MATERIALS: Griddle or frying pan, spatula, oil, pancake batter, plates and napkins, walnuts, chocolate chips, marshmallows, raisins, etc.

ACTIVITY: Be sure to tell your kids that they will be eating rocks at the end of this unit!! After they have learned about how metamorphic rocks are made, examined several examples of metamorphic rocks, and talked about the rock cycle – I tell them that they won’t want to miss tomorrow’s lesson because we will be making our own metamorphic rocks and eating them.

          Depending on the age, either the students or myself make the “rocks”. Pour the pancake batter on the griddle and be sure to add some raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts, or marshmallows to the batter. By doing this, the children will get to see how heat is a factor in the metamorphic process. They will get to see how different “materials” melt or do not melt from the heat.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: After the demonstration, each child should have his/her own “rock” to eat. They should also be able to identify the metamorphic properties. To quiz them, a brief questionnaire type of paper can be passed out. Usually after this lesson, no one forgets how metamorphic rocks are made!

QUESTIONNAIRE: (teacher’s copy)

1. What does Metamorphic mean?

A: changing forms

2. What are the different colored stripes called?

A: banding

3. A ____ mineral can become ____ when environmental conditions change?

a. stable, unstable b. yellow, blue

c. hard, soft d. plutonic, igneous

A: a.

4. ____ is when atoms re-arrange themselves to form into larger crystals.

A: re-crystallization

5. ____ of a rock is the intensity of metamorphism that formed a rock.

A: metamorphic grade

(draw a line to the correct letter)

6. Occurs in solid rock A. contact metamorphism

7. Occurs without deformation B. metamorphism

A: 6-B 7-A

8. Most rocks and magma contain low concentrations of metals.

A. True B.False

A: True

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April Whitaker

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