Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Rock detectives
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/rocks/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/rocks/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Know that rocks are made of minerals.
- Name the three kinds of rock and say simply how each one forms.
- Know that rocks slowly break and change.
- Observe carefully and compare rocks.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Pass round a few rocks. What do you notice? Are they all the same? |
| 10 min | Read the text together; draw three boxes on the board for the three kinds of rock. |
| 15 min | Rock detectives. |
| 5 min | Play Rock or not? |
| 5 min | Quiz together. |
Materials for the experiment
- 3 or 4 different rocks (for example granite, sandstone, slate, a beach pebble)
- A magnifying glass
- A dropper or teaspoon and a cup of water
- Paper towels
Safety: Do not bang or break the rocks: chips can fly into eyes. Do not put rocks or water in your mouth. Wash hands afterwards.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| All rocks are the same. | There are three kinds of rock, made in different ways. |
| Rocks never change. | Rocks slowly break and change, but it takes a very long time. |
| Rocks have no spaces inside. | Some rocks, like sandstone, have tiny spaces that let water soak in. |
Worksheet answers
- A drawing of a rock with crystals, grains or layers labelled.
- Sandstone (usually; it has spaces between its grains).
- Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
Quiz answers
- What are rocks made of? Tiny bits called minerals. A rock is a solid made of minerals.[1]
- How many kinds of rock are there? Three. Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.[1]
- How is igneous rock made? Hot melted rock cools and goes hard. Igneous rock forms when melted rock cools.[1]
- Limestone gets very hot and squeezed deep underground. What can it become? Marble. Limestone changes into marble.[1]
- What can break a rock? Water freezing in a crack. Ice takes up more space and pushes the crack open.[3]
Going further
Start a class rock collection from the playground or a walk. Sort the rocks by colour, then by whether you can see crystals, grains or layers.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Rocks and minerals (British Geological Survey (BGS)): reliability High
- [2] Geological processes (British Geological Survey (BGS)): reliability High
- [3] Weathering (British Geological Survey (BGS)): reliability High
- [6] Rock: physical properties (Encyclopaedia Britannica): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/rocks/sources/
Privacy: the lesson pages have no ads, no tracking and no cookies. Quiz answers and game scores stay in the pupil's browser. A short video for each age is coming.