Grade 3- Quarter 1Rocks & Minerals Standards Assessment Toolbox

Standards: S3E1. Students will investigate the physical attributes of rocks and soils.
  1. Explain the differences between a rock and a mineral.
  2. Recognize the physical attributes of rocks and minerals using observation (shape, color, texture), measurement, and simple tests (hardness).

Exceeds 3+ / In addition to the 3 makes applications and inferences beyond expectations. / Suggested Tasks & Assessments
  • Gather a collection of rocks; you may want to number the rocks with a permanent marker. Place a rock on each student’s desk. Ask: “What does your rock look like?” Ask the students not to write the number of the rock on their paper, but remember it. Give the students about 5 minutes to answer the question & draw a sketch of the rock in their science journals. Collect all rocks & line them up on a table. Have students swap papers with a classmate, and use their observations to find the rock that meets the description. Once all rocks have been selected, have students read the descriptions aloud and tell why they think they have the correct rock. Accuracy will be determined by the student who originally wrote the description. The purpose of this activity is to allow students to see that observation is a key point in rock identification – but that observation alone will not allow you to correctly identify the rock.
  • In order for students to understand the purity of minerals and the make-up of rocks, pass out two Hershey’s Kisses to each student. One should be milk chocolate and one should have almonds. (Make sure no students have an allergy to chocolate, nuts, etc.) The students should open both pieces of candy and place them on a paper towel on their desk. Ask the students to make a comparison of the two chocolates. Let them know that geologists generally break open rocks and minerals to help them classify them. Therefore, students may bite open their specimens. Explain the difference in a mineral (pure solid substance made of crystals-homogeneous-the same throughout) and a rock (natural, solid material made of one or more minerals). Based on the discussion, ask, “Which Hershey’s Kiss chocolate is most like a mineral?” “Why?”
  • Allow students to test various rocks and minerals online at scienceclips/ages/7_8/rocks_soils.shtml.
  • Visit MSA/K12/uses/uses.html. It is an interactive site that shows students the various minerals that are found inside their homes.

3 / Recognizes and explains differences in physical attributes (shape, color, texture, hardness) between a variety of rocks and minerals
2 / Recognizes differences in physical attributes (shape, color, texture, hardness) between rocks and minerals
1 / Demonstrates limited understanding of the differences between rocks and minerals
Critical Knowledge & Skills
  • what various rocks are composed of
  • which physical characteristics (size, shape, color, hardness, and texture) help identify rocks and minerals
  • group rocks according to observations
  • group rocks according to measurement
  • sort rocks by shape, color, and size
  • group rocks according to the field hardness test
  • minerals are naturally occurring substances
  • minerals are the building blocks of all rocks
  • all rocks are different
  • smaller rocks were once a part of larger rocks
  • rocks and minerals are recognized through physical attributes

Suggested Tasks & Assessments (cont.)
  • Provide students with 4 different rock specimens of different hardness. (Visit identification.html#Hardness for more information). Have students perform simple hardness tests on each rock using their fingernail, penny, and iron file or nail to test. Then answer questions such as: Which rock is hardest/softest? How do you know? Record their data on a chart below.

  • Encourage students to bring in a rock from home. (Safety Note: Limit the size of the rock specimens- Provide students with a snack size zippy bag. Their rock specimens must fit inside the bag.) Allow students to compare their rock to another rock using the following chart.