Students will be introduced to the rock cycle by scraping crayons to create small particles and then press and/or heat the particles to simulate rock formation processes.

Through this activity students will understand how metamorphic rocks are formed through heat and pressure. Teachers will model this process by making pancakes on a hot griddle. Additional ingredients (acting as other rock types) can be added.

Through playing the Rock Cycle Game students will gain an understanding of the cycles that form metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks.

This resource was created as a virtual lab demonstration to help students understand the composition of rocks in the earth's crust. It practices using a dichotomous key. The presentation is set up as a storyboard to help students understand how rocks in the earth's crust consist of only a few types of minerals. Scientists use the physical and chemical properties of rocks to identify the mineral composition in the rock, thus identifying the rock type.  I use this interactive presentation to introduce rocks and minerals. Typically it is the precursor to a lesson on the rock cycle. It is highly interactive and gives the students immediate feedback. This is very useful in the e-learning classroom environment.