Download Cemented Together

Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
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Resource ID#: 28743
Cemented Together
In this activity the students will create their own sedimentary rock using glue and various pieces of sediments found throughout the school yard.
The students will create a model of a sedimentary rock and describe how they would identify a sedimentary rock in the real world.
Subject(s): English Language Arts, Science
Grade Level(s): 4
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, LCD
Projector, Speakers/Headphones, Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 4 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Sedimentary, Sediment, Layers, Rock, Rock Cycle, Weathering, Erosion
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
Guiding Questions.docx
Sedimentary Rocks with comments.docx
Sedimentary Rocks Test.doc
Student Sheet With Answers.docx
Student Sheet.docx
Weathering and Erosion Test.doc
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to identify a sedimentary rock.
Students will be able to raise questions about the natural world.
Students will be able to explain that models can be three dimensional, two dimensional, an explanation in your mind, or a computer model.
Students will engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts,
building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
The Earth is naturally weathered and eroded throughout time by various forces (wind, water, gravity, living things, chemicals, and animals).
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
1. What do the various pieces of materials that were collected represent? (Sediments that were formed from rocks that were weathered away. Fossils of plants or
animals from long ago.)
2. What does the glue represent? (The pressure and time necessary for the various sediments to stick together over time.)
3. What would happen if time were not allowed for the glue to dry and how does that explain why it is important for sedimentary rocks to have time and pressure to
allow them to cement together? (If time were not allowed for the glue to dry to the rock would not stick together. The same holds true out in nature. If enough
pressure over an extended amount of time were provided then the sedimentary rock would never form and stick together. The pieces may stay individual or never
page 1 of 4 form one large rock.)
4. After observing your sedimentary rock what do you observe about it? (That even though it is one huge rock, the various sediments still keep their characteristics and
can be seen in layers or the various sediments outline can be seen. The individual shell or rock can be pointed out.)
5. Why can fossils be found in sedimentary rocks? (When a living thing dies a fossil can be left behind in a layer of rock. More sediments pile up allowing pressure to
force all the parts together to become one large rock.)
6. Why do most sedimentary rocks have layers? (Sediments are deposited in layers and when the layers are pressed together they are preserved in straight layers.)
7. Why will the oldest layer of the sedimentary rock be the deepest underground? (Sedimentary rocks form when sediments pile on top of each other. The sediments
that fell first will be on the bottom, and since they fell first they will be the oldest layer of the rock.)
8. Why could we expect a sedimentary rock to easily rub the grains of rock off? (While sedimentary rocks are cemented together the various particles still leave the
rock soft and able to be separated more easily than other rocks.)
9. Limestone and shale are both sedimentary rocks, how could you identify it as a sedimentary rock by observing it? (I would look for distinct straight layers in the
rock, or I would look for various sizes rock grains, fossils, or shells that can easily been seen with my eyes and that can come apart.)
Guiding Questions:
1. How does weathering play a role in the formation of sedimentary rocks? (Weather causes rocks of all sizes to break down. When the rocks break down they erode
and deposit themselves in layers. So without weathering the rocks would stay the same size and never erode or deposit.)
2. Where do the sediments come from? (Sediments come from larger rocks that have been weathered, fossils or shells.)
3. What main characteristics do sedimentary rocks have? (Sedimentary rocks have straight layers and fossils.)
4. What is required for sedimentary rocks to form? (Pressure is required from the layers building on top of each other.)
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
The teacher will review weathering and erosion using StudyJams.com (Weathering and Erosion is the key phrase to search for the slide show or use the link above),
to familiarize the students again with those terms (necessary for the understanding of sedimentary rocks).
The students will then take the quick quiz provided through StudyJams.com (the correct answers are provided on the attached Sedimentary Rocks Test and take
the quiz whole group). Have the students for the whole group use their fingers for the answer they choose (letter "a" is one finger, "b" is two fingers, "c" is three
fingers, and "d" is four fingers). You can also have the students write down their answers for any corrections that may need to occur.
