How Sedimentary Rocks and Fossils are Made: A Hands on Activity

Objective:
Learn the parts of a sedimentary rock, understand how they form, and what it looks like up close. Describe a sedimentary rock.

Science Indicators:
1. Compare distinct properties of rocks (e.g. coloring, layering and texture).
2. Observe and investigate that rocks are often found in layers.
3. Describe that smaller rocks come from the breakdown of larger rocks through the actions of plants and weather.
4. Observe and describe the composition of soil (e.g., small pieces of rock and decomposed pieces of plants and animals, products of plants and animals.
5. Investigate the properties of soil (e.g. color, texture, capacity to retain water, ability to support plant growth).
6. Investigate that soils are often found in layers and can be different from place to place.
4th Earth and Space Sciences: Processes that Shape the Earth
7. Describe how wind, water and ice shape and reshape Earth’s land surface by eroding rock and soil in some areas and depositing them in other areas producing characteristic landforms (e.g., dunes, deltas, and glacial moraines).
8. Identify and describe how freezing, thawing and plant growth reshape the land surface by causing the weathering of rock.
9. Describe evidence of changes on Earth’s surface in terms of slow processes (e.g., erosion, weathering, mountain building, and deposition) and rapid processes (e.g. volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and landslides).


Materials:
Large, clear cups (several)
Dixie cups (two per student)
Popsicle sticks or tongue depressors
Gravel (lots)
Sand (lots)
Shells (optional, for "fossils")
Plaster of Paris
Pitcher of water
Pair of scissors