Parent plan · Week 9 · Rocks, Landscapes & Water — connect and apply — Earth & Space Science

Units to teach or revisit

Chapter 3 · Rocks, Landscapes & Water

Assigned readings

What happens to rain after it reaches the ground?

This chapter follows the question: How do Earth materials change and move?

This week’s goals

Explain mechanisms with labeled figures and relevant records.
Distinguish measured observations, illustrative models and conditional projections.
Apply ideas independently and revise after feedback.

Read What happens to rain after it reaches the ground? before starting this chapter. Use the linked unit explanations and source records during the assigned sessions.

Five flexible sessions normally about 45 minutes. Assessment slots explicitly combine or extend sessions to the existing paper’s full time. Slow down and use consolidation sessions for reteaching when an explanation is not secure.

Session 1 · The Rock Cycle — explain and transfer

Use the unit’s worked cases and changed independent application.

Your task

Study the illustrated worked case, attempt practice and the changed case, then revise the opening explanation and complete the exit response.

Explain the worked diagram in your own words.
Attempt varied practice and the independent changed case.
Check evidence/calculations using the rubric.
Return to the first model and explain a revision before the exit response.

Hint and response guidance

Read the stated evidence and diagram captions; separate quantities, reference frames and assumptions before deciding.

Cementation binds deposited grains through mineral precipitation; cooling a melt forms igneous material. Preserved grain boundaries, sedimentary textures and field relationships help test a cemented-sediment interpretation. Melting is not required for sandstone.

Use the stated evidence and units accurately.
Explain a mechanism or evidence relationship.
Show a labeled model, graph or intermediate calculation.
State a limitation and a useful revision/test.

Session 2 · The Three Rock Types — observe and build

Illustrative evidence case. Two specimens have interlocking grains; one records melt cooling and another solid-state recrystallization.

Your task

Read the chapter context and the unit language notes. Make a first model, study the core explanation and Parts 1–2, and attempt their visual and reasoning checks.

Read the assigned context and note two observations.
Draw a first explanation with one uncertain feature.
Study Parts 1–2 and trace each diagram label.
Attempt checks before consulting guidance and record one revision.

Hint and response guidance

Read the stated evidence and diagram captions; separate quantities, reference frames and assumptions before deciding.

They can suggest time for crystal growth under slower cooling, but composition and other texture/field evidence are needed. Some other rock types can also be crystalline. Different processes can sort grains. Rounding, composition, structures and outcrop/environmental relations supply additional constraints and help test alternatives.

Use the stated evidence and units accurately.
Explain a mechanism or evidence relationship.
Show a labeled model, graph or intermediate calculation.
State a limitation and a useful revision/test.

Session 3 · The Three Rock Types — connect mechanisms

Foliation is a planar alignment or compositional banding related to deformation and mineral responses. Directed stress can favor orientations of platy minerals or segregated bands. But mineral composition matters: some rocks recrystallize without developing obvious foliation, as often occurs in marble. Foliation is not the same as original sedimentary bedding, although later deformation can affect both. Identify grains, minerals, fabric and field relations instead of classifying every banded specimen by appearance alone. The key metamorphic condition is solid-state change, not a requirement for visible stripes.

Your task

Study Parts 3–4 and any source records. Complete the whole-unit application with a labeled diagram, calculations and a limitation.

Define each new quantity and its unit.
Compare the diagrams and stated evidence.
Attempt the whole-unit application without copying guidance.
Check intermediate reasoning and annotate a correction.

Hint and response guidance

Read the stated evidence and diagram captions; separate quantities, reference frames and assumptions before deciding.

Yes. It can recrystallize in the solid state without a pronounced aligned fabric, depending on composition and conditions; marble is a common example. Several pathways can yield crystals or bands, and the photograph may omit scale, mineral tests and field relations. Combine texture/composition with contacts and structure.

Use the stated evidence and units accurately.
Explain a mechanism or evidence relationship.
Show a labeled model, graph or intermediate calculation.
State a limitation and a useful revision/test.

Session 4 · The Three Rock Types — explain and transfer

Use the unit’s worked cases and changed independent application.

Your task

Study the illustrated worked case, attempt practice and the changed case, then revise the opening explanation and complete the exit response.

Explain the worked diagram in your own words.
Attempt varied practice and the independent changed case.
Check evidence/calculations using the rubric.
Return to the first model and explain a revision before the exit response.

Hint and response guidance

Read the stated evidence and diagram captions; separate quantities, reference frames and assumptions before deciding.

No. Cooling a melt can yield an igneous crystalline rock, while solid-state recrystallization can yield a nonfoliated metamorphic rock. Mineral composition, texture details, contacts and field relationships help distinguish the histories.

Use the stated evidence and units accurately.
Explain a mechanism or evidence relationship.
Show a labeled model, graph or intermediate calculation.
State a limitation and a useful revision/test.

Session 5 · Weathering, Erosion & Deposition — observe and build

Illustrative evidence case. Two trays yield different runoff volumes and sediment masses. A separated-cube model keeps material volume constant while increasing exposed area.

Your task

Read the chapter context and the unit language notes. Make a first model, study the core explanation and Parts 1–2, and attempt their visual and reasoning checks.

Read the assigned context and note two observations.
Draw a first explanation with one uncertain feature.
Study Parts 1–2 and trace each diagram label.
Attempt checks before consulting guidance and record one revision.

Hint and response guidance

Read the stated evidence and diagram captions; separate quantities, reference frames and assumptions before deciding.

It can expose more reactive surface while retaining the mineral’s identity during the breakup. Subsequent reactions may then proceed over a larger available area. Density contrast and resistance to motion depend on material and shape. Equal nominal size alone does not guarantee the same settling behavior or transport threshold.

Use the stated evidence and units accurately.
Explain a mechanism or evidence relationship.
Show a labeled model, graph or intermediate calculation.
State a limitation and a useful revision/test.

Submit this week

First and revised models with explained changes.
Assigned independent practice or assessment attempt and corrections.
Investigation records/graphs with units and limitations when scheduled.

Parent / teacher weekly conference

Assess explanations against the task criteria, discuss a real attempt before opening guidance, and adapt pacing to the learner. These home-study sessions do not certify NYSED laboratory eligibility.

Can the learner explain each relevant diagram label?
Are quantities, units and assumptions correct?
Can the learner solve a changed case without copying?

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