Rock Cycle 
SIXTH GRADE
6 week unit

1. Students should recognize that compounds are made of elements.
2. Students should be familiar with and understand the purpose of the periodic table of the elements.
3. Students should recognize common minerals in their composition and physical descriptions.
4. Students should distinguish that minerals can look very differently.
5. Students should be able to determine the specific gravity of substances.
6. Students should recognize the importance of minerals in society.
7. Students should recognize the creation of rocks through the plate tectonic cycle.
8. Students should compare the different sites of rock formation.
9. Students should distinguish between adhesives and cements.
10. Students should recognize the importance of mineral resources.
11. Students should acknowledge the vastness of geologic time.
12. Students should begin to unravel stratigraphic relationships of rocks.
13. Students should recognize that paleontologists have constructed the theory of evolution from fossil evidence found in the stratigraphic record.

WEEK 1.
PRE: Comparing different solutions.
LAB: Exploring how elements can be released from compounds.
POST: Analyzing the periodic table.

MINERALS

WEEK 2.
PRE: Exploring the composition of minerals.
LAB: Exploring the varieties of quartz.
POST: Exploring minerals made from silicon and oxygen.
WEEK 3.
PRE: Determining specific gravity.
LAB: Predicting the use of minerals.
POST: Comparing an ore with a mineral.

ROCKS

WEEK 4.
PRE: Discovering how rocks are formed by plate tectonics.
LAB: Distinguishing where rocks are located within the rock cycle.
POST: Writing a creative essay on rocks.
WEEK 5.
PRE: Discussing decorative uses of rocks.
LAB: Distinguishing between adhesives and cements.
POST: Comparing mined resources in the United States.

PAST LIFE

WEEK 6.
PRE: Exploring the importance of fossils.
LAB: Interpreting cores to understand stratigraphy.
POST: Discovering how paleontologists document evolution.