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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Rocks and Minerals

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Use Rocks and Minerals by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Turn your students into budding geologists with this approachable nonfiction text. Interesting facts about the rocks and minerals that form our world are presented with full-color photographs making this a National Geographic reader the perfect anchor text for building comprehension skills while utilizing the features of nonfiction text.
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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Rocks and Minerals in the drop down below.

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Asking Questions with Rocks and Minerals

Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld's Rocks and Minerals sparks critical thinking skills with its photographs and fun facts. Use this asking questions mini lesson to encourage your readers to improve their understanding of the text by pausing and wondering about the information that is presented.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.1.1,RI.1.4,RI.1.5,RL.1.7,RI.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,SL.1.5,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7D,1.13E,1.13D,1.13A,1.10E,1.9D(iii),1.9D(ii),1.9D(i),1.7F,1.7E,1.1A,1.7C,1.7B,1.6I,1.6E,1.6B,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Making Connections with Rocks and Minerals

When readers are able to connect what they read to themselves, a previously read text, or their world, they are able to construct deeper meaning. This making connections mini lesson paired with Rocks and Minerals provides students the opportunity to practice this important skill.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.1.1,RI.1.3,RI.1.7,RI.1.9,RI.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,SL.1.5,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7D,1.13E,1.13D,1.13A,1.10E,1.9D(iii),1.9D(ii),1.9D(i),1.7F,1.7E,1.1A,1.7C,1.7B,1.7A,1.6I,1.6E,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Retelling & Summarizing with Rocks and Minerals

This retelling and summarizing mini lesson shows readers how to use the features of nonfiction text to help then remember important details. Attending to the detailed photographs, captions, and diagrams in Rocks and Minerals shows students which concepts to focus on.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.1.1,RI.1.2,RI.1.3,RI.1.5,RI.1.6,RI.1.8,RI.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7E,1.13E,1.13D,1.10E,1.10A,1.9D(iii),1.9D(ii),1.9D(i),1.8A,1.7F,1.1A,1.7D,1.7C,1.7B,1.6I,1.6G,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Understanding Text Structure with Rocks and Minerals

Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld uses a variety of text structures in Rocks and Minerals. This focused mini lesson prompts readers to notice compare and contrast, cause and effect, sequencing, and descriptive text structures using a nonfiction text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.1.1,RI.1.3,RI.1.4,RI.1.7,RI.1.8,RI.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,SL.1.5,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7E,1.13E,1.13D,1.10E,1.10D,1.10C,1.10B,1.9D(iii),1.9D(ii),1.9D(i),1.8A,1.7F,1.1A,1.7D,1.7C,1.7B,1.6I,1.6G,1.6E,1.6D,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Visualizing with Rocks and Minerals

As students gain experience using visualization to better understand Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld's Rocks and Minerals, they can check their thinking with the delightful color photographs and high interest diagrams.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.1.1,RI.1.5,RI.1.6,RI.1.7,RI.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7E,1.13E,1.13D,1.10E,1.10D,1.10C,1.9D(iii),1.9D(ii),1.9D(i),1.7F,1.1A,1.7D,1.7C,1.7B,1.6I,1.6E,1.6D,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Comprehension Assessment with Rocks and Minerals

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of Rocks and Minerals.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Vowels with Rocks and Minerals

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Rocks and Minerals by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld as a springboard for instruction focused on vowels.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how short vowel sounds are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with vowels.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.1.3,RF.1.4
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with Rocks and Minerals

This set of vocabulary development resources for Rocks and Minerals highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
L.1.4a,L.1.5c,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7F,1.3A,1.3B,1.3C,1.3D
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How Rocks Change Over Time

This Knowledge and Fluency Passage offers a carefully crafted passage that helps students practice smooth, confident reading while exploring key ideas from Rocks and Minerals. By focusing on erosion, sedimentation, and slow changes in nature, it deepens students' understanding of how rocks form and transform over time. The familiar language supports comprehension and engagement, making the science concepts more accessible. Use this passage before reading the book to build background knowledge and prepare students to better comprehend the text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
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TEKS Alignment
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Cause and Effect Matching with Rocks and Minerals

Read Rocks and Minerals then have some fun matching cause and effect sentences from the book. By using these cause and effect cards, students will demonstrate both their comprehension of the text and their understanding of cause and effect relationships in hands-on and interactive way.

This resource includes matching/sorting cards and a sorting mat for four cause and effect sentences in Rocks and Minerals. Each cause card is marked with a square and each effect card is marked with a circle, making it easy to support students who struggle with matching cause and effect relationships.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Rocks and Minerals

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of Rocks and Minerals includes several examples of cause and effect relationships, making it easy to use as a springboard for modeling or independent practice.

This simple resource includes four sentence stems. Each sentence stem presents an effect. Students will use what they know about the book to fill in the cause of the effect.
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Retelling and Summarizing with Rocks and Minerals

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Asking Questions with Rocks and Minerals (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Connections with Rocks and Minerals (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Retelling & Summarizing with Rocks and Minerals (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Understanding Text Structure with Rocks and Minerals (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
Print

Visualizing with Rocks and Minerals (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Retelling and Summarizing with Rocks and Minerals (Spanish)

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About the Book

The cover for the book Rocks and Minerals
Title: Rocks and Minerals
Author: Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Genre: Nonfiction
Themes: Rocks and Minerals
ISBN: 9781426310386
Publisher's Summary:
Rocks and Minerals by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld is a vibrant and accessible introduction to the wonders of geology, specifically designed for young readers in grades K-3. This National Geographic Kids Reader uses dynamic photographs and clear explanations to spark children's curiosity about the rocks and minerals all around them. The book explores the variety and beauty of rocks, from dazzling gemstones and sparkling crystals to molten lava and everyday stones beneath our feet. It explains how rocks are formed, the differences between rocks and minerals, and how changes like wind, rain, and ice shape the landscape over time. Children will learn about the three main types of rocks—igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic—as well as the rock cycle and the formation of fossils. The book also highlights fascinating facts, like which minerals are the hardest and softest, and introduces famous rock structures and formations. Engaging question-and-answer boxes throughout the book encourage interactive learning, while a fun quiz at the end helps reinforce new knowledge. With its engaging visuals and accessible text, Rocks and Minerals is perfect for classroom science units, rock-hunting field trips, and fostering a lifelong interest in the natural world.
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