Rocks: Look, Touch and Sort

Pick up a pebble. Is it smooth or rough? Gray or pink? Does it sparkle? Let’s find out what a rock is, look at rocks closely with our eyes and hands, and sort them into groups like real scientists.

This lesson takes about 12 minutes. You can take a break after each part.

Before you start

Rocks: Look, Touch and Sort

Learning objectives

  • I can say what a rock is: a solid material that comes from the Earth.
  • I can describe a rock by its color, texture, size and shininess.
  • I can sort rocks into groups using one property.

What is a rock?

A material from the Earth

A rock is a solid material that comes from the Earth. Nobody made it. It keeps its own shape.

Rocks are everywhere

You find rocks on the ground, in rivers, on beaches and on mountains, and even deep under the soil. A pebble is a small rock made smooth by the water of a river.

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Looking at rocks closely

Use your eyes

Look at the color: gray, white, black, red, pink, green, with spots or stripes. Look at the size: tiny grain, pebble or big boulder. In the light, some rocks are shiny: they sparkle.

Use your hands

Rub your finger on the rock to feel its texture: is it rough or smooth? A magnifying glass helps you see the small grains.

Fourteen rocks, each on a small white stand: speckled pink, dull black, a gray rock floating in a glass of water, shiny black, sandy tan, lumpy black, white, one with a shell print, flat layered gray, striped, sparkly white, a clear crystal, a pointed crystal cluster, and a lump of orange-brown copper.
Rocks can be light or dark, shiny or dull, smooth or rough, striped or spotted. One rock is so light that it floats!

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Sorting rocks

One property at a time

To sort rocks, choose one property, then make groups: smooth and rough, shiny and not shiny, or line them up from the smallest to the biggest.

Many ways to sort

The same rocks can be sorted again in another way. Each time, say which property you used.

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Review game

Final assessment

To master the lesson, you need at least 60% correct answers.

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Summary

  • A rock is a solid material that comes from the Earth: nobody made it.
  • We describe a rock by its color, its texture (rough or smooth), its size and its shininess.
  • Our eyes, our hands and a magnifying glass help us observe.
  • To sort rocks, we choose one property; the same rocks can be sorted in many ways.

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