Lesson Plan: Roca, Roca, Roca
Class Description
Students will explore different rocks and identify characteristics. They will make the three different
types of rocks and discover how they are formed.
Location: Classroom
Duration: 1.5 hours
Standards Addressed: Earth Systems Science
GLE 3.1 Earth’s Materials can be broken down and/ or combined into different materials such as rocks,
minerals, rock cycle, formations of soil, and sand‐ some of which are usable resources for human
activity
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Theme:
There are three major types of rocks and they each have different characteristics and are formed
differently.
Major Concepts:
‐Characteristics of rocks
‐How rocks are formed
Objectives:
‐Students will be able to identify and list characteristics of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
rocks
‐Students will be able to describe how each rock is formed
Learning Target: (to be written on board)
I can identify the three types of rocks and describe how they are formed.
Puedo identificar los tres tipos de rocas y describir cómo se forman.
Inquiry Questions:
What are Rocks? ¿Qué son rocas?
How are rocks formed? ¿Cómo se forman las rocas?
Vocabulary:
Igneous ‐ ignea, sedimentary ‐ sedimentario, metamorphic‐ metamórfico ,rock‐ roca
Materials:
6 rock samples‐ 2 of each type of rock, 6 pieces of construction paper, 6 markers, 24 of the small Play
Doh tubs a variety of colors, 1 letter size piece of foil or wax paper
Class Outline
Opening:
KWL Chart‐ as a class fill out the first two columns of the chart.
Ask‐ What do you know about rocks? ¿Qué sabes sobre rocas?
What do you want to know about rocks? ¿Qué quieren saber sobre rocas?
What do you know about how rocks are formed? ¿Qué sabes acerca de cómo se forman las rocas?
What do you want to know about how rocks are formed? ¿Qué quiere saber sobre cómo las rocas se
forman?
Inquiry Activity:
List the three types of rocks on the board. Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic
Set out 6 rocks and number each rock‐ 2 of each type if possible, a piece of construction paper, and
marker at each rock. Divide the class into groups of 4. Have each group go to a rock and spend 1‐ 2
minutes looking at the rock and writing down characteristics that they noticed. After 1‐ 2 minutes, have
the groups go to another rock and do the same. After they have gone to each rock, gather and discuss
what they noticed.
Discussion:
Ask: What did you notice? ¿Qué notó? Did you find any rocks that had similar characteristics? ¿Había
algunas rocas que tenía características similares?
Put the rocks together that they thought were similar or the same type of rock. Show a sedimentary
rock and discuss characteristics. (layers, grainy, color) Show an igneous rock and discuss characteristics.
(weight, color, air holes, smooth, rough) Show a metamorphic rock and discuss characteristics. (weight,
swirls, color, texture)
Activity: Making rocks
Give each child 2 halves of clay of different colors and 1 letter size piece of wax paper or foil.
For the igneous rock have children:
1. Choose one ball of Play Doh and roll in hands for 15 seconds.
2. Break the ball that you are working with in half and exchange one half with someone else who has
a different color. Even a different color to the other ball you have.
3. Flatten the small ball by pressing down on it with the palm of your hands. The clay should be thin
but not too thin. This piece represents the Earth’s crust.
4. Take the other small ball of clay and roll it around in your hands for 15 seconds. Take the flattened
“crust” and carefully lay it on top of the ball.
5. Hold the ball of clay with one hand and lightly stabilize the flat piece on top with other hand. Push
ball of clay up strongly into the flat piece. Ask: What happens to the Earth’s crust when pressure comes
from below? ¿Qué pasa a la corteza de la Tierra cuando la presión viene desde abajo? This action
represents what happens as magma rises from the mantle into the Earth’s crust. Where it finds an
opening, or a thin, weak place in the crust, it can come out onto the land.
The ball of clay acts like magma it may push out through the crust and then cool or it may just cause the
crust to rise or dome up and the magma cools before it reaches the surface. This
shows how igneous rock is formed. At this point ask which of the rocks they explored earlier would be
igneous. List some of the characteristics of igneous rocks. Write on a chart.