Now, take the students on a nature walk asking them to pick up various sized pieces of rocks that they may see around school. (Have the students look in the dirt and
on the playground) They may place their small pieces of rocks in a Ziploc baggie. As you are walking the class around looking for various sizes of rocks make sure to
collect or have sand granules.
Now, introduce the phrase sedimentary rock. Have the students identify the word that stands out sedimentary. Have the students in their groups explain what sediment
means (broken down pieces of rock) and how these broken down pieces of rock form (from weathering and erosion). Come back together as a whole group and
discuss what the group came up writing down their responses as they share whole group. Make sure the students understand that sediments are broken down pieces
of rock.
Ask the students to think silently in their heads to come up with an idea of how the smaller sediments they have collected could have come back together to form one
larger rock (make sure to remind them that we are thinking of ways that nature could have done this, not how humans could have had them come back together).
Under the document camera place some small granules of sand and one giant rock, this so the class has not only their groups to reference but a whole class example
to reference.
Allow the students a few minutes to come up with their own ideas of how the sediment pieces came back together, and then allow them time to discuss their thinking
with their group. Make sure that as they are talking and discussing about this that they are supporting their ideas with evidence from their thinking and prior
knowledge. Then come back together as a whole class and on giant chart paper or Microsoft Word write up the ideas that students share. If a student disagrees on
whether or not the shared idea would work make sure they explain their thinking and after the lab as a whole class we will come back together to address which ideas
fit the formation of a sedimentary rock and which ideas do not.
Now, explain to the class that they are going to be creating their own sedimentary rocks as a group. They will all be working and sharing their ideas together to create
one model of a sedimentary rock, but they will all be responsible to fill out the guided questions sheet. Read and go through as a whole group the worksheet on
creating a sedimentary rock (see attached worksheets with teacher answer key Guiding Questions & Student Sheet). Answer any questions they may have prior to
going any further.
Have the students with their group reread the directions for creating a sedimentary rock.
Wait overnight for the glue to dry all the pieces together, and have them complete the guided questions with their group.
Come together as a whole group and discuss the answers they came up with making sure to have the students fix any of their own misconceptions the group may
have had when answering. (See answers on Student Sheet with Answers attachment).
Go back to the list that was created at the beginning of the lessons for ways the students thought prior to the activity and go through which ideas would work and
which ideas would not. Making sure that the students support their thinking with their evidence from their experience of creating a sedimentary rock and their guided
questions sheet.
To sum everything up with the class go to StudyJams.com and watch the video on sedimentary rocks and then have the students take the quiz on the website. Use the
same strategy used with having the students write and display their answers as you did with the Study Jams video on Weather and Erosion.
Lastly, on a separate sheet of paper, have them write a paragraph explaining what a sedimentary rock is, and how it could be formed in nature. Have the students
turn in all activities stapled together. (Summative Assessment)
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
The students will complete the lab sheet with the directions and guided questions with their peers in groups of four. (attached Guiding Questions & Student Sheet)
The teacher then uses those questions during group work to make sure they understand the important details, and will then again review them through whole group
discussion at the end.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
The students will complete the activity sheet that is provided. It will then be reviewed whole group and the students will be responsible for correcting their own
page 2 of 4 answers. The class will then readdress the list of ways they thought at the beginning of the lesson that sedimentary rocks could form in nature, making sure to explain
all of their thinking from the group activity and class discussion. The students then will receive a quick review through Study Jams on sedimentary rock and write a
paragraph explaining how a sedimentary rock forms and various characteristics it may have.
As the class continues to learn about the other two types of rocks, prior knowledge on sedimentary rocks should be reviewed, so the student will be able to
understand the differences among the three of them. It should then also be reviewed as the rock cycle is discussed for them to understand that all rocks can
eventually turn into the other two.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
The students will write a paragraph explaining what information they gained throughout the lesson on sedimentary rocks into a paragraph. Before the students begin
working independently have them share what some of the expectations may be for the paragraph.
