Physical Geography Lessons
Rock n’ Roll, Down We Go!
Author
Grade Level
Duration
National
Geography
Standards
Physical Systems
#7: The Physical
Processes that
Shape the Patterns
of Earth’s Surface.
Patty Sepp
1
1-2 class periods
Arizona Geography
Concept
Arizona Science Standards
Strand 4, Concept 3:
Physical Systems
Grade 1
Strand 6.
Concept 1 Properties of Earth Materials
PO 1 Describe the following basic earth
materials: rocks, soil, water
PO4 Identify the following as being natural
resources: air, water, soil, trees, wildlife
Overview
Rocks are a natural resource found everywhere. Melting glaciers have moved rocks from
mountains to other areas, creating unique landscapes along the way. These rocks come in many
sizes and shapes, from huge boulders to grains of sand. This lesson will help students
understand that glaciers cause rocks to move to different places and change their size.
Purpose
In this lesson, students will learn that glaciers melt and cause rocks to move to different locations
and change in size along the way. Through photos, they will observe that rocks are a natural
resource found in many different glacial landscapes.
Materials

Bag of various rocks in assorted sizes (about 5-8 rocks per group)
For each group provide 3 different plastic lunch baggies containing:
 small pebbles (like in a fish tank)
 soil (with smaller pebbles)
 sand
(can find outside or at a Home Depot type store in their Garden Dept.)
Three 2-liter clear plastic soda bottles:
 one with frozen water inside (ice)
 one with liquid water inside. (water)
 one with nothing inside (air)
Physical Geography Lessons


