© 2012 Alston Publishing House Pte Ltd Science SMART Teacher’s Guide Grade 2 Chapter 3 Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans
Chapter 3: Rocks
Total number of periods: 10 periods
Overview of Lesson Plans
What Are Rocks? (2 periods)
Lesson / Specific Instructional Objectives / Cambridge Primary Scientific Enquiry Skills / Process Skills / 21st Century Skills / Number of Periods3.1 / Pupils should:
- be able to understand what rocks are / Collect evidence by making observations when trying to answer a science question. (2Ep1)
Use first-hand experience, e.g. observe rocks. (2Ep2) / Observing
Comparing
Contrasting
Inferring
Measuring / Work independently
Make judgements and decisions
Solve problems / 2
What Are Some Types of Rocks? (4 periods)
Lesson / Specific Instructional Objectives / Cambridge Primary Scientific Enquiry Skills / Process Skills / 21st Century Skills / Number of Periods3.2 / Pupils should:
- be able to recognise some types of rocks / Collect evidence by making observations when trying to answer a science question. (2Ep1)
Use first-hand experience, e.g. observe rocks. (2Ep2)
Use simple information sources. (2Ep3) / Analysing
Classifying / Global awareness
Apply technology effectively
Be self-directed learners
Use systems thinking
Solve problems / 4
How Can We Use Rocks? (4 periods)
Lesson / Specific Instructional Objectives / Cambridge Primary Scientific Enquiry Skills / Process Skills / 21st Century Skills / Number of Periods3.3 / Pupils should:
- be able to state the uses of different rocks / Collect evidence by making observations when trying to answer a science question. (2Ep1)
Use simple information sources. (2Ep3)
Ask questions and suggest ways to answer them. (2Ep4) / Observing
Analysing
Classifying / Think creatively
Collaborate with others
Apply technology effectively
Be self-directed learners
Manage projects
Communicate clearly
Work independently / 4
Main Lesson Plans
Lesson 3.1
BSCS 5E / Lesson Notes / Resources /Engage:
An interesting situation is presented to start pupils thinking about the topic / Chapter opener
Activity: Go through the comic strip and discuss the things which are rocks or come from rocks.
Ask pupils:
· What are the things in the pictures which are rocks or come from rocks? (Answer: The mountain/hill, cliff, sand, gravel/pebbles, pottery (clay) and statue (marble).) / Textbook page 47
What Will I Learn?
Emphasise to pupils what their learning journey will be like for this chapter.
· There are different types of rocks.
· Rocks can be used for different purposes. / Textbook page 48
What Are Rocks? / Textbook page 48
Explain:
The different sizes of rocks are explained / Teaching Tip: Explain that rocks can come in different sizes and colours. Write the word ‘boulder’ on the board. Draw a big rock beside it. Ask pupils where they have seen boulders. (Answer: On mountains, at beaches)
Draw a small rock beside the big boulder. Introduce it as a ‘stone’.
Draw a smooth oval-shaped rock beside the stone. Ask pupils what they think this type of rock is called and where it is usually found. (Answer: A pebble, usually found in landscape gardens, on beaches)
Teaching Strategy: Relating to real life
Teaching Tip: Show pupils some pictures of rocks found on cliffs, hills, in rivers etc. You can obtain some pictures from the suggested website.
Project Idea: Pebbles are relatively smooth and easy to paint on. Get pupils to look for pebbles and paint or draw on them using coloured markers. These can then be used as paperweights.
21st Century Skill: Work independently / URL 3.1
Background: The Earth is made up mostly of rocks. The Earth has an outer solid crust, an inner mantle (a thick layer of hot solid rock), a liquid outer core that is made up of molten rock, and a solid inner core. / Textbook page 49
Explore:
Pupils learn about rocks in more detail / Teaching Tip: Bring a chocolate chip cookie to class. Ask pupils to think of a chocolate chip cookie as a rock. Rocks
are made of two or more different minerals pushed together and combined. The cookie is made of flour, butter, sugar and chocolate. The cookie is like a rock and the flour, butter, sugar and chocolate are like the minerals.
