Lesson Plan

Hard Rock Café
Lesson Plan

Created by Linda Sebastian
Clermont Northeastern School District

Summary: Hard Rock Café is actually four activities in one inquiry. In What Are Rocks and How Are They Formed? students observe a variety of rocks and classify them based on their observable properties and/or characteristics. In How Can Rock Properties Help to Identify Rocks? students further classify rocks by identifying and comparing their mass, dimensions, and volume. In How Do Rocks Cycle on the Earth? students play a game to learn more about the three types of rocks (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary) and how they cycle from one type to the next over time. In My Life As a Rock students create stories to show their knowledge of the rock cycle. The Family Page extends this learning by inviting parents to facilitate home and community observations and discussion related to rocks in the environment and their various uses in construction.

Day 1: What Are Rocks and How Are They Formed? (60 minutes)

Ready...

Copy a class set of the Thinksheet, Data Sheet #1 (two copies per student), and Family Page. (See Ready to Print.)
Select several rocks to bring in for the class to observe (at least two per team).
Gather the following materials:
- Mystery Object Box
- masking tape (to label student rocks)
- hand lenses
Order a copy of The Pebble in My Pocket: A History of Our Earth from your local library. (See Related Resources.)
Review Related Resources and select resources for use during this unit.

Get Set...

Introduce Hard Rock Café to your students. "This activity challenges you to..."

hypothesize about how rocks are formed
record observations about various rocks, their composition, and their unique characteristics in an efficient and accurate manner
appreciate the beauty and order of nature
have fun learning

Tell students what behaviors you expect of them before, during, and after the lesson.

scientific thinking
respectful listening
speaking in appropriate voices
participating
proper use and clean up of all materials

Explain how this activity is grouped:

introduction
class investigations and research
home inquiry
class discussion

Go!!!

Put "Pet Rock" in Mystery Object Box and have class guess contents.
Read the story The Pebble in My Pocket: A History of Our Earth. (See Related Resources.)
Distribute the Thinksheet and give students a moment to complete the "Think It Through" section.
Share several student responses and then have teams of students look up "rock" in the dictionary and share meanings.
Ask, "What do you know about rocks? What do you wonder about rocks?" List responses on charts or on the blackboard in two columns.
Direct students to complete the "First Hypothesis" section of their Thinksheet.
Group students into pairs.
Give each pair a hand lens and two rocks from the class collection and have them carefully observe their rock.
Discuss the results of their observations and record the properties of rocks they discover on the board. (Example: "My rock is pinkish."-- color. "My rock breaks off easily."-- hardness.)
Distribute the Rock Properties Data Sheet #1 (see Ready to Print). Have the students list the properties in the column and complete an observation of two rocks. Encourage students who finish early to sketch their rocks on the back of the page.
Discuss observations. Label their rocks with numbers so they can use the same rocks for further investigation.

Day 2: How Can Rock Properties Help to Identify Rocks? (45 minutes)

Ready...

Copy a class set of the Rock Properties Data Sheet #2. (See Ready to Print.)
Gather the following materials:
- hand lenses
- vinegar and eye droppers (for the limestone test)
- graduated beakers and scales (for the mass and volume tests)

Get Set...

Review the previous day's observations.
Redistribute rocks to students.

Go!!!

Share the story of Archimedes and how he discovered if the king's new crown contained the correct amount of gold. (See Background Information.)
Direct students to measure and record the weight and volume of their two rocks and test them for limestone content by following the directions on Rock Properties Data Sheet #2 (see Ready to Print). Note: Students who finish early should choose a rock or mineral to learn more about and record their findings on the bottom of their Data Sheets.
Discuss results.

Day 3: How Do Rocks Cycle on the Earth? (45 minutes)

Ready...

Review the Rock Cycle movie on BrainPop.com (see Related Resources). Note: BrainPop will only allow two viewings per day from the same computer without a subscription, so you may want to review this movie the day before you share it with your class.
Copy a class set of the A Rock Is Born game (see Ready to Print).
Gather samples for the three types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic).

Get Set...

Introduce terms for the three types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. (See Background Information.) Note: The Eyewitness--Rocks and Minerals book (see Related Resources) has excellent photos of the three rock types.
Share examples of the three types of rocks (if available at your school).
View the two-minute Rock Cycle movie on BrainPop.com and discuss.

Go!!!

Introduce the Science Is... rock cycle game A Rock Is Born (see Ready to Print) and allow time for students to play.
Discuss student discoveries from the game.
Redistribute rocks to students from the previous day's activity.
Direct students to reexamine their two rocks for clues as to origin.
Complete the "Revised Hypothesis" on the Thinksheet.
Read Everybody Needs a Rock or If You Find a Rock (see Related Resources).
Encourage students to bring in one interesting rock they find or their rock collections (if they have them).

Day 4: My Life As a Rock (45 minutes)

Ready...

Make a transparency and class set of the My Life as a Rock information page (see Ready to Print).

Get Set...

Share student rock collections.
Review the rock cycle by having students fill in the missing terms on the My Life as a Rock information page and discuss the processes.

Go!!!

Instruct students to write in diary or story form, their life history as a rock (in first person). Have students tell how they were formed and how they have changed over time, including how they came to be where they are now. Encourage them to include several of the rock cycle stages.
Share diaries.
Direct students who finish early to use research time to try to identify their rocks and learn how they were formed or to choose another rock or mineral from reference books or a mineral kit to research.
Share research information orally.

Day 5: Put It All Together (45 minutes)

Summarize the Main Points
- Rocks can be identified by their properties or characteristics.
- There are three types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.
- Rocks cycle from one type to another over time.
Complete the "Make Some Sense of It" portion of the Thinksheet.
Compliment students for appropriate behaviors during the lesson.
Evaluation

Formative: anecdotal notes of individuals/groups in progress, incidental questioning of students' observations, quality of students' review questions and answers.
Summative:
- Proficiency Assessment
- Writing Assessment--Evaluate My Life as a Rock diaries/stories.

Want Something More???

Check out Related Resources, especially the websites.
Have your students perform the Puppet Plays Erosion (pages 256-257) and Pebbles and Rocks (pages 264-265) from the book Hands-On Nature. (See Related Resources.)
Observe geodes and crystals. Make "geodes" in egg shells by coating the inside of egg shells with saturated Borax solution or grow crystals on pipe cleaners in a jar filled with the Borax solution.
Practice measuring and data collection by weighing various rocks and measuring their mass by dropping them in water and measuring the volume of the water displaced.
Perform the Mohs' Scale hardness test on rock specimens by scratching them on the designated substances.
Break some rocks open by wrapping them in newspaper and hitting them with a hammer. Be sure to wear safety goggles. Have all onlookers stand a safe distance away and also wear safety goggles. Observe differences between inside and outside appearance.
Get some samples of pumice rock and float them in water. Discuss how the air trapped in the rock allows it to float.
Have students write and illustrate a picture book explaining how one type of rock is formed.
Put several rocks in two plastic jars filled with water. Have each student shake one jar 100 times. Do not shake the other jar. Examine the water from each jar. Ask students to relate the tiny particles in the shaken jar to erosion and what happens to rocks in a creekbed. Note: Pieces of brick work well for this activity.