Rocks and Minerals Unit
100+ page Rocks and Mineral Packet
We studied Rocks and Minerals again this semester and I have just released a new Rocks and Minerals Packet. The Rocks and Minerals Unit is well over 100 pages!
This Rocks and Minerals Unit includes worksheets, notebook activities, booklets on rocks & minerals and the rock cycle, hands-on activity ideas, a lapbook/interactive notebook activity on the three types of rocks. Below I will share more details about what is included!
$7.99 New! Rocks and Minerals Unit 100+ pages
More details can be found here: Rocks and Minerals Packet or at the Earth Science BUNDLE page.
Don’t forget to check your PayPal email account for your download link! Our packets are PDF digital downloads. If you have any questions or problems feel free to email me or check out the FAQ.
This unit is included in our Earth Science BUNDLE. More details about the Earth Science Bundle options here.
More pictures of the Rocks & Minerals Unit & Activities plus the Table of Contents are included down below!
What age is this for? Like many of our packets, I have tried to include a range of activities to make it suitable for homeschooling families. It has materials for both elementary and for middle/high school students. (My girls are ages 12 and 15 at the moment.)
Do I need any specific book or textbook? This unit can be used with any texts or library books you have on hand, but all answers are provided.
More FAQ here or feel free to email me if you have questions (or special requests)! ~Liesl
This Rocks and Minerals Unit is $7.99. Our units are PDF downloads. Be sure to check your PayPal email address for the download link.
$7.99 Rocks and Minerals Unit 100+ pages
Don’t forget to check your PayPal email account for your download link! If you have any questions or problems feel free to email me or check out the FAQ.
Earth Science & Physical Science BUNDLE Options:
More details about the Earth Science Bundle of 5 and other Earth Science units here.
$34.99 Earth Science BUNDLE of 5 (Earth Science Unit, Layers of the Atmosphere Unit, Magnetism & the Magnetosphere, Weather Unit), Rocks and Minerals Unit.
Note: I have just added a new 100+ page Rocks and Minerals Packet to this Earth Science Bundle of 5 It was called the Earth Science Unit Bundle of 4… so if you purchased that previously be sure to check your PayPal email account with the link to this new packet (or email me and I’ll get that link for you!)!!
Below is the other Earth Science BUNDLE option. Remember, these units can also be purchased separately. Visit the Earth Science Page or Our Store for more details.
$54.99 Earth Science & Physical Science BUNDLE of 10 (Save over $10 with this Bundle) 1) Earth Science Unit, 2) Layers of the Atmosphere Unit, 3) Magnetism & the Magnetosphere, 4) Weather & Natural Disasters Unit, 5) Rocks and Minerals Unit 6) Water Cycle Unit, 7) Where I Live Activity Packet – My galaxy, solar system, planet, continent, country, state, town, and home! 8) Environmental Studies: Trash and Recycling Unit; 9) Energy Packet: Kinetic vs. Potential Energy, Types and Sources of Energy, Renewable and Non-renewable Resources, Fossil Fuels, the Carbon Cycle 10) Simple Machines
FYI: Our Electricity & Circuits Packet is included in the Chemistry Bundle
Be sure to check your PayPal email address for the download link.
Again, you can visit the Earth Science Page or Our Store for more details about all for the units above or to purchase them separately.
More about the new Rocks and Minerals Unit:
Rocks and Minerals Unit Table of Contents:
Here are the Worksheets, Notebook Pages and Activities included in the new Rocks and Minerals Unit:
- Rocks and Minerals Booklet (with tracing)
- Rocks and Minerals Booklet (with fill-in-the-blanks)
- Rocks and Minerals Questions (based on the booklet)
- Rock or Mineral? worksheet
- Minerals Notebook Pages (student fill-in-the-blank pages – teacher pages)
- Identifying Minerals Notebook Pages
- How would you describe the luster? Worksheet or matching cards
- Mineral Observation Lab Activity (we used the Toysmith Minerals Kit (affiliate link) but probably any mineral kit will work!)
