The Pet Rock Project - NSTA Learning Center

SCIENCE SAMPLER
FIGURE 1
Pet Rock Project directions
1. Your assignment is to find a rock—igneous,
sedimentary, or metamorphic—that you wish to
“adopt.”
2. You may turn in your rock “as is,” or you may alter your
rock in a number of ways to personalize it. However,
at least part of the original rock’s surface must be
visible.
3. When you turn in your pet rock, please also turn in a
paper that answers the following questions:
• Where and when did you find this rock?
• Why did you choose this rock?
• What type of rock do you have? Why do you think it is
this type?
• Describe any tests or ways you might determine
exactly what type of rock you have.
• Have you altered your rock in any way? If so, describe.
Why have you done this?
• Draw your own version of the rock cycle.
• Locate your pet rock on the rock cycle.
• Describe how YOUR rock could possibly be transformed
into the other rock types on your rock-cycle diagram.
Your pet rock is due on ________ by the end of class.
(http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/nyc/common/geologicbasics.
htm). Students are asked, “Can one type of rock form
the other types of rocks?” and “Can a rock of a certain
type form a new rock of the same type?” The teacher
encourages students to describe the rocks they encounter
in their daily lives. We have used the “Geological Sense
of Place” writing template activity (Clary and Wandersee
2006) to probe students’ childhood memories and
experiences with rocks and Earth processes. Students
can also be grouped, and asked to explain the statement,
“Your house comes out of a mine.” Each group produces
a cooperative list of household materials that originate
as rocks or minerals.
Teachers may explore, as a historical-cultural
option, the concept of pet rocks that was developed
by Gary Dahl as a marketing gimmick in 1975. As
the perfect undemanding “pet,” these rocks became
a commercial success, and made Dahl a millionaire
(Polson Enterprises 2006). Students may be divided
into cooperative learning groups, and investigate the
historical, political, and cultural context into which the
pet rock marketing success evolved. Each group can
identify the favorable characteristics of “pet rocks,” the
probable “roles” these “pets” fulfilled in their owners’
lives, and hypothesize whether a similar marketing
gimmick would be successful today. Creativity in the
construction of pet rocks can be demonstrated through
various websites that have used decorated rocks as
fund-raisers (www.uwlax.edu/geography/html/Pet-Rock
Making.htm), and as hands-on activities within
English classes for speakers of other languages (www.
mrshurleysesl.com/petrocks.html). Introduction of these
rock projects to students when the project is first
assigned can illustrate the range of possibilities for the
Pet Rock Project, and also reassure reluctant learners
that creativity within the project is not difficult.
The original Pet Rock Project comprised a two-week
period of rock-finding, investigating, and reporting.
Figure 1 summarizes the original handout for the
project. We think that within a typical middle-level
class that meets daily, the Pet Rock Project should be
allotted a five-day period for location and development
of a rock sample, preferably with a weekend available
for students to initially collect their rock samples. The
rubric utilized in scoring the projects is also provided
to students (Figure 2).The teacher directs students
to locate a rock outside of the classroom, and identify
the rock as igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic.
(Alternatively, the instructor may bring in a bucket of
known rocks, and allow students to choose a favorite
to use in this project. Teacher-supplied rocks would
shorten the required time for the activity; we feel a
minimum of three classroom days would be appropriate
in this situation. Whereas we personally like the idea of
students procuring their own rocks, we acknowledge
that in some schools this may present a problem for the
majority of students.)
Students may decorate or embellish their pet rocks,
as long as some of the original rock material is left
unaltered and exposed. Students then develop their
own version of the rock cycle, and locate their rock
within the rock cycle. Students have a variety of options
in which to create a rock cycle, including an electronic
6 0 SCIENCE SCOPE