The Rock Cycle
Using a model, in the form of a game, students make sense of the different geological processes by which earth materials are cycled and the ways that these processes produce the three different types of rock. Students also consider how the flow of energy drives various geological processes that form rock. Finally, students develop a model, in the form of a diagram, that describes the cause-and-effect relationships between geological processes and the cycling of Earth’s materials.
Details at a Glance
- 1-2 Days | 1-2 ~50 minute class periods
- 1 Activity
- Accommodates unlimited classes, each with 8 groups of 4 students
- Meets our criteria for supporting literacy
- All materials are non-consumable
- Includes digital resources
- Developed in partnership with SEPUP
Scientific Concepts
Disciplinary Core Ideas
•MS-ESS2.A Earth’s Materials and Systems
•MS-ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
Science and Engineering Practices
•Developing and Using Models
•Analyzing and Interpreting Data
•Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
•Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence
Crosscutting Concepts
•Cause and Effect
•Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
•Systems and System Models
•Energy and Matter
•Stability and Change
•Patterns
•Structure and Function
•Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems
Key Vocabulary: geological time rock cycle, igneous rock sedimentary rock, lava sediments, magma subduction, metamorphic rock
Guides & Student Sheets
Our kits and modules provide you with everything you need so you can open, review, and teach the material confidently the next day.
- Comprehensive Teacher Guide with background information, detailed instruction, example data and answers
- Student Sheets with age appropriate background information, full procedure(s), and analysis items
- Materials necessary for the investigation (beyond common classroom items)
- Safety Data Sheets
Kit Components
- 1 Teacher’s Guide
- 32 Student Worksheets and Guides
- 32 Geologist's Notes
- 8 Rock Cycle activity boards
- 32 Activity pieces
- 8 Number Cubes
- 9 Earth Process cards
- 8 Igneous Rock Cards, Set of 20
- 8 Metamorphic Rock Cards, Set of 20
- 8 Sedimentary Rock Cards, Set of 20
Related Products
-
Kit #406SExamining FossilsFossils provide important evidence about changes in life on Earth. This kit provides students with the opportunity to handle and examine eight different fossils from various localities and geologic ages. Fossils of species that are no longer living provide evidence for extinction; fossils of species similar but not identical to those alive today provide...
$194.65 View Details -
Kit #403SClassifying Rocks
This activity begins with a fictional newspaper story describing how hikers may have discovered diamonds in a national forest. In Part I, students then observe rock samples and use a table of characteristics to help identify each rock as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary. Students then use this knowledge to identify the type of rock...
$159.10 View Details -
Kit #445SPlate Tectonics and Continental Drift
Student groups use specially designed and annotated puzzle pieces representing the earth’s continents to investigate the idea of continental drift. In Part I, an exploratory activity, students attempt to fit the puzzle pieces into one large continent using clues provided by the shape and the geologic evidence contained on each piece. In...
$53.00 View Details -
Kit #430Interactive Rock Cycle Game
This activity provides an active-learning alternative to traditional passive methods of studying the rock cycle. As students “become” a small quantity of earth material and “travel” through the rock cycle, they experience the interrelated processes and materials that shape the world around us. Eight rock cycle stations, each representing a...
$67.20 View Details