For the sedimentary rock have children:
1. Place the foil or wax paper out on table – break up the “igneous rock” we just made onto the
center of the paper into small pieces. What does this breaking up represent? ¿Qué significa esta
rompiendo? How would you see this in nature? ¿Cómo vería esto en la naturaleza?
2. When the clay is broken up, pile up the pieces in the center of the sheet and fold the sheet over the
top of the pile. Then place the palm of one hand on the sheet and press down lightly to flatten. (Not
hard or not long) What does this action represent? ¿Qué representa esta acción?
3. Open up the packet and inspect what is inside. What happened to the clay? ¿Que paso con el Play
Doh? This represents sedimentary rock. Esto representa la roca sedimentaria.
4. Break your rock in half and look inside. What do you see? ¿Que ves? List some of the
characteristics of the sedimentary rock. Write on a chart.
For the metamorphic rock have the children:
Explain how metamorphic rock is formed. Metamorphic rock is formed when pre‐existing rock is
exposed to extreme pressure or high temperature. Roca metamórfica se forma cuando la roca
preexistente se expone a una presión extrema o alta temperatura.
1. Take the ball of clay that hasn’t been used. Roll in hands 15 seconds and then flatten it into a small
pancake and place on one side of the wax paper or foil.
2. Take the “sedimentary rock” and place on top of it. This represents the layering of rocks. Esto
representa las capas de rocas.
3. Cover the clay with the remaining portion of the wax paper or foil. Take off one shoe. Place packet
on floor and have kids step down hard with all their weight onto the clay packet. (Do not twist or grind
or jump) This action represents pressure (lots of weight from layers of rocks) Esta acción representa la
presión (un montón de peso de las capas de rocas)
4. Have students open up packets. How does it look? Como se ve? How is it different from the earlier
sedimentary rock? ¿Cómo es diferente de la roca sedimentaria antes? How is metamorphic rock
different from sedimentary rock? ¿Como es la roca metamórfica diferente de la roca sedimentaria?
¿Que causa la diferencia? List some of the characteristics of the metamorphic rock. Write on a chart.
Wrap Up:
Ask the class‐ What are the three types of rocks? ¿Cuáles son los tres tipos de rocas? How was each rock
formed? ¿Cómo se formó cada roca? Hold up a sedimentary rock from the rock samples and ask the kids:
What type of rock is this? ¿Que typo de roca es? How can you tell? ¿Como sabes?
Have them fill out their journal page and have kids go up to the KWL chart two or three at a time and fill in one
thing that they learned or a question they have.
Background Information for teacher:
Rocks form in three ways. The first is from hot, molten material from the Earth’s mantle rising up to
create igneous rock. Examples include granite, basalt and pumice. They are usually unlayered (except
basalts) and contain visible crystals.
The second way is from loose sediments compacting and cementing together into sedimentary rock.
They commonly looked layered. Any rock can erode, be redeposited, and become sedimentary rock
The third way that rocks form occurs when high heat, lots of pressure, or both act on igneous or
sedimentary rock to change or recrystalize them into metamorphic rock. Sandstone metamorphoses
into quartzite, limestone into marble, and granite into gneiss. Crystals commonly seen in metamorphic
rocks are usually oriented in lines or sheets, at times giving both small hand samples and outcrops a
wavy or crinkled appearance
What are rocks and where to they come from?
Rocks are consolidated mixtures of minerals that occur naturally. The different mineral grains are held
together very strongly through chemical and physical bonds. Over time, and exposure to the elements,
rocks may decay and break down into soil, or the fragments may be carried away by wind and water,
eventually to become lithified into new rock.
A good book resource is Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough by Natalie M. Rosinky ;Picture Window
Books, 2003. If possible have the teacher read book before you come in.
KWL Chart
K W L
What do you know? What do you want to know? What have you learned?
¿Qué sabes? ¿Qué quieres saber? ¿Qué has aprendido?