Rocks - Rock On! - Episode 105



1) Getting Started
• Ask if your students go canoeing or kayaking. Do they go on rivers or lakes? Or, take a trip to a local river or stream. Maybe even arrange a canoe or kayaking trip!

• What kinds of rock do they see or remember? How does water affect rocks over time?

• Ask about erosion and weathering. How long does that take? (Students living near the coast may be very aware of erosion.)

• How old are rocks? Where do rocks come from? (Not the landscape store!) Are new rocks made in nature?

2) Going Deeper
• Sort a collection of different rocks, such as river rock, used by landscapers. How many ways can you classify them? Consider size, color, hardness or other features.

• Learn to identify rock types by comparing them to pictures in a geology book.

3) Investigate With DragonflyTV
• Watch the video and see how Jenny, Danny and Simi explored the rapids of the Roaring Fork River in Colorado — OR — give your students data from the video (go to investigations to explore) and have them draw their own conclusions.

• The three kayakers came up with a clever way to find the river speed. What did they do?

• Jenny, Danny and Simi measured the Class 3 rapids to be slower than the Class 2. What explanation did they have for that?

• They concluded that the fast water carries small rocks and gravel away. What other factors might affect the shape and speed of the river? What other experiments could you do?

4) Investigate On Your Own
Using the Kayaking or Rock Climbing segments to start them thinking, ask your students to design their own rock investigation. Here are some challenge cards to give student teams to get things rolling.