The Three Types of Rocks– Our Activities and a Free Worksheet Packet about igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
A few days ago I shared the Rocks and Minerals Packet I made for ED (which is also free). I wanted to spend more time on the three types of rocks–igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The kids were SO excited when they realized this activity was going to include semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, heath crunch bits and flaked coconut. (No we didn’t eat it all, but we did taste test a bit along the way!) I used that as leverage to make sure the rest of their work was done for the day!
I made some worksheets for their science notebooks. Before beginning our activities, we went over the differences between the three types of rocks (the first page) and sang our song again (below). We saved the examples (the pages with the pictures of various examples of rocks) for another day. The packet includes some sample example answers for each page (such as the metamorphic rock page in the collage below). This packet also includes the activities I shared below.
Click here for the – Three Main Types of Rocks – Free Worksheets
I have been doing this Rocks and Minerals unit with my kids again. Be sure to check out the new 100+ page Rocks and Minerals Unit as well as our 150+ page Earth Science Packet.
Click here to save the free 3 types of rocks worksheets on Pinterest:
Be sure to check out our new 100+ page Rocks and Minerals Unit here or below!
New Rocks and Minerals Unit!
The material above was made many years ago when my kids were quite little. I have made a huge new 100+ page Rocks and Minerals Unit if you are interested!
New! (2021) We have a fantastic Rocks and Minerals Packet available. I’ll leave these pages I made many years ago still up on the blog, but you may want to check out our new materials below.
In our Rocks & Minerals Unit, we went into a lot of detail about the types of minerals, identifying minerals – crystalline structures, the characteristics of minerals (color, streak, luster, hardness), the Mohs Hardness Scale, how rocks are formed, weathering, erosion, the lithification process, different types of igneous, sedimentary & metamorphic rocks and more. This packet includes notebook pages, worksheets, a lapbook, lab activities, vocabulary cards, booklets and more!
$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:
Here are more pictures of what is in the Rocks and Minerals Packet:
Our types of rock ‘experiments’
We had different types of chips: white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips plus shaved coconut and heath crunch bits.
Igneous Rocks: We melted some white chocolate (and red dye) on the stove. We talked about how magma/lava is melted rock. Then we took spoonfuls of the melted chocolate and let it cool on a baking sheet. These were our ‘igneous’ rocks.
Sedimentary Rocks: Before we began, we hammered the chips in a ziploc bag to make them smaller. We put spoonfuls of the different types of chips into a jar. Those were the sediments. We applied pressure to squeeze the rock/chocolate layers together to create sedimentary rocks:
Here are a couple of other activities we did when talking about sedimentary rocks:
Metamorphic Rocks: We put layers of chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows into a pan that could be baked in the oven. We put the pan in the oven and let it heat up for 10 or 15 minutes. We took it out, let it cool for a few minutes and then applied pressure to the top of half the mixture. This transformed the “rocks/chips” into a new concoction whereas on the other side we could see distinct layers and distinct rock forms (like sedimentary rocks).
After it cooled we cut the “rock” up and looked at the layer, noticing how on the metamorphic side the “rocks” had blended into one another.
Here is another activity we did when we were studying metamorphic rocks:
You can do these same kinds of activities with shaved crayons. I saw that over at The Adventures of Bear they did the rock cycle with crayons and had some really great results! Be sure to check it out!
Rock Cycle Song
I’m sorry to say I can’t find the exact link to this song, so if you know who I should give credit to let me know. The kids and I have been singing this all week (to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”):
Sedimentary rock
Has been formed in layers
Often found near water sources
With fossils from decayers
Then there’s igneous rock
Here since Earth was born
Molten Lava, cooled and hardened
That’s how it is formed
These two types of rocks
Can also be transformed
With pressure, heat and chemicals
Metamorphic they’ll become
For this unit, we used two books in particular for our hands-on activities:
We really loved Explore Rocks and Minerals!: 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiements (affiliate link)
Geology Rocks!: 50 Hands-On Activities to Explore the Earth (affiliate link) was really great for the age of my kids. It had a lot of really fun ideas. We got it first from the library, but then I wound up purchasing it to have on hand!
