Earth's Rocks & Resources

For a theme on rocks and other natural resources I focused on

• Minerals vs Rocks
• What is earth made of?
• What things are naturally found in or on earth?

We used the one of my flip-chart activity books that I love so much, this one was

All About Earth.



We examined different properties of minerals- some are chalky, magnetic, cubic, thin and sheet-like,make colored streaks, easily scratch glass... We discovered certain minerals that make up commonly used items like pencil lead.

We read books to identify minerals and rocks by name. We also read stories to teach about the 3 different types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic.

Then we played a game where I had the kids try to sort a set of rocks into the 3 categories.

We did a simple test for limestone in our rocks by dripping some vinegar. A rock should fizz in the presence of limestone. KIDS COLORED SIDEWALK CHALK, like Crayola, turns out to not be made from limestone... so it doesn't work on those.

Rock Cycle Songs:
We Will Rock You
3 Types of Rocks (London's Bridge)
Rock Cycle Song (Row, Row Row Your Boat)

Towards the end of the week we talk about what natural resources are. I created an activity sheet to help sort renewable, nonrenewable, and man made resources. Kids had to cut and glue the images in the right boxes. We talked about what all these words mean and how many man-made resources are built ( in part) from resources on earth (like wood from trees to make a house).

We recently received this amazing 3D landscape model. It features 7 difference major landscapes/ geological features such as canyon, glacier, valley, volcanic island, etc. On each piece all the features on the landscape are numbered. There is a book where the kids could look up the numbers to learn the names and definitions of these features (i.e.- fjord, kettle lake, peninsula..) The sides also give you a soil profile of the layers commonly found underground in each area. Some show fault lines or intrusions and help tie in where sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks are most commonly found.