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6.4: Ride the Rock Cycle Download
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Grade Level: 5 – 6

Purpose:
To teach students that the rock cycle, like the water cycle, has various stages and does not necessarily move linearly through those stages.

Suggested Goals:
Students will gain an understanding of how a rock can move through the different stages of the rock cycle.

Targeted Objectives:
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:

  1. Describe the rock cycle
  2. Identify the various stages of the rock cycle

Diagram of the rock cycle

Background:

A useful aid in visualizing the rock cycle is shown above. The three major rock types, igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary, are shown. As you see, each may form at the expense of another if it is forced out of equilibrium with its physical or climatic environment by either internal or surficial forces.

Magma is molten rock. Igneous rocks form when magma solidifies. If the magma is brought to the surface by a volcanic eruption, it may solidify into an extrusive igneous rock. Magma may also solidify very slowly beneath the surface. The resulting intrusive igneous rock may be exposed later after uplift and erosion remove the overlying rock. The igneous rock, being out of equilibrium, may then undergo weathering and erosion, and the debris produced is transported and ultimately deposited (usually on a sea floor) as sediment. If the unconsolidated sediment becomes lithified (cemented or otherwise consolidated into rock), it becomes a sedimentary rock. As the rock is buried the additional layers of sediment and sedimentary rock, heat and pressure increase. Tectonic forces may also increase the temperature and pressure. If the temperature and pressure become high enough, usually at depths greater than several kilometers below the surface, the original sedimentary rock is no longer in equilibrium and recrystallizes. The new rock that forms is called a metamorphic rock. If the temperature gets very high the rock melts and becomes magma again, completing the cycle.

The cycle can be repeated, as implied by the arrows. However, there is no reason to expect all rocks to go through each step in the cycle. For instance, sedimentary rocks might be uplifted and exposed to weathering, creating new sediment.

Materials/Preparation:
Create the dice and posters for the different stations of the rock cycle game. [Printable patterns are availablein the PDF download version of this lesson.] Suggestions: enlarge the pattern to about 140% and copy onto card stock. You may want to laminate before folding. Scoring at the folds will help the dye to fold more easily. Color code each cube and station card to avoid mixing them up. This is time consuming, so you may want to solicit parent assistance.

Procedure:

Part I: Conduct an introduction discussion about the rock cycle. Use some type of graphic organizer that you think your students will find helpful: a K-W-L Chart, a word-wall, a concept map. Be sure that the following words are included in the discussion: plate tectonics, magma, silt, flood plain, sediment, subduction, evaporation, erosion, glacier, avalanche, lava, and crystallize. It would be good to have some of the rock types to show as you discuss them. Contact a rock and mineral club in your area – they are usually glad to help you obtain specimens.

Part II: Play the Rock Cycle Game. Set up your classroom with 8 areas at which a change in the rock cycle occurs. Each student starts at one area. At each area is a die that the student should role to determine what path they should take. It is possible for the student to remain at the same station for a long time. To make the game more interesting, my rule is that you can only stay at one station for 3 turns. Then you must go to another station. While at each station and while moving to the different stations, students must record what is happening on their journey chart. [See PDF download version of lesson.] After the game is over they will have a record of what happened.

Part III: Create cartoons. After their journey is complete, students must create a cartoon of how their adventures in the rock cycle occurred. Points are given for use of correct terms. Each cartoon page should be divided so there are 12 boxes—room for 12 drawings. Students should turn in their adventure log and cartoon together so you can see what has occurred in their adventure.

Questions:

  • What happened while you were on the rock cycle?

Extensions:

  • Have students create a story or a travel brochure about their time on the rock cycle.

Assessment:

  • Evaluate the students’ journey logs and cartoons. See rubric: Cartoon Creation, in the PDF download version of this lesson.

Lesson Specifics:

  • Skills: Students will need to use observation, inference, data collection skills to complete the activity.
  • Duration: 1 day, after a background introduction
  • Group size: Project should be completed individually
  • Setting: Classroom

Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards:

  • 12.E.3b: Describe interactions between solid earth, oceans, atmosphere and organisms that have resulted in ongoing changes of Earth.
  • 17.B.3a: Explain how physical processes including climate, plate tectonics, erosion, soil formation, water cycle, and circulation patterns in the ocean shape patterns in the environment and influence availability and quality of natural resources.

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