A rock tells its own story on page 1 of this 6-page 4th grade science reading sheet. It starts as granite on a mountain peak, is broken up by ice and rain, travels down a river as sand, becomes sandstone under the sea, turns into quartzite deep underground and melts into magma. Nine questions follow in three parts: retrieving facts, working out what cemented means, and explaining why the journey is a cycle. The answer key covers all nine questions and quotes the text.
RI.4.1
“Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.”
Questions 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 all ask for details from the story, and the key quotes them.
RI.4.4
“Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.”
Question 5 asks what cemented means in this passage.
“Name the rock and rock type at each stage of the rock cycle, and the process that links stages.”
Question 1 (granite, sandstone, quartzite) and question 4 (weathering and erosion).
A first-person passage with key words in bold, from igneous and granite to quartzite and magma, beside a photo of a mountain stream running to the sea.
A table for the rock name and type at three stages, two short written questions about how ice broke the granite and what carried the pieces, and a table that matches weathering and erosion to two changes.
A four-option multiple choice on what cemented means, a true or false about quartzite with a written reason, and a line to copy a phrase that shows how long sand took to become sandstone.
Two written responses. One asks why the journey is called a cycle using the start and end of the story. The other asks whether students agree that a rock is just a quiet pebble.
Model answers for all nine questions, with text evidence for questions 6, 7 and 8 and a sample response for question 9.
Read aloud first
Read the story aloud once while students circle the bold words. They meet igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic in context before the questions ask for them.
Split the sheet
The sheet runs six pages. Give page 1 and Part 1 on day one and keep Parts 2 and 3 for a second sitting or for homework.
Cycle talk
Use question 8 as a short partner talk before writing. Ask each pair to point to a line near the start and a line near the end that match.
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