6th Grade
Science
6.10 B classify rocks as metamorphic, igneous, or sedimentary by the processes of their formation
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Student journals/pencils
Bags for carrying rocks back into the indoor classroom (optional)
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Ask students to share some of the different types of rocks that they have encountered. What
are some of the properties that are used to categorize rocks?
Review expectations of working in the outdoor classroom.
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Tell students that they will be going on a rock hunt, trying to find as many different types of
rocks as they can in the indoor classroom.
If students have not already located the rocks in the Earth Science Station, encourage them each
to choose 1-2 stones from there as well. Make sure, however, that the class is collecting rocks
from all around the outdoor classroom and not just from the Earth Science Station.
Bring students back to a central gathering location (indoors or outdoors) and have small groups
work on sorting the rocks into different categories.
After groups have had some time to do some sorting and discussing in their groups, have each
group share with the whole class how they classified their different rocks.
Set these rocks in an area where they can be viewed throughout the unit on rocks. (This may
mean leaving them in the indoor classroom or leaving them in the Earth Science Station).
Use whatever strategy is preferred for teaching about the different forms of rock:
sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Use rocks from the outdoor classroom as examples
for each category.
Copyright  2012 REAL School Gardens
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Have students look again at the rocks that they collected from the outdoor classroom. Ask small
groups to again sort the rocks, but this time they should sort them into the three different types:
sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic.
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Give students examples of each type of rock and ask them to categorize/identify them on their
own.
Copyright  2012 REAL School Gardens