The Early Years: Rocks Tell a Story

Journal Article | November 2006

Sedimentary rocks, formed by an accumulation of sediments (tiny pieces of rocks or minerals) in a water environment, tell a story that many students may be familiar with. They may have visited areas where water or wind…

Rock Cycle Roulette: Using dice and probabilities, students interactively learn about the rock cycle

Journal Article | October 2000

Teachers of environmental science, Earth systems, geology electives, or traditional Earth science courses must teach the rock cycle at some point in the curriculum. This activity moves students through the rock cycle…

Spenser and the Rocks: I Wonder Why (e-book)

eBook | July 2013

As he begins to discover the interesting rocks all around him, Spenser has many questions about what he finds. Given the differences in the rocks’ colors, sizes, shapes, and textures, there is much to learn about rocks…

Turning Bread into Rocks: A Multisensory Unit Opener

Journal Article | September 2000

How can we engage middle school students and pique their interest in rocks? How can we better demonstrate the vital links between minerals and rocks? How can we help students fine tune their observation and recognition…

Chemistry Rocks: Redox chemistry as a geologic tool

Journal Article | August 2001

Teachers can use students’ interest in the color in rocks as a starting point for a redox chemistry lesson. In this activity, each group of students examines one or more of the rocks. By matching a rock’s color to a…

Science Sampler: Rockin' around the rock cycle

Journal Article | September 2005

The following inquiry-based activities were designed as part of a unit intended to aid students in understanding the rock cycle, with the assumption that, after being taught the lessons in the unit, students would have…

Tried and True: Chipping away at the rock cycle

Journal Article | January 2009

The National Science Education Standards recommend that middle school students have a clear understanding of the history, composition, and formative processes that shape the Earth. To accomplish this goal, the authors…