We got a number of other books as guidebooks, but the one I highly recommend is Smithsonian Handbooks: Rocks & Minerals (affiliate link) because of all the beautiful photos.
And one last recommendation if you have younger kids (preschool age), my kids really liked Let’s Go Rock Collecting (Let’S-Read-And-Find-Out Science. Stage 2) (affiliate link)
We also got a rock kit with different samples of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. We got the small version (with 15 rocks): American Educational Introductory Rock Collection (affiliate link).
The large kit with 75 rocks and minerals looked really great: Introductory Earth Science Classroom Rocks and Minerals Collection (affiliate link). For a rocks and minerals unit for older kids, I would probably got with this because it has at least 25 minerals, 6 or 7 ores, and samples of the sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.
There is also a set of posters about Rocks and Minerals (affiliate link) that would work well for a classroom unit on rocks and minerals. (16 inches x 22 inches) These have really good reviews.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.
New Rocks and Minerals Packet!
In our Rocks and Minerals Unit, we went into a lot of detail about minerals, identifying minerals – crystalline structures, the characteristics of minerals (color, streak, luster, hardness), the Mohs Hardness Scale, how rocks are formed, weathering, erosion, the lithification process and more. It includes notebook pages, worksheets, a lapbook, lab activities, vocabulary cards, booklets and more!
$7.99 New! 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.
This unit is included in our Earth Science BUNDLE. More details about the Earth Science Bundle options here.
Learn terms like weathering, erosion, compacting, cementing, luster, vitreous, clast and more! 
See more details at our Earth Science Page. The new Rocks and Minerals Packet is included in our Earth Science BUNDLE of 5.
I shared some of our hands-on activities in these related posts:
- Igneous Rock Activities
- Sedimentary Rock Activities
- Sedimentary Rock Activity (much older post, using sand)
- Metamorphic Rock Activities
- Metamorphic Rock Activity (another older post, where we took “core samples,” excavated and examined this baked rock — a cupcake!)
- Minerals: Our Hands-On Activities and Seeing the BIGGEST Diamond in the World
- Earth-Space Science: Topographic Maps
Be sure to check out our Earth Science BUNDLE!
These packets can be purchased together or separately: Earth Science Packet (150+ pages), Layers of the Atmosphere Packet (50+ pages), Where I Live Activities: My galaxy, solar system, planet, continent, country, state, town and home!
Our 150+ Page Earth Science Packet:
You might also be interested in our 150+ page Earth Science Packet: We did a ton of hands-on activities as we studied
- the solar system
- layers of the Earth, Earth’s axis
- compass directions, compass rose, how to use a compass
- Earth’s geologic timeline
- equator, latitude, longitude — Using a globe to determine latitude and longitude
- Pangaea and continental drift
- understanding convection currents
- tectonic plates
- 4 types of mountains
- 3 types of faults
- earthquakes and faults
- volcanoes – volcanic terms, types of volcanoes
- earthquakes and building construction, earthquake shake table
To purchase the Earth Science Packet, visit our Store!
You might also want to check out our Layers of the Atmosphere Packet
You will find this packet and more in our Store!
The Earth Science Packet can bundled with our Layers of the Atmosphere Packet
You might be interested in our recent Earth Science Unit:
- Learning about the Solar System – Including the hands-on kit the kids loved assembling and painting.
- Earth Science: Timeline of Earth Activity – A Montessori activity that is meant to impress kids with the enormity of time on Earth.
- Earth Science: Layers of the Earth hands-on Activity
- Earth’s Geologic Timeline – How scientists divide Earth’s history into eons and eras
- Learning about Latitude and Longitude, Using a Compass
- Earth Science: Plate Movement Hands-On Activities
- Earth Science: Layers of the Atmosphere
- Earth Science Packet: Layers of the Atmosphere
- Hands-On Volcano Activities
- How to make a Shake Table – Earthquake Studies
- Earth Movement – How Mountains are Formed
You might also be interested in some of our other packets:
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.
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i luv it, it is so cool!
Glad you found it helpful, Kaylie. ~Liesl