Rocks, rocks, rocks, oh rock!

We are studying RoCkS in Kinder and had rock rotations on Friday.  I have to admit it is one of my favorite days all year! Each of the teachers take a topic and the kiddos rotate through.  I get to do Erosion, love it!  We get to use the scientific method to help us complete an erosion experiment.
We begin by learning  the Scientific Method Song:

(to the tune of 10 Little Indians)

Ask a scientific question,

Gather data,

Form a hypothesis,

Plan an experiment,

Try it again,

Draw up a conclusion.

We go through the song a line at a time and complete the scientific method as we sing.

Scientific question:  How do rocks or mountains change?

Gather data: We watch the following videos

Form a Hypothesis: If we put water or wind on our mountain, then it will change shape.
(we have been talking about predictions with our language arts program so we easily tie them together, a prediction is a smart guess using words and pictures from the story, a hypothesis is a smart guess using the data we collected.)

Plan an experiment: We will go outside to the sand tables (I pull all 3 of our sand tables outside, so my room isn't a disaster) and build mountains with the sand.  We will then apply water and wind to see if our mountains change.

I divide the kiddos into groups and they gather around the sand tables.  Once their mountains have been formed I give them straws to blow on their mountains and notice the changes.
Then I pass out water bottles (with pop tops) I purchased refillable ones from the dollar store.  The kiddos take turns pouring water on their mountains and noticing the changes.


Try it Again:  (we try it again)

Draw up a Conclusion: Wash our hands and talk about the results.  What happened?  Is our hypothesis true?

the other rotations are:

Rock Reports (discuss the different types of rocks and how their features)

Magic School Bus Rocks (here is a snippet) I do have to admit this rotation at times makes me jealous, I kinda think it would be easy peasy to show a movie 3 times but I love my rotation, I really do!

Overall we have a great day and our kinder kids go home knowing lots about rocks!  Hopefully some of these ideas can help you as you teach about rocks!