KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate:

Amanda Tini & Brie Wise

Date: 10-27-16

Cooperating Teacher:

Dr. Varano

Coop. Initials

Group Size:

24

Subject or Topic:

Allotted Time 1 class; 45 minutes Grade Level

Review

Section

STANDARD:
3.3.4.A3Recognizethatfossilsprovideevidenceabouttheplantsandanimalsthatlived
longagoandthenatureoftheenvironmentatthattime.
3.3.4.A2IdentifybasicpropertiesandusesofEarthsmaterialsincludingrocks,soils,
water,andgasesoftheatmosphere
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes): The students will identify basic
properties and uses of rocks and recognize that fossils provide evidence about the plants
and animals that lived long ago by answering the questions in a game board.
II. Instructional Materials
A. 5 Rocks, ROCK! Laminated board game sheets
B. 5 stacks of Rocks, ROCK! laminated question cards (1 stack in each kit)
C. 5 die (one for each kit)
D. 24 small rocks (game board player pieces)
E. 5 Rocks, ROCK! Directions sheet (1 per kit)
III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills
i. Basic rock and mineral knowledge
ii. Basic knowledge on the three different rocks and the rock cycle
iii.
Basic knowledge on fossils and how they give us information about
Earths past.
B. Key Vocabulary
i. Rock- a solid made of many different minerals.

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Mineral- Minerals are solid substances that occur naturally on Earth

and come together to form rocks.
Sedimentary Rocks- formed by years and years of sediment
compacting together and becoming hard.
Sediment- smaller pieces of rocks and minerals that have been
weathered and eroded over time.
Igneous Rocks- formed by volcanoes hardened lava or magma.
Lava- hot molten rock erupted from a volcano.
Intrusive- rocks that crystalize and harden under the Earths surface.
Extrusive- rocks that crystalize and harden on the Earths surface.
Metamorphic Rocks- formed by heat and pressure.
Foliated Metamorphic Rocks- formed within the Earth under
extremely high pressure.
Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks- formed at high temperatures
when the rock recrystallizes into a larger size causing the rock to feel
heavier.
Luster- Describe how the mineral reflects light
Hardness- Describes how easily scratched the mineral is
Streak- Describes the color of the powder that the mineral leaves
behind when it is scratched on a special plate
Cleavage- When a mineral breaks along a smooth flat surface
Fracture- Break with rough edges
Geologist- Scientist who studies rocks and land to learn about Earth.
Property- Trait that tells you something about an object
Texture- Describes the an object feels
Hardness- Describes how easily scratched
Rock Cycle- a sequence of events involving the formation,
alteration, destruction, and reformation of rocks as a result of natural
processes
Erosion- happens when rocks and sediments are picked up and
moved to another place by ice, water, wind or gravity.
Sediments- smaller pieces of rock and minerals that have been
weathered and eroded over time.
Magma- Molten rock inside the earth
Fossils- remains of a once living organisms that have been preserved
by nature
Body Fossils- fossils of the actual organism is preserved
Trace Fossils- fossil with evidence of the organism but not the
actual organism is preserved
Permineralization- When an organism dies and sediment enters the
body the minerals often enter the pores replacing the organisms
tissues
Mold Fossils- an imprint is made and the imprint is fossilized
Cast Fossils- an imprint is made and filled in with minerals and then
fossilized
Paleontologist- scientist who study fossils

C. Big Idea- Applying all new knowledge

D. Content
i. Rocks
1. Geologist
2. Earths Crust and part of mantel is made of rocks
3. Rocks can be big or small
4. Made of minerals
ii. Property
1. Color
2. Texture
3. Luster
4. Hardness
iii.
How do we use Rocks and Minerals
1. Steel
a. Made from type of rock
2. Concrete
a. Made from different rocks and a mineral glue
3. Clay potter, Dishes, silverware, glasses
a. Made from minerals
4. Minerals we eat
a. Salt, Milk, Iron and Potassium (fruit vegetables and
meat)
iv. Rocks
1. A rock is a solid object made of many different minerals and
formed on Earth.
v. Three different types of rocks
1. Sedimentary
2. Igneous
3. Metamorphic
vi. Sedimentary
1. Formed when sediment is carried and deposited in layers to a
new site.
2. They become buried and compacted to form a new rock.
3. You can often see the layers sediment in the rock.
vii. Igneous
1. Formed from an erupted volcanos lava after it cools and
hardens on or in the Earths crust.
2. Intrusive igneous rocks are formed when the lava hardens
inside the Earths crust.
3. Extrusive igneous rocks are formed when the lava hardens on
the surface of the Earths crust.
4. Has pores/holes on it.
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Metamorphic
1. Igneous or sedimentary rocks that have been changed by heat,
pressure, or both.

