Rock Cycle and Homemade Butter

We had another awesome week of Science and History this week! I love that Wynter and I do this together, it's more fun to learn with friends, and it's very motivating to me as a teacher to have a time and a place and a lesson I need to prepare. :) 

This week I taught about the rock cycle using Starburst candies.

I found the idea on Pinterest, and I was so happy with how it turned out. Here's what you need to prep for this lesson.

-3 squares of wax paper big enough to wrap around three Starbursts
-3 squares of tin foil big enough to wrap around wax paper that's been wrapped around three Starbursts
-9 Starbursts, in three colors. (ex. 3 purple, 3 yellow, and 3 pink)

Each phase of the "rock cycle" starts the same. stack three different colored Star bursts on top of each other. (ex. purple, yellow, then pink; the more the colors contrast each other the better you'll be able to see your results.) Wrap the wax paper tightly around the Starburst stack, keep track of which side is the top. Then wrap the tinfoil tightly around the wax paper, make sure no wax paper is showing.

To make a Sedimentary Rock, have the students apply pressure with their bodies. We ended up needing to stand on our to get them nice and flat. Then unwrap. You should be able to see the different layers squished together.

To make a Metamorphic Rock you need to apply heat and pressure. Turn your oven onto Broil. Put the tin foil wrapped Star bursts onto a cookie sheet and broil on high for about a minute. You want the Starbursts to be slightly squishy, not melted. Take them out of the oven, and remove the tin foil only. Now have your students use their hands to apply pressure. You really want to squish the Starbursts together and move them all around to kind of "blend" the colors somewhat, but not all the way. Then remove from wax paper and roll into a ball.

To make and Igneous Rock you need melting and cooling. Turn your oven onto Broil. Put the tin foil wrapped Star bursts onto a cookie sheet and broil on high for about 5-7 minutes. You want the Starbursts to melt all the way. Remove from oven and remove the tin foil. Careful, it'll be really hot! Open the wax paper up, and let the melted Starbursts cool until they are solid again. Then you can pull them off the wax paper if you like.

Wynter's History lesson was equally cool. I wish I'd taken more pictures, or that the pictures I did take had at least turned out better.

She taught about how the pilgrims had to make their own food when they got to the colonies, and how hard it was. The crops they grew in England didn't grow well in America. And the plants were all new and strange. With the help of the Indians, specifically Squanto, the pilgrims were able to learn how to grow and harvest food in the new world. Wynter fed the kids popcorn and apples, (corn and apples being things that grow well in America), and then she showed them how to make homemade butter but mixing cream and salt in a jar and shaking it. The kids took turns shaking the jar, and then got to have toast with the butter they'd made. Cool. I wish my pictures didn't suck. But here they are.