Identify the Rock

4th Grade ScienceRock Cycle3 pages

About this worksheet

Six clue boxes on page 1 of this 3-page 4th grade science sheet describe rocks without naming them: layers with a shell fossil, large speckled crystals, tiny holes that let it float, flat sheets that split apart, wavy bands of light and dark crystals, and a gritty feel like sand. A word bank lists the three rock types and six rock names. In each box students write the type of rock and the clue that told them. Page 2 is a blank observation chart for a real rock, and the answer key shows what to look for.

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Curriculum objectives covered

“Identify igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks from observable properties.”

All six boxes on page 1.

“Support a claim with a piece of evidence.”

The clue that told me lines on page 1 and the My Guess row on page 2.

“Describe a rock by its color, texture, grains or crystals, and layers.”

The observation chart on page 2.

What's inside this worksheet

Rock Riddles

Six boxes, each with a small picture and two or three clues. The word bank holds igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic, plus granite, limestone, pumice, slate, gneiss and sandstone. Students fill in Type of rock and The clue that told me.

Real Rock Observation Chart

A two-column chart for a rock students choose themselves. Rows ask about color, texture, crystals or grains, layers or bands, and a guess at the type with a reason.

Answers

The type, the rock name and the deciding clue for each of the six boxes. For the observation chart, a note on checking that the guess matches the clues the student recorded.

How teachers use it

Real rock tray

Put out a tray of real rocks for page 2. Let each pair pick one and fill in the chart before they see your labels.

Clue first

Ask students to underline the clue before they write the type. The clue line shows whether a student is reasoning or guessing.

Hand lenses

Hand out lenses for the Crystals or Grains row. Seeing sand grains or interlocking crystals up close turns the page 1 clues into something students have looked at.

More 4th Grade Science worksheets

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