Teaching notes and ideas
Name of resource:
EAL Nexus
Rock cycle vocabulary
Age group(s)
Subject(s)
12 to 14, 15 to 16
Geography, Science
Topic
Language Level
Rock cycle vocabulary
Intermediate
Description of resource
 Two PowerPoints:
o The vocabulary PowerPoint can be used in whole class teaching, as
introduction, revision and/or for learners to check their understanding of
the twenty-one key rock cycle words.
o The word cards PowerPoint can be used as pair games or for learners to
work independently, to help them practise and acquire the key words in
this topic.
 These key words prepare learners for the Rocks topic and can be used with the
other part of the Rocks resource, which covers the different types of rocks and
their properties.
Preparation needed
You will need:
 One vocabulary PowerPoint and an Interactive White Board (IWB)/projector for
whole class teaching.
 One set of word cards PowerPoint , to be used as flash cards or pairs games for
each small group or pair of learners.
You will need to:
 Print out the word cards slides, cut and use as differentiated activities.
Curriculum objectives
 To recognise and learn twenty-one key words that are associated with the rock
cycle
 To understand the meaning of these key words
Language/Literacy objectives
Functions
Structures
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014
EAL Nexus
 Describing
 Defining
 Asking questions
Simple present tense: ‘A volcano is a mountain …’
‘Freeze thaw is the repeated ...’
 Can you remember how a … rock is formed?
 What does … mean?
Vocabulary
 Rock cycle words: brittle, crack, crumble, crystals, dike, erosion, expansion or
contraction, fossil, freeze thaw, igneous, lava, magma, metaphoric rock, molten
rock, scree, sediment, sedimentary, sill, texture, volcano, weathering
 Conjunctions: when, of, by
This resource could be used:




whole class
as differentiation within class
one to one or small group
independent learning
Ideas for using the resource
What to do
 Vocabulary PowerPoint:
o To teach the key words, select a word from the index slide to show what it
means.
o To revise key words, ask learners what a particular word means and then
show the answer by selecting the vocabulary from the index slide, to show
its definition.
 Rock word cards PowerPoint:
o Game 1: match vocabulary to definitions. Divide the class into two teams.
The teacher (or a student) is the host and has all the vocabulary cards;
each team has a set of definitions cards. The host reads out a vocabulary
card, the person who reads out the correct definition first retains the
matched pair of cards for his/her team. When all the vocabulary cards have
been used, the winning team is the one that has most pairs.
o Game 2: Divide the class into a number of groups, each with a host and two
teams. Divide the cards so each group has a similar number of words to
play. Play as Game 1, then rotate the groups until each has played the
different sets of cards.
o Variation: play Game 1 or Game 2 with ‘targeted’ vocabulary cards only.
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014
EAL Nexus
Other ideas for making the best use of this resource
 Differentiation:
o Play as above but match picture to vocabulary or picture to definition.
Possible extension activities
 Independent/homework: use the matched cards after the game(s) to support
writing sentences.
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014