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Layers of the Crust
Hillary Byers
Gena Camerlengo
Nora Jennings
Faith Mulach
Activity
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Grade level: 2-3
After learning about the layers of the Earth,
students will build a model of the Earth’s crust
with food. There are many layers of the earth’s
crust, which are in turn made up of different
types of rock. Students will learn what each layer
of the sandwich represents and then learn how
the earth’s crust is developed and what
materials have combined to form it.
Materials
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Stack of paper plates
Plastic knives
Dark rye bread
Light brown bread
White bread
Crunchy peanut butter
White icing with M & M's
Materials to sketch and label the sandwich (left side:
names of food, right side: names of rocks and
characteristics)
Pictures of different layers of rocks, such as in the Grand
Canyon
The Earth’s Core
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The core is at the
center of the Earth
The center is solid
The outer layer is so
hot it is molten
The Mantle
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Thick shell of rock
surrounding the outer
core
It is flexible, allowing
it to bend
Makes up most of the
Earth’s mass
The Crust
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Earth’s hard outer
shell
Light and brittle
It is cooler and more
rigid than the core
and mantle
Layers of the Earth’s Crust
1st layer
Paper Plate=Granite
 Igneous rock
 Laid down billions of years ago
 Much thicker than any other layer
 Cannot be drilled through
2nd Layer
White Bread=Sandstone
 The sandstone layer was formed by a river
 Over time the river erodes the bedrock
and forms small pieces of sand
 The sand sticks together and forms
sandstone at the bottom of the river
3rd Layer
Crunchy Peanut Butter=Conglomerate
 There was a great flood and mud and
rocks were deposited over the sandstone
 Over time the mud and rocks formed a
sedimentary rock
4th Layer
Light Brown Bread=Shale
 The river carried small pieces of rock
called silt
 Over time the river slowed down and then
silt gathered together and became shale
5th Layer
Icing + M&Ms=Fossilized Limestone
 At this point in time an ice age ended
 The glaciers melted and oceans rose
causing water to cover what was
previously land
6th Layer
Dark Brown Bread=Topsoil
 Covers the rock layers many long years
after the ocean and river have
disappeared and the rock layers rose up
 Earthquakes and moving plates can cause
the layers to rise
Examples of rock layers
Academic Content Standards
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By the end of grades 3-5 be able to summarize
the processes that shape Earth’s surface and
describe evidence of those processes:
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Compare distinct properties of rocks.
Observe and investigate that rocks are often found in
layers.
Describe that smaller rocks come from the breakdown
of larger rocks through the actions of plants and
weather.
Observe and describe the composition of soil.
Investigate the properties of soil.
Investigate that soils are often found in layers and can
be different from place to place.
Resources
S. Olesik, WOW Project, Ohio State
University, 2000.
http://www.wow.osu.edu/experiments/geol
ogy/ebmf.html
 http://www.wow.osu.edu/experiments/geol
ogy/ebmf.html
 http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/cla
ss/100/interior.html
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