Mary Newberry
   Featuring *******Everybody Needs a Rock    by Byrd Baylor 
Introduction
Standards 
Objectives
Activities
Assessment 
Results
Resources
   
     
  Introduction
   Students  will participate in the scientific thinking processes of observing, comparing, communicating and ordering. Exposed to a creative introduction on rules for choosing a pet rock, through the Byrd Baylor book, Everybody Needs a Rock,students  will learn different properties of different kinds of rocks. (Standard 3.a)  Through student input,a group chart is created to list Baylor's ten rules for choosing a rock. Students will bring in pet rocks for scientific testing using the characteristics of appearance, color, weight, and hardness.
Students will access  internet web sites to introduce them to the formation of rocks and samples of rocks. (Standard 3.b)
Students will be pre and post tested using Funbrain.com testing facility which will keep track of their scores.
 
 
Subject: Earth Science/Geology
Topic: Rocks have distinguishing characteristics and vary in hardness
Grade Level: Second
Student Lesson name and URL:http://ctap295.ctaponline.org/~mnewberr/student/
 
 

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Standards Addressed

Second  Grade

Science: Focus on Earth Science

Rocks have distinguishing characteristics and vary in hardness
 

3.   Earth is made of materials that have distinct properties and provide resources 
for human activities. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a) Students know how to compare the different properties of different kinds of rocks and know that rock is composed of different combinations of minerals.

b) students know smaller rocks come from the breakage and weathering of larger rocks.
 

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Instructional Objectives
 

  1. After listening to Everybody  Needs a Rock, by Byrd Baylor, students will be able to  communicate words to describe rules for choosing a rock. 
  2. After analyzing information from team explorations students will be able to compare the characteristics of rocks using terms of appearance, weight, color, texture, and hardness. 
  3. After viewing Earth Structure Video , students will be able to draw a diagram of the earthís layers. 
  4. After collecting information from the Rock Hound Web Site  and Rock Formation Movie students will be able to understand the process of how sedimentry, metamorphic and igneous rock are formed. 
  5. Students will be able to identify the major geologic events that result from plate motions in the Plate Techtonics Movie  and  Volcano Movie  
  6. Given several linked sites to explore students will be able to know how smaller rocks come from the breakage and weathering of larger rocks.

    7.  


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Student Activity

Introductory Activity 

1. Read Aloud
Gather students close to you and read Everybody Needs a Rock,by Byrd Baylor. Re-read the book and, with student's help, make a chart listing the ten rules for choosing a rock. Have student's copy the list into their Pet Rock Record Book. assign each student to bring in a rock. Have them take home their book  and use the checklist of rules to pick their rock.
 


Teaching/ Learning Activities

2. Circle Sharing/ Pair Share

  • After students bring in their rocks, they will be anxous to share them. Take a small group of volunteers (5-6.) Have them sit in a circle to model the activity. On your signal, have students pass their rock to the person on their left, who examines it with his/her HAND LENS. Have students continue to pass rocks, on your signal, until everyone has their own rock back. Now that the children know what to do, put them in several small circles and repeat the proceedure. 
  • Pair-Share: Take a minute for students to discuss their rocks. 
  • Record on a chart the discussion highlights from the students sharing, have them note in their Pet Rock Book noted characteristics of the rocks they shared,i.e. shinny,smooth, heavy, colors,etc. 
3. Student Web Directed Activities 
 

Introductory Activity 

Students will be instructed on use of:
The Mouse
Links
Patience is a Virtue on the Web
Resizing the Window
Scrolling
Going Back a Page

Using Easy Web Tips to Teach Children

Students  will view online movies to learn about Earth Structure 
 

and   Rock Formation  and Plate Techtonics  and  Volcano Formation.
 
 

Enabling Activity

Students will access the web site to learn about the EARTH
Students  will access the web site ALPHABET OF MINERALS and take a virtual tour of rocks to pick out their own pet rock and print out the information sheet to be discussed in the circle sharing/ pair share format.

Culminating Activity
Students will access the Little Explorer's Dictionary on the web to research and complete a worksheet on rocks 
 
 


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Assessment
 

Students were assessed using Funbrain.com
 


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Results 
From pretest to post test students' scores increased on an average of 10%
 
 

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Web Resources & Supplementary Materials
 

This Web page has many excellent slides

Introductory Activity

Using Easy Web Tips to Teach Children
Earth Structure 
  Rock Formation
 Volcano Formation.
Plate Techtonics 

Enabling Activity
 EARTH
 ALPHABET OF MINERALS
Culminating Activity
Little Explorer's Dictionary 
worksheet on rocks 
 
 




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Cottage Hill Elementary
Grass Valley, California
Mary Newberry   email  mnewberry@pleasantridge.k12.ca.us
Last Revised: 05/09/01