LEARNING GOAL:
CONTENT STANDARDS
Recognize that water, rocks, soil, and living organisms are found on the earth’s sur-
face.
Identify characteristics shared by naturally occurring rocks and manmade concrete. (T/E 1.1)
UNDERSTANDINGS
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Why study rocks?
What is a rock?
What is made out of rock?
How many different kinds of rocks are there?
Brainstorm a list of rocks and things made out of rocks, famous rocks (i.e. sand,
boulders, castles, statues, jewelry, Plymouth Rock, etc. This will be a list that we will
continuously add to throughout the Unit, to show how much we know!
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
The read-aloud will be photocopied for children who are visual learners to read
along with.
Extension: Children will be encouraged to bring in rocks of their own to share with the
class and add to the class museum.
ASSESSMENT
The brainstorming activity will serve as a pre-assessment tool to see how much
the class knows about rocks already.
IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES
Materials:
4 rocks that I collected from the bottom of Flathead Lake in Montana
shoe box
chart paper
marker
Rocks In His Head, by Carol Otis Hurst
•Gather children on rug, in their assigned seats in the circle. Take the shoebox, with the 4
rocks in it, and shake it around. Tell children that they are going to be studying what is in
side, and have them guess what it is. I, nor any of the other teachers, have mentioned to
the class that we will be studying rocks.
•Once they guess correctly, confirm it! Say:
•“Yes! We are going to be studying rocks for the next few weeks. I am so excited to
get started with this unit, because I love rocks! Actually, the rocks inside this box, are
some that I have collected this past summer.”
•Open the box, take out the four Montana rocks. (They are beautiful colors: green, red,
sparkly black, and blue) Say:
•“These rocks are from the bottom of Flathead Lake in Montana. This summer, I
went on a vacation to Montana to have a family reunion. My great aunt and uncle live
on Flathead Lake and I went swimming there every day. The bottom of the lake is
covered with rocks of all shapes sizes and colors, but I liked these four the best. I
found these rocks, and brought them back as souvenirs. They mean a lot to me, be
cause they remind me of my vacation, and the time I spent with my family. I also
think they are very beautiful.”
•Pass the rocks around the circle.
•I want to share a photograph with you. This is a picture of me, when I was 2 years old. I
am sitting on my “rock couch,” which was outside my grandfather’s beach house. He had
a wall of huge boulders on the side of his yard, where my brother and cousins and I would
climb and use our imaginations. The rock couch was, and still is, one of my favorite
places to be. “
•
•Ask about 3 children if they have any stories, or interesting things to share about rocks.
•Say “Like I have already told you, I love rocks! I am so excited to learn more about them
with you all. When I was a little girl, I had a rock museum. I collected rocks from outside,
and my parents knew how much I liked rocks, so they would find interesting ones for me
too. I made exhibits for my rock museum, with labels, and special signs, and I would ask
visitors to my house to come see my rock museum. I had so much fun doing this, and I
think we could have a lot of fun, and show how much we have learned by making a rock
museum of our own! We are going to be learning so much about rocks, I think that we
could have a fantastic museum. We will all be rock experts very soon! In fact, I would like
to add my Montana rocks to the museum, as the first addition to the exhibit.
•“I would like to read you a story about a boy who liked rocks very much, he probably liked
them more than I do! It is called Rocks In His Head, and it sounds like a fiction story, but it
is actually a true story written by a woman about her father. This read aloud serves as a
motivator to get the children excited for beginning the unit, and creating their rock mu
seum. Here is the Publishers Weekly review of the book:
•“With great affection and an appealing nostalgia, Hurst recounts the story of her
father, an avid rock collector from the time he was a boy. When people commen
ted that "he had rocks in his pockets and rocks in his head," he would answer
with an agreeable "Maybe I have," then reach into his pocket and eagerly add,
"Take a look at this one." This response, conveying both the hero's humility and
passion, becomes a recurring refrain. Stevenson conveys the fellow's easygoing
manner with elegant penandink wash illustrations. Together, author and artist
chart the boy's growth into manhood and touch on the world events that shape
him. As a young man, he opens a filling station, where he displays his labeled
rocks and minerals and learns how to repair the thennew Model T. After the De
pression shuts down his business, he moves his cherished collection into the at
tic of his home, finding odd jobs wherever he can. The story's conclusion will
prove as satisfying to readers as it was to Hurst's father: the director of the local
museum offers him a dream job the position of curator of mineralogy. Dominated
by earth tones, Stevenson's artwork convincingly evokes both the personality of
this endearing protagonist and the period in which he lived. An emphatic en
dorsement for youngsters to follow their passions. Ages 5up.”
•Discuss the story afterwards with the children. Ask what they liked about it.
•Turn to the chart paper. Tell children that we are going to start brainstorming about
everything we know about rocks, kinds of rocks, rock names, famous rocks, things made
out of rocks, rocks used as tools, etc etc, anything they can think of that has to do with
rocks! Explain that we will always add to this list, whenever someone thinks of something,
and whenever we learn about a new kind of rock. This will help us see how much we
already know. Use one color for the first session of brainstorming, and a different color for
each addition, so we can see how much we add to the initial list.
•Homework Assignment: Bring in any interesting rocks, rock books, anything rock related
whenever you find it. Any rocks that are brought in will be added to our museum, and re
turned at the end of the unit. The books, with student’s names on them can be added to
our collection of rock books, to be returned at the end as well. Also ask students to keep
their eyes and ears peeled for stories about rocks in the news, or anywhere.
•Recruit a student to make labels for my Montana rocks, and some students to make a
sign for our rock museum.