Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Aleyna Chipperfield Date: 2/13/24

Group Size: 19 Allotted Time: 30 Minutes Grade Level: 2nd

Subject or Topic: The Rock Cycle

Common Core/PA Standard(s)

- 1.E.2.1 Summarize the physical properties of Earth materials including rocks, minerals,
soils and water that make them useful in different ways.
- ​3.2.2.A3 - Demonstrate how heating and cooling may cause changes in the properties
of materials.

Learning Targets/Objectives

- Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the rock cycle by using Jelly
Beans as a model for each different type of rock formed in the rock cycle.
- Students will be able to recognize the three main rock types and communicate an
understanding of their characteristics through group discussion and modeling with Jelly
Beans.

Formative Assessment Approaches Evidence observation or method of collection

1. Whole Group questioning 1. Thumbs up/Thumbs down

2. Jelly Bean Modeling 2. Observing their use of the Jelly Beans

Prerequisites
- Rocks can be described by their properties
- Process to describe by properties:
- identify the object
- observe and describe the color, shape, texture, size, etc.
- compare to other objects
- Different types of rocks al have their own different types of properties
- Smaller rocks (sand) results from the breaking (weathering) of larger rocks.
- Geologist - a scientist who studies rocks
- Weathering - the process of rocks breaking into smaller and smaller pieces
- Sand - what appears when certain types of rocks are rubbed together
- Earth Material - naturally occurring materials found on Earth
- Minerals - the building blocks that make up rocks
- Properties - characteristics/features of an object/thing
- Sediments - pieces of land that break down and are carried around by wind or bodies
of water until it finally settles
New Key Vocabulary
- Sedimentary Rocks - formed from pieces of other existing rock or organic material.
- Metamorphic Rocks - rocks that have been changed from their original form by
immense heat or pressure.
- Igneous Rocks - formed when molten hot material cools and solidifies.
- The Rock Cycle - A set of natural processes that form, break down, change, and
re-form rocks over time.
- Magma - hot liquefied, rock located deep below the Earth's surface
- Debris - the pieces of something broken down or destroyed
- Crystallization - the process of formation of solid crystals from solution, melt or by
deposition directly from a gas phase
- Erosion - Water, wind, and other natural forces cause rocks and earth to wear away.
These forces also move bits of rock and earth to new places. This movement changes
the shape of the land.

Content/Facts
- What is the rock cycle?
- A set of natural processes that form, break down, change, and re-form rocks
over time.
- Temperature, pressure, and changes in environmental conditions at and beneath
Earth's surface drive the rock cycle.
- What are the three main types of rocks found through the rock cycle?
- Sedimentary Rocks - formed from pieces of other existing rock or organic
material.
- Metamorphic Rocks - rocks that have been changed from their original form
by immense heat or pressure.
- Igneous Rocks - formed when molten hot material cools and solidifies.

Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies

- Ask students “Did you know that you can make rocks out of jelly beans?”
- Ask students “How do you think jelly beans can be used to make rocks?”
- Ask students to turn and talk to their neighbor
- Call on a few students to answer
- Tell students that today we are going to be learning about the different stages of the
rock cycle and that as we talk about each different stage, we will be using our jelly
beans to make our very own rock that is forming through the stages of the rock cycle!

