Andrea Lurski & Janine Rinaldi
ELE 301 - Dr. Conte
Edgewood Elementary School
Ms. Pezza: 3rd Grade
Lesson One: Rocks and Minerals Introduction: Andrea Lurski
1. Title/Topic of Lesson & Grade Level: Introduction to Rocks and Minerals, Third Grade
2. Lesson Essential Questions:
a. What are rocks? What is Geology, and how does it relate to rocks?
b. What are some famous geological landmarks around the world?
3. Standards:
Pennsylvania Common Core Standards
3.3.7.A1 Earth Features and the Processes that Change It:
Define basic features of the rock cycle.
3.3.4.A2 Earth’s Resources/Materials:
Identify basic properties and uses of Earth’s materials including rocks, soils, water, and
gases of the atmosphere.
8.4.3 B World History:
Identify historic sites and material artifacts important to world history.
4. Learning Objectives & Assessments:
Learning Objectives
SWBAT provide a basic definition of geology.
SWBAT identify geological landmarks of
significance.
Assessments
Students will engage in discussion and provide
meaningful insights and conclusions about the
class activity.
Students will complete a passport worksheet as
they rotate around the room.
5. Materials:
a. Computer, Projector, and Screen
b. Pictures of Geological Landmarks
c. Fact Sheets for Geological Landmarks
d. Passport Worksheet
e. Postcard Out the Door
6. Pre-lesson Assignments/Prior Knowledge: Prior knowledge will be assessed in a
discussion immediately following the students’ viewing of the Bill Nye video. Students
may have worked with rocks before, but it is not expected that they will have an
extensive knowledge of rocks. The intention of this lesson is to provide a bit of
background knowledge as an introduction to rocks and minerals.
7. Lesson Beginning: Bill Nye the Science Guy has the unique ability to make science
relatable, fun, and accessible to a broad audience. The teacher will play the three minute
clip, which will detail rocks and the rock cycle. This will serve as a brief introduction to
the lesson.
8. Instructional Plan:
a. Estimate Lesson Timing: 23 minutes.
i. Total Lesson Timing:
1. Bill Nye on Rocks and Minerals Video: 3 minutes.
2. Discussion: 3 minutes.
3. Explanation of Challenging Activity: 2 minutes.
4. Challenging Activity: 16 minutes.
5. Closure: 3 minutes.
b. Motivational Beginning: The Bill Nye Video will be played at the beginning of
the lesson.
c. Discussion: A short discussion will take place immediately following the video in
order to assess prior knowledge and address any student questions. The discussion
will act as a transitory agent between the Bill Nye video and the challenging
activity.
d. Stations: Students will rotate in four groups of five and one group of six to each
station, visiting different rock structures around the world. They will have a
passport, and will write down one fact from each station in the allotted space.
e. Closure: The class will fill out a small ‘postcard’ with a fact written on one side
and a corresponding picture drawn on the other side. Students will be asked to
share their facts and a small discussion will be had in order to assess student
learning.
f. Differentiation: The teacher will be on hand to answer any questions. If students
are struggling with the activity, the teacher will be walking around the room
observing and helping students. If students are working well independently, then
they may continue. If advanced students finish ahead of time, they may help their
peers if necessary. Students will communicate their ideas and experience working
in groups.
g. Questions:
i. What is the difference between rocks and minerals?
ii. What is geology?
iii. Where can we find rocks in everyday life?
iv. What is one fact we learned from the video?
v. Are there different kinds of rocks?
vi. How can we tell the difference between rocks and minerals?
vii. How can we tell the difference between different types of rocks?
viii. What can you tell me about rocks?
ix. Are rocks and minerals the same?
x. What can you tell me about geology?
xi. Are there any famous places that you can think of that involve rocks?
xii. How does this relate to geology?
xiii. How is the video related to some of these landmarks?
h. Classroom Management: Students will remain seated at their tables. They will
be told to remain quiet during the video, but will be encouraged to contribute to
the discussion. Students must raise their hands to participate in the discussion, in
order to facilitate a sense of order. Student groups will be pre-determined by the
teacher. Students will be instructed to quietly and quickly move from one station
to the next.
i. Transitions: During the video, students will remain seated. The teacher will
smoothly transition into a discussion upon the ending of the video. Students will
be asked to move around for the rotation, and will be asked to do so in an orderly
fashion. The teacher will facilitate the activities in a way that encourages students
to act in an orderly manner.
9. Closure: Students will fill out a postcard with a fact they learned on one side, and an
illustration of that fact on the other side. Students will share their findings with the class,
and postcards will be collected and displayed if space allows. The passport worksheet
will also be collected at this time, and the students will transition into the next subject.