Download lesson plan 1

Kaitlyn Ruvel
Lesson Plan 1
Virginia Standards:
ES.6 The student will investigate and understand the rock cycle as it relates to the origin
and transformation of rock types and how to identify common rock types based on
mineral composition and textures. Key concepts include
b) sedimentary (clastic and chemical) rocks
National Science Standards:
Earth and Space Science:
 Some changes in the solid earth can be described as the “rock cycle”. Old rocks at
the earth's surface weather, forming sediments that are buried, then compacted,
heated, and often re-crystallized into new rock. Eventually, those new rocks may
be brought to the surface by the forces that drive plate motions, and the rock cycle
continues.
 Living organisms have played many roles in the earth system, including affecting
the composition of the atmosphere, producing some types of rocks, and
contributing to the weathering of rocks.
All students should develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry:
 Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations
 Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data
 Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence
 Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and
explanations
Resources: Computers, reference books
Lesson Plan Outline
Topic: Sedimentary Rocks
Instructional Objectives:
Students will understand:

Rocks can be identified on the basis of mineral content and texture.

The processes by which rocks are formed define the three major groups of rocks.

The rock cycle is the process by which all rocks are formed and how basic Earth
materials are recycled through time.
Students will know that:
 Sedimentary rocks may be formed either by rock fragments or organic matter being
bound together or by chemical precipitation.
 Sedimentary rocks are classified as clastic, chemical, or biochemical.
 Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of fragments of other rocks and include
sandstone, conglomerate, and shale.
 Non-clastic sedimentary rocks include limestone and rock salt.
 All types of rocks can be linked together through the rock cycle.

All rocks are unique.
 Where and how a rock forms has a great impact on what type of rock the specimen
will become.

Even though two rocks may look the same, they can have two completely different
histories.
Students will be able to:
 Classify the following rock types as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary: pumice,
obsidian, basalt, granite, sandstone, conglomerate, shale, limestone, slate, schist,
gneiss, marble, and quartzite.
 Create a set of rules/guidelines for each of the three main types of rocks (based on
characteristics/formation features).
 Analyze the unique features of different rocks in order to make conclusions and to
identify them.
 Form conclusions about an environment’s history based on data from rocks.
 Explain how sedimentary rocks form.
 Classify simple sedimentary rocks based their type (clastic, biochemical, chemical).
Materials & Resources: Computers, reference books, rock samples, testing tools (glass,
streak plates, HCl, etc.), cookie activity ingredients, jigsaw information on types of
sedimentary rocks.
Engage:
I am going to have a bunch of different cookies on a powerpoint (or in person).
Students are then to compare rocks samples which I have brought out to the cookies. The
students will see that all the cookies are cookies, but they have different properties. They
will also see that all sedimentary rocks are rocks, but they too have different properties.
They may all look different and have different physical features, but they still have many
commonalities which classify them as sedimentary rocks.
Explore:
I am going to start off with the cookie activity. Students will make their own
sedimentary rocks (cookies) using different ingredients. The cookies will represent
sedimentary rocks. Chocolate chips and different candy pieces will represent small
pebbles and pieces of sediment. The cookie dough will represent what cements the
sediments/rocks together. If we can actually bake the cookies, the students will get to see
the process of the litification. From this activity, the students will have to figure out what
each part of the cookie represents in relation to sedimentary rocks. As this activity is
going on, they will be completing a worksheet with an observations section and a few
questions (which will be discussed as a class).
Explain:
The worksheet from the cookie activity will be used to further explain the
sedimentary rock formation process. We will go over the questions and students will
compare their recorded observations with one another. Also, I will have a brief
powerpoint and some rock samples to pass around while we have a class discussion on
sedimentary rocks. Students will then break into groups of three for a jigsaw activity.
Each student will become an expert on one type of sedimentary rock. The expert groups
will get together, conduct some brief research together (using computers, reference
books, textbook) and then meet back with their home groups to complete a graphic
organizer.
Extend:
This lesson connects with other Earth science lessons in the fact that it involves
minerals, the rock cycle, weathering, erosion, deposition, and the scientific method
(making observations, conducting tests, etc). Students will start to be able to see just how
linked one type of rock is with another (especially after the rock cycle lesson).
Evaluate:
The cookie activity worksheet will also be evaluated. The class will go over the
answers to the questions as a whole, and I will make note of what students grasp, and
what they are confused about.
The graphic organizer from the jigsaw activity will be collected and evaluated. I
will make sure that the students have the correct information for each category, and
double check that the students seem to have a general understanding of the information.
If I see that they do not understand something, I will review that information again.
Lastly, there will be an exit card question asking students: “How would you go
about examining an unknown sedimentary rock (explain the steps, what you would look
for, specific properties, etc.).”
Plans for Diversity:
ELL students: This lesson is great for ELL students because it does not involve much
heavy reading. When the students have to conduct a bit of research (for the jigsaw
activity), there will be a variety of resources available. Students can pick whichever
websites suite them (and their reading levels) best. The books I have out will be varied in
reading/grade levels, so ELL and struggling readers will not have any problems.
Advanced students: For the students who have already mastered this material, a special
graphic organizer activity will be ready for them. Instead of participating in the jigsaw,
these students can create their own, more advanced, graphic organizer which includes
more than just the three types of sedimentary rocks. This work will challenge the
advanced learner, but will not stress them out with “more work.” I will collect and assess
their graphic organizers when they finish.
Connections:
To make the lesson more relevant to the real-world, I will have samples of all
different kinds of sedimentary rocks to pass around. Students will be able to see the
different features which are mentioned in the discussion and on the powerpoint. I will
also talk about the geology of Virginia. For example, the valley and ridge region is
mostly limestone. Students will know that limestone is composed of organic matter
(particularly reef material). Then students will make the connection between the rocks of
the valley and ridge once being a shallow water reef. Each geological part of Virginia
will be discussed like this.
Reflections:
This lesson should be both engaging and interesting to students. Many of the
students have not gone this in-depth with sedimentary rocks before, and should be
curious about all the different kinds. Being able to see fossils, fizzing rocks, and smaller
rocks within larger rocks should be fun. Also, the students should enjoy the cookie
activity. The will be making a connection between sedimentary rocks and a common
food. So on an exam, students should remember that connection (and therefore remember
the details). This lesson goes in depth with sedimentary rocks, but not in a way where the
information will be too overwhelming.
Safety Considerations:
As long as the students do not eat, throw, or cut themselves with the rocks, this
lesson should be safe.