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Ask the Soil Worm- USDA site with questions and answers about soil.
What on Earth is Soil?- EPA site with facts about soil.
What Kind of Rocks?- Describes 3 main kinds of rocks then gives directions for making each kind of rock.
Geomysteries- discovery activities and answers to questions about rocks, fossils and minerals.
Guide to Rocks- 3 types of rocks and the rock cycle. Includes a brief quiz.
Mineral Matters- properties of minerals, collecting, FAQs, grow crystals, quiz games, word search. |
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4th Grade Sci-ber Text From USOE, a fun, interactive online textbook. Correlates directly with Utah's science core curriculum.
- Erosion
Lesson plan
- Rock Hounds
Includes rock collecting, rock cycles, search help, lessons and activities, and a quiz. A great site for students.
- Sammy Soil
A downloadable coloring book
- The Great Plant Escape: Case #2
Soiled Again To solve this case, you must find out what soil is, why it is important, and in what kinds of soil plants grow. Happy digging!
- Utah Museum of Natural History
Visit this web site to learn about the museum's current exhibits and their permanent collections.
- Weathering
Great background info site--defines all types of weathering; pictures too. |
Science Benchmark
Earth materials include rocks, soils, water, and gases. Rock is composed of minerals. Earth materials change over time from one form to another. These changes require energy. Erosion is the movement of materials and weathering is the breakage of bedrock and larger rocks into smaller rocks and soil materials. Soil is continually being formed from weathered rock and plant remains. Soil contains many living organisms. Plants generally get water and minerals from soil.
Standard 3
Students will understand the basic properties of rocks, the processes involved in the formation of soils, and the needs of plants provided by soil.
Objective 1
Identify basic properties of minerals and rocks.
- Describe the differences between minerals and rocks.
- Observe rocks using a magnifying glass and draw shapes and colors of the minerals.
- Sort rocks by appearance according to the three basic types: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic (e.g., sedimentary-rounded-appearing mineral and rock particles that are cemented together, often in layers; igneous-with or without observable crystals that are not in layers or with or without air holes or glass like; metamorphic -crystals/minerals, often in layers).
- Classify common rocks found in Utah as sedimentary (i.e., sandstone, conglomerate, shale), igneous (i.e., basalt, granite, obsidian, pumice) and metamorphic (i.e., marble, gneiss, schist).
