Geology Complete Theme | Scripted Afterschool Activities

You know that geology rocks and now your students will know it, too! The Geology Complete Theme includes four fully scripted, hands-on science activities, four fully scripted art activities, a Jeopardy® style answer and question review game (with answers), a pre/post quiz (with answers) to guage student learning, as well as a vocabulary list, suggested read aloud reading list, and a recipe for rock candy. All activities teach concepts in geology while engaging students with hands-on projects and games. Scripted lessons make it easy for new teachers or group leaders to teach without extensive training. Activities can be completed in any order to allow for flexible scheduling and sharing of materials. Concepts covered include: plate tectonics, how mountains are formed, what's under the earth's crust, why volcanoes erupt, how different types of rock are formed, and why fossils are most commonly found in sedimentary rock.

Science Activities
- Big Rock on the Block: Students learn about three types of rock (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) and how each type of rock is formed.

- Chip Mining: Students learn about the importance of rocks and minerals in our daily lives, the resources mining provides, and the environmental impact mining can have on plant and animal habitats.

- Movers and Shakers: Students learn about earthquakes, tectonic plates, and the Richter scale. Then they test their engineering skills by trying to build an earthquake resistant structure and testing it on the "Earthquake Simulator."

- Rock On: Specially designed for younger students, this activity teaches sorting and classification. Students also practice counting, sharing, and working in groups.


Art Activities
- Chalk Mountain: Students learn how mountains are formed and to identify and name the basic parts of a mountain range. Using pastel chalk students create a beautiful and unique representation of a mountain range.

- Sedimentary Weight: Students learn how sedimentary rock is formed and why fossils are most commonly found in sedimentary rock. Then they create their own layered art to represent sedimentary rock.

- Volcanic Activity Part 1: Students learn about plate tectonics and the formation of mountains through a series of simple and effective demonstrations. Afterwards, they begin creating their own papier mache volcanoes.

- Volcanic Activity Part 2: Students finish off their volcanoes and then learn why volcanoes erupt. Using baking soda and vinegar, they get to test out their newly completed volcanoes.


Review Game and Quiz
The pre/post quiz is a great way to test students' knowledge of Geology before and after completing the theme activities. Play the Jeopardy® style Quizubits answer and question game before the quiz to challenge students and review concepts.


Scripted lessons make it easy for new teachers or group leaders to teach without extensive training. Most required materials are common household items, common school items, or easy to find art supplies. To see materials lists, standards, and other helpful notes, please download the preview.



Geology Complete Theme | Scripted Afterschool Activities by Curricubits is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.