Grade 06 Science - EC: S6.D.1.1.2
Grade 06 Science - EC: S6.D.1.1.2
Continuum of Activities
The list below represents a continuum of activities: resources categorized by Standard/Eligible Content that teachers may use to move students toward proficiency. Using LEA curriculum and available materials and resources, teachers can customize the activity statements/questions for classroom use.
This continuum of activities offers:
- Instructional activities designed to be integrated into planned lessons
- Questions/activities that grow in complexity
- Opportunities for differentiation for each student’s level of performance
Grade Levels
6th Grade
Course, Subject
Science
Activities
- Identify three igneous rocks.
- Identify three sedimentary rocks.
- Identify three metamorphic rocks.
- Describe how igneous rocks form.
- Describe how sedimentary rocks form.
- Describe how metamorphic rocks form.
- What is the difference between the formation and crystal size intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks?
- What is the rock cycle? Describe how each type of rock can be transformed into another type of rock.
- Why are fossils most commonly found in sedimentary rocks? How do fossils help scientists determine the approximate layers of the rock it is found in?
Answer Key/Rubric
- Acceptable responses may include, but are not limited to:
Granite, basalt, pumice, obsidian, diorite, gabbro, rhyolite, and scoria.
- Acceptable responses may include, but are not limited to:
Limestone, sandstone, shale, coal, siltstone, conglomerate, and dolomite.
- Acceptable responses may include, but are not limited to:
Slate, quartzite, marble, gneiss, hornfels, and schist.
- Igneous rocks form when magma or lava cool and harden.
- Sedimentary rocks form when pieces of other rocks and minerals compress to form layers of rocks.
- Metamorphic rocks form when heat, pressure, or chemical reaction changes one type of rock to another.
- Answers may include, but are not limited to:
Intrusive igneous rocks are formed within the Earth from magma that has cooled and hardened. Intrusive igneous rocks have large crystals because they take longer to cool. Extrusive igneous rocks are formed on Earth’s surface when lava has cooled and hardened. Extrusive igneous rocks have smaller crystals because they cool quicker.
- The Rock Cycle describes the transformation of rocks among the three rock types over a period of time.
The following chart describes the changes between the rock types:
- Sample response: Fossils are mostly found in sedimentary rocks because they do not tend to form at the temperatures and with the amount of pressure as igneous and metamorphic rocks that would destroy the fossil remains. Since sedimentary rocks form in layers, scientists have a general idea of the age of the rock layers based on the fossils they find. Knowing the approximate age of the fossils (when the particular species existed), they know the layers below it are older, and the layers above it are younger. This is known as relative dating.