Development/Teaching Approaches
- Ask students “Have you ever heard the term rock cycle before?”, “If not, what do you
think it means? What do you think a rock cycle is?”
- Call on students to give answers and to gauge how much student already know
- Tell students the actual definition of the rock cycle.
- Bring out the book “Rocks and Minerals” and explain to students that we will be using
this book to learn a little bit about each stage of the rock cycle such as their names, the
rocks they form, and how they form it.
- Read through page 19 and 20 and show the class the pictures as they are read through.
- Ask “So, what is the name of the first type of rock found in the first stage of the rock
cycle?”
- Ask students to chorally say the answer aloud
- Write the name of the 1st stage of the rock cycle on the board and draw an arrow
curving down from it, leaving enough space to write the next stage’s name.
- Ask “How did the book tell us this rock was formed or where did it tell us it was
formed?”
- Call on a few students to answer
- Tell students that we are going to keep track of the stages of the rock cycle by creating
an arrow diagram on the front board so that when we go through and recreate this
process with our jelly beans we know which stage came when.
- Draw a small arrow pointing off of this stage’s name and write what the students said
described how this rock was found/formed.
- Bring the book back out and read page 21 and show the class the pictures that go along
with the page as they are read through.
- Ask “So, what is the name of the second type of rock found in the second stage of the
rock cycle?”
- Ask students to chorally say the answer aloud
- Write the name of the 2nd stage of the rock cycle on the board and draw an arrow
curving down from it, leaving enough space to write the next stage’s name.
- Ask “How did the book tell us this rock was formed or where did it tell us it was
formed?”
- Call on a few students to answer
- Draw a small arrow pointing off of this stage’s name and write what the students said
described how this rock was found/formed.
- Bring the book back out and read the end of page 21 and all of 22. Show the class the
pictures that go along with the page as they are read through.
- Ask “So, what is the name of the third type of rock found in the last stage of the rock
cycle?”
- Ask students to chorally say the answer aloud
- Write the name of the 3rd stage of the rock cycle on the board.
- Ask “How did the book tell us this rock was formed or where did it tell us it was
formed?”
- Call on a few students to answer
- Draw a small arrow pointing off of this stage’s name and write what the students said
described how this rock was found/formed.
- Explain to students that now that we have finished our diagram of the rock cycle we are
going to physically go through making rocks in each of these stages using our jelly
beans.
- Pick 2 student volunteers to hand out a paper towel to each student.
- Explain that I will be coming around to give each student their bag of ‘rocks’ (jelly
beans) and that they are not to open or touch the bags until instructed.
- Walk around and hand each student their own ziploc bag of jelly beans.
- Tell students to open their bags and carefully pour their jelly beans onto their
‘examination mats’ (paper towels).
- Ask “What was the first stage of the rock cycle called again? How was it formed?”
- Call on a student to answer
- Tell students that to make our rock for the first stage of the rock cycle we are going to
grab a few of our ‘rocks’ (jelly beans) and hold them close together in our hands for 1
minute. This way, the heat from our hands can melt our ‘rocks’ and have them stick
together just like real rocks would in the magma from a volcano!
- Set the timer for 1 minute and go through this process with the students.
- Once the timer goes off, tell students to open their hands and look at the igneous rock
that has now formed. Tell students to look at their neighbors' rocks and look at
similarities and differences between the two.
- Then ask “Now, we made our rock from the first stage, what was the second stage of
the rock cycle called? How was it formed?”
- Call on a student to answer
- Tell students that to make our second rock we are going to press our rock down onto
the other rocks on our paper towel as hard as we can for 30 seconds. This way, The
pressure of us pushing our igneous rock onto our other untouched rocks, they will
combine just like real rocks would when under immense pressure!
- Set the timer for 30 seconds and go through this process with the students.
- Once the timer goes off, tell students to look at the metamorphic rock that has now
formed. Tell them to also look at their neighbors’ rocks and look at the similarities and
differences between the two.
- Then ask “Finally, we have come to the final stage of our rock cycle, what did we call
our final stage of the rock cycle? How was it formed?”
- Call on a student to answer
- Tell students that to make our final rock we are going to roll our flat metamorphic rock
into a ball and collect all of the ‘debris’ that came off onto our ‘examination mats’
while we were in the other stages of our cycle. This way, we will be able to see all of
the various colors (rock types) in our rock just like real sedimentary rocks!
- Allow students to use their rock to pick up the remaining ‘debris’ on their ‘examination
mats’ (1 minute)
- Tell students to look at the Sedimentary rock they have now formed. Tell them to also
look at their neighbors’ rocks and look at the similarities and differences between the
two.
 - Ask students “as we have formed our rocks through the rock cycle, what kinds of
things have you noticed about how the rocks have changed as they were put through
different processes?”
- Have students to turn and talk to their neighbors
- Call on a few students to answer
- Explain to students that the more we look at different types of rocks through future
experiments they will be able to have a better idea of how to tell what types of rock we
might be looking at!
- Then, tell students that they are allowed to eat their rocks if they would like and then
call students by their row to throw their trash away and clean their desks.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies

- Once everything is cleaned up, call all students to return to their seats.
- Ask “What stage of the rock cycle did you find more interesting or surprising?”
- Have students turn and talk to their neighbors to share their thoughts/answers.
- Call on a few students to answer what they talked about with their peers.
- Ask “Now that you have gotten to experience what it is like to create rocks through
each stage of the rock cycle, which stage do you think is the hardest stage for rocks to
form? Why?”
- Have students turn and talk to their neighbors to share their thoughts/answers.
- Call on a few students to answer what they talked about with their peers.
- Tell students that they are now expert geologists on the steps of the rock cycle!
Tomorrow we will take a different approach to experimenting with rocks changing in a
different type of environment!

Accommodations/Differentiation
- This activity could have been done with a different type of candy and it also could have
been done using a follow along video.
- After each step of creating a new rock with our jelly beans, a real life image of the type
of rock we created could have been displayed on the board after we formed our own.
This way as we went through the process, students could compare the rocks they have
formed to the real life version of a rock in that stage.

Materials and Resources:

- Jelly Beans (10 per student; at least 3 different colors of jelly beans)
- Ziploc Bags (1 for each student)
- Paper Towels (1 for each student)
- Book “Rocks and Minerals” by Elizabeth Marcus