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2. Generally found inside the earths crust where there is enough

heat and pressure to form new rocks.
3. Usually has a striped look.
a. Foliated
i. Smooth dull surfaces
ii. Glossy
iii. Layers- sometimes alternating light and dark
strips
iv. Wavy or crinkled
b. Non-foliated
i. Generally do not form layers
ii. No organization of layers
Rock Cycle
1. The rock cycle involved the three main types of rocks which
includes igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
2. The rock cycle is a sequence of events involving the formation,
alteration, destruction, and reformation of rocks as a result of
natural processes
Sedimentary rock processes
1. Physical weathering- the process where rock is dissolved, worn
away, or broken down into smaller and smaller pieces
2. Lithification- the process or processes by which unconsolidated
materials are converted into coherent solid rock, as by
compaction or cementation.
3. Igneous, Metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks can all be
physically weathered to produce new sedimentary rocks
Igneous Rock Processes
1. Form from molten rock or magma in the subsurface or lava
extruded at the surface
2. Rock is subjected to heat or pressure cause it to melt
3. The molten rock is called magma
4. When magma cools it becomes an igneous rock
5. There are many types of igneous rocks depending on how the
previous rock was melted and then cooled to become an
igneous rock
Metamorphic Rock Processes
1. Pressure, heat, and fluids cause preexisting rocks or sediments
to become metamorphic rocks
2. When the prefix meta is applied to a rock, it means that the
original rock has been metamorphosed
3. When certain rocks go through the process of being becoming
a metamorphic rock, they become other specific types of
metamorphic rocks
Information that fossils tell about the Earths past.
1. How long life has existed on Earth.

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2. What kinds of organisms lived on Earth millions of years ago

and are now extinct.
3. Understand how animals on Earth evolved.
4. The environments and living conditions of the Earth
Fossils
1. Remains of once living organisms that have been preserved by
nature.
Paleontologist
1. Scientist who studies fossils
Fossils can be classified in two ways.
1. Body Fossil
a. When the actual organism is preserved in the fossil.
b. Examples include bones, claws, and teeth of the actual
organism.
2. Trace Fossil
a. A fossil that has evidence of a once living organism, but
not the actual organism is preserved.
3. Fossils can be preserved in different ways, which give the
fossils different characteristics.
a. Permineralization
i. When an organism dies and sediment enters the
body, minerals often enter the pores of the
organisms and replace its tissue.
ii. Commonly seen in wood and bones.
b. Mold Fossils
i. An imprint of a once living organism is made
and then that imprint is fossilized
c. Cast Fossils
i. An imprint of a once living organism is made
and then minerals fill in the imprint before
fossilization occurs.

IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
i.
Have each student grab a small poster board.
1. Tell the students that they will be creating a poster individually
on what they learned about rocks and fossils throughout the
lesson.
a. It can be focused on one concept or multiple concepts
that they have learned.
b. Give students about 10 minutes to design posters.
2. Have students tape their poster on chalkboard in the front of
the class so that everyone can look at and read their classmates
as they are posted.
B. Development

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After they have sorted the rocks and explained their sorting method,
have the students put away their sorting worksheet.
C. Tell the students that they will be playing a board game and answering
questions about rocks.
i. Have one person from each table come up and get a rock board game
kit from the front table.
D. Once all tables have a game board kit, explain the directions of the game. (See
attached)
i. Tell students to pick a small rock from the kit to be their game piece
that they will move along the board.
ii. Have the students set the question cards down on the table so that
everyone can reach them and the blank side is facing up.
iii.
Explain that the students will roll the dice to decide the who goes
first.
1. The highest number goes first.
2. The next player is the one to the first player right and so on.
iv. Explain that they player whose turn it is will roll the dice.
v. Then, before moving, the player to the right will pick up a Rocks,
ROCK! question card and ask the player the question.
vi. If they player get the answer correct, they may move the number of
spaces that they rolled on the dice.
vii. If the player get the question incorrect, they stay where they are and
do not move ahead.
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The first player to the finish line wins.
1. Side Note: Once the question is used it is put under the card
pile and can be used again for repetition of questions and
answers.
E. Give the students approximately 15 minutes to play the board game.
i. Monitor the students by walking around with a checklist to check for
student understanding of the questions. (See checklist attached)
ii. If students finish the board game before time is up, they may begin
the game all over again.
F. Closure
i. To close the lesson, tell students to clean up the board game and
return to their seats.
ii. Provide each student with the summative assessment and a pencil.
(see attached).
1. Tell the students that they will be taking a test on content that
they learned and reviewed throughout the rocks and fossils
unit.
G. Accommodations/Differentiation
i. Accommodations

1. Frank, student will a learning disability, will be allowed to

leave the classroom and go to the resource room during the
summative assessment because he becomes anxious and may
need an extended amount of time.
ii.

Differentiation
1. On the performance assessment posters that the student create,
the students are allowed to display their knowledge by using
pictures instead of words to show that they understand the
material learned throughout the lessons.

H. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
i. Performance Assessment
1. Students create individual poster board on what they have
learned about rocks and fossils.
ii. Formative
1. Observation checklist to see if students understand what they
have learned throughout the unit during the board game. (See
attached)
I. Summative
i. Collection of Unit Test.
1. Students are graded based on the percent of questions
answered correctly. (See summative assessment attached)

V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Student Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives (Reflection on
student performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for
students who fail to meet acceptable level of achievement)
Remediation Plan
B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective
answers to question recorded after lesson is taught)
i. How well did I create the board game so that the students were
engaged?
ii. Was the pacing of the lesson appropriate for the students?
VI. Resources (in APA format)
A. None applicable