Geology

Activity #2 (Kindergarten)

“Sorting Rocks”

Materials:

Teacher:
1. Let's Go Rock Collecting, by Roma Gans
2. Large piece of butcher paper for word web
3. Markers
4. Paper Plates
Students:
1. Three rock samples collected as homework the night before.

Description:
1.Gather students for a group discussion about how the rocks they collected are alike and how they are different. This discussion should lead you into the making of your word web.
2.Web can be broken down by size, shape, color, texture, and where found.
3.After completing the word web, have students break into groups of four students. Give four paper plates to each group.
4.Each student will sort the rocks that they collected the night before. They will sort the rocks by the categories in the rock word web, i.e., smooth or rough, shiny or dull, etc. Suggestion: Take the Word Web topics, e.g., size, shape, texture, etc., and put each of these words on a piece of construction paper. Place the first word on the chalkboard and discuss it. You can even demonstrate at a table how to sort according to that attribute. You might want to have the students sort by each attribute together and then when everyone is finished, move on to the next attribute.
5. Students should explain their decisions about how they classified their rocks to the rest of the group, for example, "I put this rock in this circle because it is smooth."