Title: Rocks & Minerals/ Soil/ Air & Water

Subject/Course: Science
Time: 80 minutes
Level: Grade ¾
Lesson Description
During these upcoming lessons, the Grade 4 will learn the difference between a rock and a mineral,
the different types of rocks found in the rock cycle, and what minerals and rocks are used for. The
Grade 3 students will learn about the different types of soils. The Grade 2 students will learn about air
and water, and the necessity of these two elements in the lives of humans, animals, and plants.
Stage 1: Desired Results
Big Question (link to the real world)
What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?
What are the different types of rock?
What is the rock cycle?
What are the different types of soil?
What are they used for?
What is air?
What is water?
Why do humans, animals, and plants need air and water?
Ontario Curriculum Overall Expectation
Grade 2:
3. demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which air and water are used by living things to help
them meet their basic needs.

Grade 3:
3. demonstrate an understanding of the composition of soils, types of soils, and the relationship
between soils and other living things.

Grade 4:
3. demonstrate an understanding of the physical properties of rocks and minerals.
Ontario Curriculum Specific Expectation
Grade 2:
3.1 identify air as gaseous substance that surrounds us and whose movement we feel as wind;
3.2 identify water as clear, colourless, odourless, tasteless liquid that exists in three states and that is
necessary for the life of most animals and plants.

Grade 3:
3.1 identify and describe the different types of soils

Grade 4:
3.1 describe the difference between rocks (composed of two or more minerals) and minerals
(composed of the same substance throughout), and explain how these differences determine how they
are used;
3.3 describe how igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks are forms.
Key Concepts and/or skills to be Prior Knowledge Activation:
learned/applied:
- Rock The students will have prior knowledge of each
- Mineral topic from previous years of learning; the students
- Igneous will also watch videos to help them
- Sedimentary remember/understand what they will be learning
- Metamorphic about.
- Sediments
- Weathering
- Erosion
- Deposition
- Compacting/pressure/cementation
- Clay soil
- Loamy soil
- Sandy soil
- Compost
- Water
- Air
- Liquid
- Solid
- Gas
Stage 2: Planning learning experience and instruction
Learning Goals & Success criteria: Instructional Strategies:
By the end of these lessons, the students should be Model: I will show a variety of YouTube videos to
able to identify the different types of rocks, the allow the students to remember and/or understand
difference between a rock and a mineral, the what they will be learning about in the upcoming
different types of soil, identify and describe water science lessons.
and air, and their necessities to humans, animals,
and plants.
Instruct: In the three different groups (polar bears,
beavers, and Canada geese) myself, and my
associate teacher will concentrate on the individual
topics (rocks/minerals, soil, and air/water) to
enable all students to understand the different
types of rocks, the difference between a rock and a
mineral, the different types of soil, and how to
describe air and water and their necessities for
humans, animals, and plants.

Guide: myself and my associate teacher will guide

the students while they read the different texts and
complete the variety of worksheets.
Materials/Student Groupings Differentiation
- Worksheets The worksheets and readings will be different
- Pencil/Eraser for the grade levels;
- Lined paper
 - PowerPoint – Rocks/Minerals (see
attachments)
- YouTube Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weWXc5Oydy
8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeuYx-AbZdo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS7zfeK4OTQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w49Bkmg8vp
0

Assessment For Learning, Checking for Understanding & Feedback

Assessment for learning: I will be checking for understanding throughout the lessons, and I will also
correct all the worksheets.

Stage 3: Learning Activity

Open
At the beginning of the lessons, I will be showing all YouTube videos to get the students interested in
their topics.
Body
After the videos, I will separate the students into their groups (polar bears, beavers, and Canada geese)
to correctly separate and distribute the worksheets.

Polar bears: the students will be read/attempt to read Page 2 of the Science and technology (weather
watch) manual. Once this is completed, the students will need a piece of paper to identify the air in
the different pictures shown in Page 2-3. This will be repeated for Page 12; however, the students will
be identifying which pictures show clean air and clean water. Following this activity, the students will
be read/attempt to read, the Three States of Water poem and complete the following worksheets.

Beavers: the students will read the package of texts describing the different types of soil. Once
finished, the students will complete the package of worksheets.

Canada Geese: the students will read Pages 104-107 in the Literacy (Pulley and Gears, Adventure,
Getting along, and Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion) book and answer the first two worksheets of the
package. Once finished, the students will be shown a PowerPoint about the rock cycle. Afterward, the
students will complete the rest of the worksheets.
Close
At the end of both lessons, I will obtain the students attention by counting down, and provide DOJO
points to the students who have worked hard throughout the lesson, and who are sitting quietly.








Please read Page 9 in the Science & Technology – Rocks and Minerals book and Page 104-
105 in the green Literacy book.

Talc

Gold

Lead

Ruby

Sandstone

Circle the word that makes the sentence true.

1. A mineral is a (living, nonliving) thing found in nature.

2. People use (hard, soft) rocks for buildings, statues, and bridges.

3. A rock is composed of two or more minerals (true or false)

4. Most minerals are made of crystals (true or false)

5. Some minerals are metals, such as aluminum, iron, and copper (true or false)

6. Gold and silver are not minerals (true or false)

7. Minerals are composed of the same substance throughout (true or false)

1

Write a response for each question with the help of the text.

1. What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?

2. What are some uses for minerals? Please give at least three examples.


3
 Please fill in the blanks with the following words and draw the arrows to show the rock
cycle:
crystallization, weathering + erosion, melting, heat + pressure, deposition + pressure
compaction + cementation

4
 Name: _________________________

Please describe the following words with the help of the text:

Give two examples of each type of rock:

Igneous Rock

Sedimentary Rock

Metamorphic Rock

5
1
 name: ____________________________

2
With the help of the text, please fill in the table below.

Types of soil

Types of soil

Things that this type

of soil is used for

Description of this soil

Please answer the following question with the help of the text.

1. What is erosion?

2. What is the best soil to build a castle at the beach? Please explain why.

3
Read the sentences below. Find the hidden words in the puzzle and write them in in the empty
spaces.

Vocabulary: Volcanic, dig, hard, soil, compost, earthworms, sand, fungi, elements, organic

1. __________ is like a cake made from lots of different things.

2. Soil contains crumbling rock or sand, clay, dead plant and animal remains, ______________

and even manure.

3. _________________ turn the plant and animal material into nutrients. They also

_______________ through the soil, which lightens and loosens it so plants grow better.

4. The top layer of the soil is rich in ________________ matter which are best for growing

crops, underneath are layers that are ________________ and also beneath these layers are

________________.

5. ________________ is very rich because minerals

6. Plants need nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, copper, and other _____________

to grow.

7. Human can change the soil by ______________.

 Three States of Water
Solid, liquid, gas

Solid, liquid, gas,

Three states of matter,

Solid, liquid, gas.

A solid keeps its shape,

Some are hard, some can break,

Like a table or a role of tape,

A solid keeps its shape.

A liquid shape depends

On the container that it’s in.

Like a cup, bottle, or metal tin,

A liquid shape depends.

A gas you cannot see,

It’s in the air that we breathe,

Helium, oxygen, or steam

A gas you cannot see.

1
2
 Name: ____________________________

1. Write the correct place:

2. What do humans use water for? Please write your ideas.

2. What do plants and animals use water for? Please write your ideas.

3
 3. Describe water in your own words.

Please draw an example of water in their three different states:

Liquid: Solid:

Gas: