This activity book, designed for grades 7 to 12 as part of the TASK CARD series, contains 36 task card activities in which students identify the three basic rock types, and then extend this knowledge to common rocks they find in their own back yards. Each module begins with an introduction part that provides teachers with a model for effective science teaching, a checklist for lesson preparation, and a list of materials, as well as the logic tree showing how all the task cards in each module tie together. The second part of each module presents teaching notes that contains sections on task objectives, materials, and answers to all questions on the activities along with suggestions for assessment. The last part provides reproducible student task cards, in which the procedures are illustrated with black and white illustrations. In this module on rocks and minerals, students investigate how wind and water sort rocks by size and deposit them into graded beds, subdivide rocks into 12 basic egg carton categories according to each rock's geological origin, and understand how freezing water contributes to the erosion of rocks.
Students represent the relative abundance of common rocks as a bar graph.
Students also compare the densities of granite and basalt and use this information to help explain the relative position of rocks within the earth's crust. A master list of materials, reproducible student worksheets, and answer keys are included. ENC does NOT distribute this resource. TOPS Learning Systems 10970 S. Mulino Rd. Beyond single classroom use, reproduction of these pages by schools or school systems for wider dissemination, or by anyone for commercial sale, is strictly prohibited.