Process Skills: Observing, Comparing
Explain that:
· A mineral is a naturally occurring chemical substance that is normally crystalline and formed as a result of geological processes.
· Our Earth is made up mostly of rocks, which is why rocks can be found in most places.
Evaluate:
Pupils share what they know about rocks / Teaching Tip: Ask pupils to recall where they have seen rocks.
Explain that:
· Hills and cliffs are made up of rocks.
· Rocks may be carried by rivers or oceans to shores.
· Rocks are used in parks and near ponds to lay walk paths etc. / Workbook page 29
Activity 1: Rocks, Rocks, Everywhere!
Tell pupils that wind and rain can break down rocks into smaller pieces. Explain the term ‘weathering’ and how it can take place. / Textbook page 50
Engage:
A simple class demonstration is used to illustrate a concept / Teaching Tip: Use the following experiment to demonstrate weathering:
· Place a sugar cube in a dish.
· With a dropper, drop water slowly onto the sugar cube.
With each drop of water, get pupils to observe how the water slowly dissolves the sugar cube. Tell pupils that this is a demonstration of weathering, except that it takes a much longer time for a rock to become smaller.
Process Skills: Observing, Contrasting, Inferring
Get pupils to recall what they have learnt about the weather in Chapter 2: Weather and Us.
Explain that:
· Rocks are carried and tossed around by rivers and oceans.
· Rocks, when broken down over many years, can become fine particles such as sand, clay or soil. / Textbook page 51
Elaborate:
Pupils study how rocks
are formed by doing an activity / Activity: Get pupils to try making a rock themselves by carrying out Activity 2 in the Workbook. The sand in the cup is then left to dry under the Sun for several days.
Process Skills: Observing, Measuring
21st Century Skill: Work independently
Explain that:
· Some rocks are formed in a way similar to this, glued together with minerals. / Workbook page 30
Activity 2: Make a Rock
Background: Sand is commonly made up of silica. It is of relatively large grains and feels gritty when rubbed between the fingers. Clay is formed over a long period by chemical weathering (e.g. breaking up of rocks by weak acid in rain). It is made of mainly fine-grained minerals and feels smooth when dry and sticky when wet. Garden soil is made up of minerals, organic matter and organisms. / Textbook pages 52—53
Explore:
Pupils find out more about different types of rocks in an experiment / Activity: Carry out the experiment outlined in Experiment Time! in the Textbook. Let pupils feel the rock particles, i.e. sand, clay and soil, before the experiment. You may wish to do a teachers’ demonstration or allow pupils to try the experiment out themselves.
Ask pupils:
· What is the objective or aim of this test? (Answer: To find out which type of rock particle holds the most water.)
· To conduct a fair test to find out which rock particle holds the most water, which variables must be kept constant? (Tell pupils that a fair test is one in which only the tested variable, i.e. the type of rock particles, can be changed.) (Answer: Amount of rock particles in each cup, the size of the hole in each cup, the amount of water added to the soil)
Lead pupils to conclude that sand allows the greatest amount of water to drain through as it comprises the largest particles, whereas clay allows the least water through as it comprises the smallest particles.
Process Skills: Observing, Inferring
21st Century Skills: Make judgements and decisions; Solve problems
Internet link for Lesson 3.1
URL 3.1: Types of Rocks (under Pictures and school presentations)
http://www.neok12.com/Types-of-Rocks.htm
Lesson 3.2
BSCS 5E / Lesson Notes / Resources /What Are Some Types of Rocks? / Textbook page 54
Background: Granite comes in different colours, usually pink or gray or sometimes black. It is coarse-grained, hard, and difficult to cut into. Marble is made of carbonate minerals, most commonly limestone or dolomite. The characteristic swirls and veins of many coloured marble rocks are usually due to various mineral impurities which were originally present as grains or layers in the limestone.
