Geology Rocks co-op class

10 week lessons designed for an elementary age enrichment co-op class.

(This course will be continually updated throughout the semester.)

(As a Christian family and Christian co-op, all lessons in the classroom will be taught from a Biblical viewpoint based on the young Earth view.  Some Digging Deeper activities may have an evolutionary slant.  If this is the case, I will comment beside the activity so that, you as the parent, can explain to your child at home.  I'm trying my best to take advantage of free activities on the internet and with this comes many secular views unfortunately.)

Lesson plans will begin with the "in class" lessons to be taught by the lead teacher followed by "Digging Deeper."  The "Digging Deeper" lessons are optional activities to be completed at home for extra points.

For this class, I plan to offer a points system for the students.  The top five students who earn the most points at the end of the 10 weeks will get to choose a geology related prize!  Points can be earned by attendance, class participation, as well as the Digging Deeper activities.  Digging Deeper points are listed beside the activities.

Points for in the classroom:
Attendance = 2 points
Answering a question = 4 pts
Best behavior = 10 points (given to one student per week)
Presentation participation in class = 8 points
Clean-up helper = 3 points

How to earn Digging Deeper points:

• Digging Deeper is OPTIONAL.
• Activities will be posted each week.
• Students can choose to complete one or all of the activities to earn extra points.
• Point value will be listed beside the activities ranging from 5-20 points.
• Students must bring in the completed activities to the next co-op class.
• No points given if you forget to bring the Digging Deeper assignments to the next class (or if you are a week late unless you were absent the week before.)
• For worksheets, please place in a folder so they aren't bent or folded.  These will be placed in a nice booklet at the end of the 10 weeks so I need the papers nice and flat.  Thanks!
• For videos and other online activities, parent will need to fill out THIS PRINTABLE FORM saying that their child did the activity.  Instructions are on the printable form.

Have fun while learning!

Week 1:

What we learned in class this week:

Hands-on Activity:

Students will begin this activity while I talk about Geology.
Coloring sheet (to be used as their cover page for their Geology Rocks folder)


What is Geology?
Geo- means "Earth."
-ology means "the study of."
-ologist mean "one who studies."

Geology consists of:

• Studying the history of the Earth
• Fossils
• Minerals
• Composition of rocks
• Taking samples in the field
• Analyzing the samples in a laboratory
• Rock samples and the age of the rocks
• Earthquakes
• Volcanoes
• Erosion
• Landforms (mountains, plains, plateus, caves)
• And much, much more!

Where it all began....Genesis:

Explain to students that we will learn Geology from a Biblical viewpoint.
Explain how some scientists believe the Earth is millions of years old and believe in evolution.
Here at our co-op we believe that everything was created by God.  God created everything approximately 6,000 years ago!

Genesis 1                  New Living Translation (NLT)

The Account of Creation
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[a] 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”

And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.

6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space “sky.”

And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

9 Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

13 And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.

20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

23 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.

24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. 25 God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings[b] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,[c] and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27 So God created human beings[d] in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.

31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

Whiteboard activity:    Creation worksheet (B/W)
Day 1:  Light created and divided from darkness
Day 2:  Atmosphere created and divided the oceans (sky/water)
Day 3:  Land created and divided from water; vegetation created. (land/plants)
Day 4:  Sun, moon, and stars created to fill the sky
Day 5:  Creatures created to fill the sky and water (birds/fish)
Day 6:  Creatures created to fill land.  Man created as pinnacle of Creation.
Day 7:  God rested.

Hands-on Project:

"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" coffee filter "Stained Glass" Earth

coffee filters, green/blue markers, construction paper for hands
(I will wet and dry the coffee filters at home due to time and mess.)

Digging Deeper for Week 1:

For 10 points:

• Draw a picture to represent each Day of Creation.  Use this website and printable or create your own.

Bring this activity to class next week to receive your points.

Week 2:

What we learned in class this week:

Noah's Ark, Flood, Weathering & Erosion

Quick review of Noah's Ark and the Flood: (resource used is Wilmington's Guide to the Bible)

• How long did the flood last?  371 days from the time Noah entered the ark until the day he stepped out.
• Was the flood really worldwide? Scriptural and secular evidence support that it was worldwide.  Flood legends from all over the world tell about a great flood that occurred.
• Marine fossils have been found on top of mountains.
• Fossil "fish bed" can be found all over the world.

We'll talk about fossils next week!

• The Flood shaped (carved out) many of the landforms.  Streams, canyons, etc.
• Water can be very powerful and quickly carved.
• Changes to the land didn't have to take million of years.
• One example to prove that changes can occur quickly is this:  Canyon Lake Gorge, TX  carved out in three days back in 2002 and is 80 ft deep.  "When the spillway to Canyon Lake in Texas overflowed five years ago, the resulting torrent sliced through layer after layer of rock in just three days, creating a canyon that looks like a miniature of the Grand Canyon in Arizona."  Click this link for more information.

Worksheet:  Landforms (scroll to March 2013 post and its page 24 of her free download)
Show examples of landforms.  (I am using a book from the library called Wonders of the World.)

