeschoolden.com
Feel free to make as many copies as you need for your kids or the students in your
classroom.
This file may not be uploaded to any file sharing website.
You will see there are several different options that you can print out and use with your
students. Choose the one the will work best for you!
The first page (on page 2) was put together by me. The other illustrations are courtesy of
Wikimedia Commons.
Starting on page 9 you’ll find some of the hands-on activities we did to help the kids
understand rocks and how they form.
Heat and
Pressure
Heat and
Pressure
Weathering and Erosion
Weathering and Erosion
Melting
Cooling
Cooling Igneous Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks Sedimentary Rocks
Magma
Volcano
Compact and Cement
The Rock Cycle
©homeschoolden.com
Sediment
The Rock Cycle
Name: ___________________________________
Explain the rock cycle:
Name: ___________________________________
The Rock Cycle
1. _______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________
6. _______________________________________________________________
7. _______________________________________________________________
8. _______________________________________________________________
9. _______________________________________________________________
1. magma; 2. crystallization (freezing of rock); 3. igneous rocks; 4. erosion; 5. sedimentation; 6. sediments and sedimentary rocks; 7. tectonic burial and metamorphism; 8. metamorphic rocks; 9. melting.
The Rock Cycle
The Rock Cycle
Rocks and the Rock Cycle Activities
For the past week or so, we have been talking about the three types of rocks and the rock cycle. (It's free to
download down below.) What is great about these activities is that they will work with a huge age range... from
PreK up through elementary!
As we started our unit, we read several books about rocks together. I really recommend
Geology Rocks!: 50 Hands-On Activities to Explore the Earth. (affiliate link) It had a
lot of really fun ideas. We got it first from the library years ago, but then I wound up
purchasing it to have on hand!
We got a number of other books, but the one I highly recommend is Smithsonian Handbooks: Rocks &
Minerals because of all the beautiful photos.
Sedimentary Rock Activity:
Our first activity was about sedimentary rocks.
We used a clear, plastic cup (though a glass jar would work just fine too). I cut an index card so that it would
fit down into the cup (because the plastic cup was wider at the top).
We took a bag of dried rice and colored it with food dye. (The rice was uncooked.)
Next, the kids spooned different colors into the cup, equally on both sides of the index cards.
Then, gently (remind the kids to be very gentle and not to pull the card out of the rice!) have them move the
card up and down slightly to imitate an earthquake. The layers will shift and slide! That's really easy to see
with brightly dyed layers!
We read a book specifically about sedimentary rocks called How Do Water
and Wind Change Rocks: A Look at Sedimentary Rocks which does a good
job of explaining how sediment forms and washes away. Then explains how
that sediment turns into rock through pressure/compacting and cementing. It
goes on to talk about how wind, water, and weathering affect sedimentary
rocks.
Next, we went on to talk about igneous rocks. We read How Do Volcanoes Make Rocks: A Look at Igneous
Rocks. I brought out some of the rock samples we have and they looked at obsidian, pumice, granite, and
basalt. (See those resources below.) We talked about how igneous rocks can form above ground (when a
volcano erupts) or below ground, when magma cools under the surface.
One of the days while we were reading, the girls "made" their own sedimentary layers out of different colored
play dough. Then, they took a spatula and applied "pressure" to create their sedimentary rock.
Igneous Rocks:
The kids knew about volcanoes and igneous rocks, but we read How Do Volcanoes Make Rocks: A Look at
Igneous Rocks. The activity we did for igneous rock was to take pieces of red, bright yellowish-orange, orange
crayons and pile them on top of one another on a paper plate. Then, we put them in the microwave for 3 or 4
minutes. We brought them out and then ED moved the plate around to watch the colors swirl. The crayons
cooled quickly... just as magma cools as it flows out onto Earth's surface. :)
Metamorphic Rock Activities:
Next, we were on to metamorphic rocks. We read Baking and Crushing: A Look at Metamorphic Rocks which
did a really good job explaining how sedimentary and igneous rock changes into metamorphic rocks through
heat and/or pressure. It has good illustrations that show how magma can ooze into cracks and heat the rocks
around it. It also explains how earth's movement affects rocks. It has pictures of some of the rocks that change:
sandstone (changes to) - quarzite; shale to slate; basalt to schist, etc.
Our metamorphic rock activity was also with crayons. First, we shaved/cut up pieces of crayon. Then, we put
those shavings into layers in a small medicine cup.
ED applied pressure first with her thumb... and then with a hammer to "form" sedimentary rock.
Heat in microwave
Once
it was cool, we popped it out of the medicine cup. TaDa! Metamorphic Rock!
One day, we brought out our rock chart and put the cards in place. It also has a section that talks about how to
identify rocks and minerals: texture, streak, hardness, luster, color. We brought out various rock samples and
examined those.
We spent time look at samples that change to metamorphic rock (like the granite an igneous rock that that
changes into gneiss):
Rock Cycle: Finally, we talked about the rock cycle. We read What is the Rock Cycle? which is was really well
done. It was a good one to wrap up our unit.
We talked about how rocks and change into different forms and we went over the Rock Cycle notebook pages
that I put together for the kids.
We have studied rocks and minerals several times over the years. We have a number of different rock sets and I
highly recommend that you have rocks on hand for your studies.
We got a rock kit with different samples of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous
rocks. We got the small version (with 15 rocks): American Educational Introductory
Rock Collection
The large kit with 75 rocks and minerals looked really great: Introductory Earth
Science Classroom Rocks and Minerals Collection For a rocks and minerals unit for
older kids, I would probably got with this because it has at least 25 minerals, 6 or 7
ores, and samples of the sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.
There is also a set of posters about Rocks and Minerals
that would work well for a classroom unit on rocks and
minerals. (16 inches x 22 inches) These have really
good reviews.
Rock Cycle Song (to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”):
Sedimentary rock
Has been formed in layers
Often found near water sources
With fossils from decayers
Then there’s igneous rock
Here since Earth was born
Molten Lava, cooled and hardened
That’s how it is formed
These two types of rocks
Can also be transformed
With pressure, heat and chemicals
Metamorphic they’ll become
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Rock Cycle Song (to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”):
Sedimentary rock
Has been formed in layers
Often found near water sources
With fossils from decayers
Then there’s igneous rock
Here since Earth was born
Molten Lava, cooled and hardened
That’s how it is formed
These two types of rocks
Can also be transformed
With pressure, heat and chemicals
Metamorphic they’ll become
I’m sorry to say I can’t find the exact link to this song, so if you know who I should give credit to let me know.
Other Free Rocks and Minerals Resources on the blog:
We have a free set of worksheets about the three types of rocks.
We also have a free packet about Rocks and Minerals (some of them were made for my
daughter when she was in PreK and my other two were in elementary).
You might also be interested in these packets:
Earth Science Packet (50 pages)
Simple Machines Packet (30 pages)
A Study of Cells (35 pages)
Human Body Systems (25 pages)
Digestive System Packet (40 pages)
Circulatory Packet (40 pages)
States of Matter Packet (50 pages)
Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter (45 pages)
STEM: Electricity and Circuits Unit (30 pages)
Animal Packet (Vertebrates-Invertebrates, Animal Characteristics and more)
Biology Packet (60+ pages)
Ocean Packet (65+ pages)
Winter Packet: Earth’s Axis/Seasons, The Arctic vs.
Antarctica, Polar Animals and More (75+ pages)
Dinosaur Packet 60+ Page Packet For ages 3-7 (60+ pages)