Geology Rocks! Earth Science Game

Our second quarter unit is about solid earth materials.  Ever year I give my students a little bag of rocks and a cute mini book about geology.  The kids LOVE it!  Because my brain is constantly thinking "common core, common core, common core," I decided to add a new twist to my usual Christmas gift to the students.  

I made a simple game board that mimics a cute handmade earth materials game that I always use as a fun review during morning meeting.  Since our common core ELA focus is informational text, I made game question cards that reference the mini book.  

  

I personalized the game boards with each child's name,  included different colored rocks to use as game pawns, a die, a set of question cards, the mini book, and a set of informational text question cards.  The kids loved playing the game!  It was a creative and affordable Christmas gift for my students and I am so glad I have this idea to use next year!  Feel free to use this game in your classroom as a morning meeting activity or as a fun science review!  I removed the student name blank from the game and titled it "Geology Rocks" so it can be used with any child in your class.

I copied the original handmade version of the game from a super creative first grade colleague that always inspires me with her creativity and passion for teaching.  The creativity cycle continued as the game board we use in morning meeting inspired the great Game Challenge of 2012 with my class last year.  

To earn a week with no homework, students created earth material themed games.  It was great!  I received a beach themed game with shells as pawns, a shoebox game, a "famous rocks" themed game, and a jeopardy game.  We loved playing each child's creative contribution during morning meeting.  What surprised me the most was that the students that were the most creative with their games were the students that struggled in academic areas.  The overwhelming response to this experience reminded me of a quote by Albert Einstein that says, "Creativity is intelligence having fun."  When I show students my love for using creativity to learn new things, they catch the spark of excitement and join in!