Rocks and Minerals
Background Information & Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Rocks and minerals are all around us! Earth’s crust and part of its mantle are made of rock. Rocks are made of minerals and have different properties, including color, texture, luster, and hardness. We use rocks and minerals in many different ways. The steel in our buildings are made with iron, which is a mineral. The clay and glass used in our pottery and dishes are made of a mixture of rocks and minerals. We even need minerals to stay healthy, and we get them from a variety of different foods. A geologist is a scientist who studies rocks and land to learn about Earth and its history. Your children can practice being geologists by observing and comparing different rocks.

Rock is a natural, nonliving aggregate of minerals. Earth’s outer sections, or lithosphere, include the crust and part of the mantle, which are made of rock. Geologists are scientists who study rocks and land to learn about Earth and its history. Rocks provide clues about what Earth looked like millions of years ago. Encourage your children to observe rocks in different ways.

Rocks are made of minerals. Some rocks, such as granite, are made of several minerals, including quartz, feldspar, and mica. Other rocks, such as gold or silver, are made of only one mineral. Geologists observe the properties, or traits, of rocks to help them understand, identify, and categorize them. For example, color is a property. Some rocks like shale or obsidian are dark gray or black. Other rocks, like quartz, come in a range of colors like white, pink, or yellow. Texture describes how an object feels. Some rocks are smooth, such as those found in rivers or at the beach, while other rocks are rough and bumpy, such as those found at the base of a mountain. Luster describes how an object looks under light. Some rocks are shiny and metallic, such as gold or pyrite. Other rocks are more dull and not as reflective. Hardness is another property of rocks. The hardest mineral is diamond and the only thing that can cut a diamond, is another diamond. The softest mineral is talc, which can be scratched by a fingernail and ground into fine grains, as in talcum powder.

We use rocks and minerals in different ways. Encourage your children to think about how they use rocks and where they find them. The steel used to construct buildings is made of iron, which is a mineral. Bricks are made of different kinds of rocks and minerals. Our sidewalks are made of concrete, which is a mixture of different rocks. Clay pottery, porcelain dishes, and glasses are all made from rocks and minerals, too. People and animals get minerals from the foods they eat. Calcium, a mineral found in milk and dark greens, help us build strong and healthy bones. Many fruits and vegetables are good sources of potassium, magnesium, and other minerals that our bodies need. Even salt is a combination of minerals.

Encourage your children to see rocks in a whole new light. Rocks are a natural resource, something from nature that people use and value. How do people use rocks everyday? What would happen if we did not have rocks? Discuss the importance of this natural resource with your children.

Rocks and Minerals Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Rocks and Minerals Family Activities – Click Here!

Rocks and Minerals Teacher Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Rocking Out

Go on a rock hunt with your whole class. You can take a walk around the school grounds or go to a park together. Have each student bring back a rock to share with the whole class. Discuss the properties of the rocks and compare their size and shape. Have small groups take turns sorting the rocks by different properties, like size, texture, color, luster, and hardness. Students can do research at the library or online to find out what minerals might be in their rocks.

Rocks Around the Clock

After the class has viewed the movie and had some discussion about different things made of rocks and minerals, send you class out into the school building to find objects that are made of minerals or rocks. You might assign small groups to visit different rooms in the school such as the bathroom, the cafeteria kitchen, the gym, the music room, and the art room. When they return, ask the groups to share the things they found.

Rock or Not

Bring a collection of items from nature into the classroom, including a variety of rocks and minerals like sand; salt; pebbles; crystals; animal byproducts such as feathers, shells, fur, or bones; and plant matter such as tree bark, pinecones, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Put the collections into small bags and ask groups of children to sort them into groups by animal, plant, or mineral/rock. Then ask each group to explain to the class how they sorted their items.

Rocks and Minerals Family Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Trip to the Museum

Most natural history museums have a section about rocks and minerals. Walk through the exhibit with your child. Discuss how rocks and minerals are useful and valuable. You can extend this lesson to the exhibit on fossils. How do rocks provide clues about what life was like long ago on Earth? Make sure your child brings a notebook to take notes and sketch.

Rock Rules

Accompany your child on a walk and collect rocks together. Be sure to pick up rocks of different colors and sizes. Then bring the rocks home and have your child sort them in different ways. Ask him or her to discuss her sorting rule out loud. Then you take the rocks and sort them and have your child figure out the sorting rule. After you each take several turns, your child can use the rocks to make a rock garden or a rock sculpture in your yard or in a local park or community garden.