Teaching the rock cycle to elementary students can be a difficult process. The cycle involves many steps and many new vocabulary terms that can be confusing for students to master. Traditional teaching methods involving diagrams and textbooks may not be the best method for students to learn about the rock cycle and its components. Hands-on and visual methods such as modeling the different stages of the cycle, can impart the required knowledge to the students in a way in which they can easily remember.
Instructions
The Rock Cycle
1. Using a crayon, model and have the students shave off pieces of the crayon in order to demonstrate weathering. Tell the students that just as the crayon is slowing breaking down as it is shaved, so do rocks when they are acted upon by physical or chemical forces.
2. Move the crayons from one place to another to show erosion. This action represents the movement of rocks.
3. Drop the crayon shavings onto a square piece of aluminum foil. Fold the foil into a packet. This is the deposition portion of the rock cycle and illustrates the depositing of rock, soil and silt.
4. Place the aluminum foil packet into a vise and apply light pressure. This shows the compaction of sediments that will form sedimentary rocks.
5. Place the packet back into the vise and apply heavy pressure. This represents metamorphic rocks being formed by intense heat and pressure.
6. Pour shavings from packet into a small pot. Place the pot on a burner and turn the burner on until the shavings melt. Mix liquid with ice water. This will show how lava melts and cools to form igneous rocks.
Tags: aluminum foil, into vise, into vise apply, packet into, pressure This