The paragraph should include the following details:
Formed when rocks are weathered by wind, water, chemicals, plants, ice and then those pieces are deposited into a location with other materials (remains of
plants and animals or shells). The materials pile up over time (oldest on the bottom and newest toward the top)
The pressure of the material piled on each causes them to "glue" or cement together which helps all the pieces to stick together.
Layers or various pieces of the sediments can be easily seen with the eye.
Summative Assessment
The teacher will use both the lab sheet and the student paragraph to gather the information necessary to know if the students have learned the necessary objectives
of the lesson.
Optional: Use the Study Jams quiz at the end of each online slide show as a post-test. (Sedimentary Rocks Test attached)
Formative Assessment
Study Jams quiz at the end of both videos (Weather and Erosion and Sedimentary Rocks).
Weathering & Erosion: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/rocks-minerals-landforms/weathering-and-erosion.htm
Sedimentary Rocks: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/rocks-minerals-landforms/sedimentary-rocks.htm
(See Sedimentary Rocks Test attached for questions and answers ahead of time.)
Feedback to Students
See Attached (Guided Questions and Student Activity Sheet for questions and answers) for providing students with directed feedback throughout the lesson.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Visually Impaired Students: Another student can still guide that child in choosing sediments from around the campus. The student can also feel and touch the
individual pieces at the beginning of the process and then feel the ending results of the sediments coming together to form one larger rock.
ELL/SLD/Language Students: When it comes time for the students to write their paragraph. The ELL/SLD/Language students can draw a diagram with the steps
necessary to create a sedimentary rock. They must use the key vocabulary though to describe the steps.
The teacher may provide the vocabulary words for the students to choose from or provide the steps and have them draw a matching picture.
Step 1: Show a large rock being broken or weathered down by wind, water, ice, chemicals, plants. Label the picture as weathering and the sediments.
Step 2: Show the sediments being deposited. Label the picture as deposition or settling down.
Step 3: Show many layers of sediments piling up with small sediments, fossils, shells, etc. Label the picture as layers building up and label the small rocks, and
fossils.
Step 4: Show the layers coming together and the layers pressing together over a LONG period of time. Label the three layers with newest on top and oldest on the
bottom.
Extensions:
How do sedimentary rocks explain the past?
They explain the past because it allows layers of Earth to pile up including fossils, shells, and artifacts. Since it preserves those items, archaeologists can look inside
sedimentary rocks and learn about living creatures or cultures of the past.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, LCD Projector, Speakers/Headphones, Microsoft Office
Special Materials Needed:
Liquid glue
Small cups paper or Styrofoam cups
Further Recommendations:
Start the lab as early as possible to allow the glue to dry in as much time as possible.
Do NOT fill the cup with as much sediments as possible, this will extend the drying time.
If you do not want the class to go on the nature walk you may provide all the sediments some good ideas include but are not limited to:
Sand
Rocks of various size and colors for a fish tank
page 3 of 4 Shells or fossils
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Michelle Richka
Name of Author/Source: Michelle Richka
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Seminole
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
SC.4.E.6.1:
SC.4.N.1.1:
Description
Identify the three categories of rocks: igneous, (formed from molten rock); sedimentary (pieces of other rocks and
fossilized organisms); and metamorphic (formed from heat and pressure).
Raise questions about the natural world, use appropriate reference materials that support understanding to obtain
information (identifying the source), conduct both individual and team investigations through free exploration and
systematic investigations, and generate appropriate explanations based on those explorations.
Remarks/Examples:
Florida Standards Connections: LAFS.4.RI.1.3. Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical,
scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
Florida Standards Connections: MAFS.K12.MP.1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them and,
MAFS.K12.MP.3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Explain that models can be three dimensional, two dimensional, an explanation in your mind, or a computer model.
SC.4.N.3.1:
LAFS.4.SL.1.1:
Remarks/Examples:
Florida Standards Connections: MAFS.K12.MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively and, MAFS.K12.MP.4: Model
with mathematics.
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners
on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and
other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.
b. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.
c. Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute
to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.
d. Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
page 4 of 4