10 Photos of landscapes at or near glacier mountains and Yosemite NP area
Student Worksheet - Can You Find Me?

Extra newspaper for group tables (optional)
Objectives
The student will be able to
 Understand that rocks change size – from large mountains to small grains of sand.
 Show that rocks move from one landscape to another by glaciers melting.
 Use observation skills to locate natural resources in photos
Procedures
Prerequisite skills: none
Definitions for teacher use:
Glacier – frozen ice and snow that moves down a mountain.
Glacial till – when a glacier moves, it picks up dirt and rocks. After the glacier melts, this dirt
and rock left behind is called a “till”. Picture #4 is a glacier till.
Avalanche chute – a path that dirt and rocks flow down a glacier mountain. It is a slide for the
debris. Picture #8 is an avalanche chute.
Day 1:
We are going to demonstrate glacial movement using a song and kinesthetic movement.
Explain that a mountain is made out of rock. One type of mountain is called a “glacier
mountain.” It was made when ice covered the earth. The ice melted and moved the rocks and
dirt down the mountain to other places. Some rocks and dirt went down an avalanche chute on
the side of a mountain. Along the way rocks broke apart and were scattered all over the ground.
This is called a glacial till.
1. Model this song, then have the students sing it with you.
(Tune of Row, Row, Row your Boat)
(Verse 1)
Roll, roll, roll the rocks
down the mountain side
(twirl your hands around in a circle like rocks going down a mountain)
Through avalanche chutes and waterfall routes (pronounce “rewts”)
(put arms up high and sway them downward)
The rocks will surely glide!
(move hands back and forth gliding)
(Verse 2)
Physical Geography Lessons
The ice will melt, the rocks will STOP!
(wiggle your body, then hold out for hand for “STOP”)
And settle to the ground
(touch the floor or fall to the ground)
Making new land of rocks, soil, and sand
(make fists for rocks, rub fingers together for sand)
A glacial till is found!
(sit on the floor and pretend they are different size rocks)
2. Compare and Classify Rocks (by Size)
The students are going to break into small groups and compare the different sizes of their rocks.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Put the students into appropriate small groups (3-5 students per group preferred)
Put down newspaper on the tables if necessary to keep area clean (optional).
Hand out the rocks to each group.
Give students a few minutes to compare their different rocks.
Ask: Are all the rocks the same? (No)
Ask: What is different about them? (Different sizes, shapes, colors, weight, etc.)
Now we are going to categorize the rocks by size.
5. As a group, put their rocks in order of size from largest to the smallest. The students is
each group must agree that the rocks are in the correct order. Keep them in that order.
Explain that the baggies of pebbles, soil, and sand are rocks that are even smaller pieces. Rocks
break down and get smaller until you have to use a magnifying glass to see them.
6. Now give each group the 3 baggies of pebbles, soil, and sand.
Where would they place these items next to their rocks? (next to their smallest rock, place the
bags of pebbles, soil, sand – in that order.)
Ask: Look at your rocks. Where would they place a mountain? (behind their biggest rock). Of
course, we cannot bring in a mountain to class, but the mountain would be the biggest rock of all.
(Now we have placed rocks in descending order from the mountain to grains of sand – visually
showing students how rocks get smaller and smaller.)
Hold up the three 2-liter clear plastic soda bottles in front of the room.
Ask: What is inside each of these bottles? (ice, water, air) These are the 3 things that make
rocks move and change their shapes. Although we cannot “see” air, the air is the wind that also
makes rocks move and change their shape.
Physical Geography Lessons
Note: For this lesson, we are not going to explain erosion or platonic movement, but if asked
you can simply mention rocks also move by earthquakes and volcano eruptions, as well as
wind and water (such as ice, snow, rain, waterfalls, rivers).
Day 2
Review: Rocks move and change sizes. Ice, water and wind move them to other places. As
they move, they break into different sizes.
Today we are going to learn about natural resources. Rocks are a natural resource.
Natural resources are from nature: rocks, water, air, soil, plants, and wildlife. Natural resources
are important because all living things need them to survive.
Students are going to observe 5 photos. These photos are around glacier mountains and the
Yosemite National Park area in California.
They will identify the “natural resources” in these photos. The natural resources we will focus
on are rocks, soil or sand, water, and green plants/trees.
2. Hand out the Student Worksheet – Can You Find Me? As we go through each picture, the
students will make a checkmark in the box if they can observe that natural resource in the photo.
Below are possible answers to 10 photos. You will choose 5 photos to use with the student
worksheet. The additional 5 photos can be used for additional observation skills practice.
(Picture #10 is the only one with wildlife in it.)
Suggested answers for the photos:
Picture #1a: Glacier mountain
- rocks (mountains, boulders, dirt/sand), water – snow, waterfall, river, trees (in center of
photo) and vegetation.
- #1b: This is a close up of the waterfall area.
Picture #2: Glacier rocks in Yosemite National Park
- rocks with cracks (boulders), trees,
- Note: no water shown*, but rain can go into the cracks and trees will grow in the cracks.
Picture #3: Mammoth Mountain area
- mountains in background, rocks (dirt/sand), snow, pond at bottom, trees
Picture #4: Meadow (Tuolumne Meadow at Yosemite National Park). This is a glacier till.
– mountain, rocks (sand), snow, water (stream, brook, or river), trees, grass
Picture #5: Glacier lake (called tarn)
- mountain (in background), rocks in water, sand, lake, trees, dead trees, branches, bushes around
the trees.
Physical Geography Lessons
Additional Observation Skills:
Picture #6 Another Glacier lake (called tarn)
Rocks – mountains in background, rocks and sand at shore, lake water, trees
Picture #7 Yosemite area
Rocks – mountains, water- snow on mountains, glacier lake (tarn) between mountains above
trees, trees
Picture #8 Glacier mountain
This shows where the ice and water flow down a glacier mountain. This is called an avalance
chute. Rocks and dirt moved down this area.
Rocks – mountains, rocks, dirt and sand, snow, trees, vegetation at bottom of photo.
Picture #9 – Yosemite Road Stop
This shows our cars next to the rock formations.
Rocks- large rocks, dirt, no water*, trees, ground vegetation.
Picture #10 – Yosemite picnic/campground area.
This photo has 2 deer running through the picnic area. The brown container in the foreground is
to place your food inside so bears do not eat it.
Rocks- various rocks, dirt, no water*, trees, ground vegetation.
*even though we do not see any water in the photos #2, 9, and 10, the green trees/vegetation
indicate that water is there.
Assessment
Student Handout – 5 photos: each photo is worth 20 points. Mastery is 4 out of 5 photos correct
or 80% accuracy.
Extensions
Use a magnifying glass to examine the rocks, soil, and sand in more detail to learn other
properties of natural resources.
Sources
Mountain clip art: www.ClipArt.com
Photos: Courtesy of author and other Arizona Geographic Alliance teachers.