Weathering & Erosion Hands-On:
Supplies needed aluminum tray/pan, sand, ruler, Styrofoam cup, water, book to prop up pan, tablecloth)

Demo of Erosion Activity  (children will take turns creating a landform in the sand and then we will watch as water drips to erode the landscape.)

If time allows, students can work on their coloring page from last week, examine our demo results, or look through some library books.


Digging Deeper for Week 2:

For 10 points:  Erosion Worksheet
For 5 points:  Weathering and Erosion video
For 5 points:  Weathering and Erosion Video and Test Yourself (watch the video and then take the 7 question test to see what you learned.)

Week 3:

Dinosaurs, & Fossils

Many books refer to dinosaurs, fossils, and rocks as having been around for millions of years.  Remember, we are learning from the Young Earth (Biblical) viewpoint.  That means, that all of these things cannot be older than 6,000 years old!

Fossils:  Explain how fossils are formed.  I will be using a few library books that contain lots of pictures to explain fossils.

Hands-on Activity:

Plaster of Paris Fossil activity  (need plastic cup, straws/coffee stirrers, white modeling clay, plaster of paris, seashells, mixing bowl/plastic ice cream container, disposable ladle/cup, disposable stir stick, and water.)

Start working on the Dinosaur Rocks  (need forks, spoon, knife, toothpick, paintbrush, baggies)

Digging Deeper for Week 3:

No extra activities this week!  Enjoy exploring the world around you!

Week 4:     (3/14/16)

What we are learning in class this week:

We will start by finishing up last week's fossil necklace.

Rocks & Minerals:

Watch Exploring Rocks & Minerals

If time allows we will look at a few library books.

Hands-on activity:  Candy Rock classification  (samples of candies, plastic knife, paper plate)

Digging Deeper:

For 4 points:  Watch Rocks & Mineral youtube video

Week 5:

What we are learning in class this week:

Rock Cycle-- I drew a model of the rock cycle on the whiteboard
Worksheet

Hands-on Actvitiy:  Crayon Experiments

Digging Deeper:

For 5 points:  Watch Rock Cycle youtube video (Does this remind you of our class activity?)
For 8 points:  Bring a neat looking rock to class and tell the class about your rock.

Week 6:

What we are learning in class this week:

We will review the 3 types of rocks.
Types of Rocks Worksheet
We will review minerals.  (find a worksheet.)

Today the students will be divided into groups and travel to different stations around the room.
You can print the Station instructions for each table here.

Station 1:  Make your own strata

Sedimentary Rocks (Grand Canyon photos)

Make your own strata (layered sediments in baby food jar)
need flour, kidney beans, brown sugar, rice & lentils to layer in strata (use modeling clay to prop the baby food jar up sideways.)

Station 2:  What type of rock is this?  Rock Investigations

Students will have several rocks at their station.  They must examine the rocks.  Using their geology knowledge they must tell what type of rocks they have.  There will be a worksheet for them to fill out.

Download this free activity and print Page 2 for this station activity.  The activity page is called "Rock Investigations."  You'll need to register for free at Teachers Pay Teachers for this download.

Station 3:  The Collection Box

Students will have an opportunity to examine a collection.  This collection contains rocks, minerals, and gems.  They will look through all the rocks/minerals/gems and discuss with their group which rock/mineral/gem is their favorite.  They will then need to look on the key chart to determine the name of the rock/mineral/gem.

You can buy a similar collection here.

Students can use this worksheet for this station activity.


Station 4:  Matching Flashcards

Students will have some rocks at their station along with rock flashcards.  They are to attempt to match up the rocks with the correct flashcards.  Some rocks/flashcards will not have a match.

Station 5:  Rock Cycle

Rock Cycle Worksheet  (click on the worksheet in this link.)


Digging Deeper:

For 8 points:  Go on a nature walk in your yard or at a nearby park with your family.  Find a cool looking rock and bring it to class next week.  What do you like best about your rock?    What kind of rock did you find?  Be prepared to share your answer with the class.

Week 7:

What we learning in class this week:

Layers of the Earth

Using the book "Look Inside the Earth" we will explore the layers of the Earth.
(You can buy the book here or borrow a similar book from the library.  Your library probably has Magic Schoolbus: Inside the Earth.)

Hands-on Activity:

needed:  several colors of clay per child.
Directions and examples can be found here.

Layers of the Earth Coloring Sheet

If we have time in class, we will finish up our project from Week 1.

Digging Deeper:  NONE

Week 8:

What we learning in class this week:

Earthquakes
Digging Deeper:

Week 9:

What we learning in class this week:

My Pet Rock

Printable My Pet Rock worksheet



Digging Deeper:

Now that you have your Pet Rock, make your Pet Rock a home using a shoebox or similar size box.
The more creative, the more points you will earn.  Making your own furniture out of recycled items will earn more points that just placing doll furniture in your box.  Point value ranges from 10-25 points.  Bring your "house" next week for the class to see!

Week 10:  Kaboom!

What we learning in class this week:

Volcanoes

Student volcanoes:  pie pan, prescription bottles, salt dough, baking soda, vinegar

Large volcano with Diet Coke and Mentos (mint)

Substitute Lesson:

Week 9 (My Pet Rock) will be my substitute lesson.
Printable substitute lesson plans
Printable "My Pet Rock" worksheet