Elaborate:
Pupils participate in discussion as they learn about different rocks / Teaching Tips:
1. Show pupils pictures of granite and get them to describe what granite looks like. Share with pupils some properties of granite: hard and waterproof. Discuss the various possible uses of granite.
2. Show pupils a picture of the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world. Tell pupils it is made of a beautiful rock called marble. Marble looks beautiful and smooth when polished. Discuss the various possible uses of marble.
21st Century Skill: Global awareness
Background: Slate is dark bluish-gray or black, fine-grained, has a low tendency to absorb water and splits into thin smooth layers. Gravel is an unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments resulting from the weathering and erosion of rocks. Gemstones are minerals which are cut and polished for use as jewellery. / Textbook page 55
Teaching Tips:
1. Show pupils pictures of slate and get them to describe what slate looks like. Share with pupils some properties of slate: tough, durable, can withstand harsh weather, and can be cut into thin sheets. Discuss the various possible uses of slate.
2. Show pupils pictures of gravel, which usually come in tiny pieces. Ask pupils where they usually see gravel. Discuss the various possible uses of gravel.
3. Show pupils pictures of some beautiful gemstones. Tell pupils that these come from the inside of some rocks. Then, show pictures of some rocks which have been cut to display the gemstones within. Tell pupils that these, when cut and polished, make beautiful jewellery.
Explore:
Pupils find out the properties of rocks in an interactive website / Activity: Pupils can go to the suggested website to carry out tests on some types of rocks (granite, marble, slate, chalk, pumice).
Process Skill: Analysing
21st Century Skills: Apply technology effectively; Be self-directed learners / URL 3.2
Workbook page 31
Activity 3: Spot the Difference
Background: Granite is an igneous rock formed when lava from volcanoes cools and hardens. Marble and slate are metamorphic rocks formed under the surface of the Earth through intense heat and pressure. Limestone is a sedimentary rock formed from particles of sand, shells, pebbles, and other fragments of material deposited in layers over a long period of time, pressed upon, compacted and hardened into rock. / Textbook page 56
Explain:
The different ways rocks can be formed are explained / Teaching Tips:
1. Explain the different ways rocks can be formed: by cooling of lava from volcanoes, heat and pressure underground, or in water, squeezed and glued by minerals.
Engage:
Pupils learn by watching a video / 2. Play the video from the suggested website to give pupils a better idea of how different types of rocks are formed.
Process Skills: Analysing, Classifying / URL 3.3
Evaluate:
Pupils assess their understanding by doing an activity / Activity: Pupils can test the different rocks for their properties in this interesting game in the suggested website.
21st Century Skills: Apply technology effectively; Use systems thinking; Solve problems / URL 3.4
Internet links for Lesson 3.2
URL 3.2: Rocks and soils
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/rocks_soils.shtml
URL 3.3: Types of Rocks (Under Videos, click ‘Our World, The Rock Cycle’)
http://www.neok12.com/Types-of-Rocks.htm
URL 3.4: Different rocks being tested for their properties (corresponds with Internet Link 3.1 in Textbook)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/materials/rocks_soils/play.shtml
Lesson 3.3
How Can We Use Rocks?
Background: Most of the rock used in construction comes from quarries. Quarries are places where sand, gravel and stone are excavated. A quarry is an area that is dug out from a piece of land or mountainside in order to extract stone or minerals. / Textbook page 57
Teaching Tips:
1. Show pupils pictures of the Stone Age during which tools and weapons (e.g. spear points, arrowheads and axes) were made of stones or rocks. Tell pupils that rocks have been widely used since a long time ago (hundreds of thousands of years ago).
Engage:
Pupils do a short skit using what they have learnt / 2. Stone Age earned its name because people then started using stones for tools, rocks for fire pits and lived in caves. Get pupils to imagine themselves as Stone Age people. What would they use stones for? Pupils may come up with a skit on the uses of rocks.
21st Century Skills: Think creatively; Collaborate with others
Explain:
Useful properties of rocks are explained / Ask pupils:
· What properties do stones have which make them useful? (Answer: Hardwearing, last for a long time, strong)