Jason Flach

November 30,2015

Identifying the 3 Types of Rocks

Standards:
Content- Earth Science
ISTE NETS for Student Standards- 4. Critical thinking, problem solving and decision making.
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve
problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

Learning Objectives: Students will be able to identify the three different types of rocks,
igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Students will also be able to understand how each rock
type is formed.
Introduce the Learning Activity: I will begin my lesson by showing the students several
different types of rocks that I have collected over my years of being a geology student. This
should attract students to the lesson because they are able to see and hold very cool samples of
what they will be learning about. I will explain to the students what the different rocks they are
holding are, and how they were formed. I will then move on to how we identify these rocks and
many others.
Provide Information: For the start of the lesson we will look at different rock hand specimens.
We will review how the three different types of rocks are formed, like we learned last class. I will
guide the students to the correct pages on their Earth Science Reference Tables and then they will
break off into groups of two. I will guide the students to the correct pages for this activity. After
this activity is done, we will move onto a geology game online. The students will be able to
complete the assignment using their ESRTs again. Again I will direct the students to the correct
pages on the ESRTs and will explain the controls of the geology game to them. Both of these
websites can be found in my lesson plan or on my resources page on my website.
Provide Practice: For the first activity students will split into groups of two. Each group will be
provided a rock, either: igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary. Students will be directed to
correct pages of the ESRTs to complete the hand specimen assignment.
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/reftable/earthscience-rt/esrt2011-engr.pdf (ESRT p.6, 7)
Next the students will work individually and play a fun game online.

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-games/rocks-game.php (ESRT p. 6, 7)
Provide Knowledge of Results: After working on the hand specimen activity we will go around
the class and state which rock type each group decided their rock was. We will go over why and
how they got to their answer. As for the online game I will walk around the room as the activity
is going on and answer any questions and how the students are getting to their answers. The
online game tells you if you get the answer correct of not.
Review of Activity: At the end of my lesson, I will provide my students with an exit slip asking
a couple questions that they should be able to answer after the lesson. The exits slips will help
both the students and I. The exit slips will allow me to see what else I need to cover, what I may
have missed in my lesson, and if I have to review a certain topic again.
Method of Assessment: At the end of my lesson I plan to ask my students questions about what
we had learned earlier in the lesson. Between doing this and the exit slip, I will be able to tell if
they have retained and understood the information I provided.