- Ores Notebook Page
- Rocks Worksheets on the Three Types of Rocks
- Igneous Rocks Notebook Pages
- Granite – Observation Activity
- Sedimentary Rock Notebook Pages
- Stratigraphy Notebook Pages
- Metamorphic Rock Notebook Page
- Rocks and Minerals Vocabulary Matching Cards
- Rocks and Minerals Vocabulary Review Sheets
- Three Types of Rocks Activity
- Three Types of Rock Lapbook/Interactive Notebook Activity
- Identify the Igneous (I), Sedimentary (S) or Metamorphic (M) Rocks Worksheet
- Rock Observation Lab Page (We’ll use a rock kit by Toysmith that we’ve had for many years, but it really doesn’t matter what rocks you observe. This kit has 12 samples, as does their minerals kit.)
- Rock Cycle Booklet
- Rock Cycle Worksheet
- Rock Cycle Notebook Pages
- Rock Cycle Blank Pages – Posters
- Hands-On Activity Ideas about the Three Types of Rock (starting on page 136)
There are a couple of rocks and minerals worksheets that can be used with the booklet as well. (All answer pages are provided.)
My girls are in middle school and high school so the notebook pages provided go into more depth. For example, we talked in depth about luster and the vocabulary cards and worksheets go over terms like mineral habit, vitreous, asterism, and adamintine luster. And, there are notebook pages on topics like ore and stratigraphy which you might want to skip for now if you have younger kids! 🙂
Minerals Observation Lab Activity
My girls did a lab on Minerals. We took three days to do this. On the first day, we just observed some minerals under the microscope & the girls drew what they saw. They observed table salt, gypsum crystals (we have these from rock collecting) and quartz under the microscope.
The next two days we did a mineral observation lab activity. (Um… yes, they did the lab sitting on the couch! We’re relaxed homeschoolers!! 😄 )
We used the Toysmith Minerals Kit (affiliate link), though probably any minerals kit will have similar specimens.
Note: If I had to choose just one kit to purchase, I would probably get the Toysmith rock kit if I had elementary age kids and would get the Toysmith Minerals Kit with middle or high school students. I think the mineral lab activities make this unit especially fun for older students (but when my kids were younger, they were more interested in rocks!). Anyway, that’s just my two cents! 😉
My girls loved the minerals lab activity! They had to observe and test a half dozen minerals (observing color, doing the streak test, hardness test and looking at samples under a dissection microscope).
Once they wrote down their observations, I provided them with a chart that had the hardness of the minerals. They had to decide which mineral might be indicated. Then I provided them with pictures of the minerals (which is really hard because minerals vary widely in color!!). They did the next set of minerals on the second day.
In the end, they only got five or so correct. They were surprised it was as hard as it was (but really enjoyed the process!).
We’ll be going over the three types of rocks and will do several activities including one on granite and one using our rock specimen kits. Here are some of the related rock worksheets:
Three Types of Rock Worksheets –
Notebook Pages on Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks:
Three Types of Rocks Activities
And here are a couple of the other activities that are included about the three types of rocks:
Rock Cycle Worksheets: Finally there is a booklet on the Rock Cycle (with tracing for younger students) and notebook pages with fill-in-the-blanks or full text version for older student.Just for fun:
These kinds of kits are probably meant for younger kits, but my girls were pretty excited when I pulled this National Geographic Gemstone Kit (affiliate link) out for them! It’s one where you dig through the plaster to reveal different types of gems. I thought my 12 year old would enjoy it, but my 15 year old was really happy too! Maybe because it’s such a break from her heavy academic load! They worked on this (and watched a movie for history) while was out one day. This kit has pretty good ratings on Amazon if you want to check it out. 🙂 It’s one of those plaster excavating kits, so it’ll make mess, so be sure to put down newspapers!
P.S. This does not relate to the packet that much, but it was a fun change of pace on a day when I wasn’t home! (Sub plans, right?!!) The gems are polished (rather than raw, like the Toysmith Minerals Kit I mentioned above above), but my girls were really happy with the samples they uncovered. Anyway, the National Geographics Mega Gemstone Dig Kit was a fun change of pace and a hit in our household!
That’s about it. Be sure to reach out and email me if you have any questions! Remember you can find out more about the various Earth Science units we have and the Earth Science Bundle options here: Earth Science Page
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