Rocks and minerals
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe differences between rocks and minerals.
Key learning points
- Rocks consist of minerals and rock fragments.
- A mineral is a naturally occurring pure substance (an element or a compound) that has a crystal structure.
- Minerals are identified by their crystal structure, composition, and physical properties.
Keywords
Mineral - A mineral is an element or compound with a crystal–like structure. They are the 'building blocks' of rocks.
Crystalline - Crystalline describes a rock composed of interlocking crystals. It is ‘crystal–like’.
Rock - A rock is a solid substance, which is a mixture of minerals. It composes any solid portion of Earth.
Common misconception
Pupils generally confuse the distinctions between a rock and a mineral.
Stress and reinforce the definitions of each. Use examples of each and practice classifying them as a mineral or rock.
Teacher tip
Provide samples of minerals / rocks for pupils to examine with a hand lens, to stress that minerals are pure substances while rocks are mixtures. Challenge pupils to identify the number of minerals in rocks found at school or at home.
Equipment
Mineral and rock samples, hand lenses.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following are states of matter?
Q2.Which of the following is an element?
Q3.What is the difference between an element and a compound?
Q4.Which of the following materials are suitable for building a house?
Q5.What are soils made from?
Q6.Examples of properties include hardness, colour, density, and melting point. Flammability is a chemical property.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a mineral?
Q2.What are rocks made of?
Q3.Which of the following statements about rocks are correct?
Q4.Which of the following characteristics are used to identify different minerals?
Q5.What is the primary difference between a mineral and a rock?
Q6.Crystalline describes a substance composed of interlocking .
To help you plan your 8 science lesson on: Rocks and minerals, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 science lesson on: Rocks and minerals, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 science lessons from the Earth's resources unit, dive into the full secondary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.