Rock groups describe how rocks form, not just how they look. Igneous rock forms when molten material cools. Sedimentary rock can form from compacted and cemented sediment, or by other routes such as mineral precipitation. Metamorphic rock changes under heat and pressure without fully melting. Fossils are most commonly preserved in sedimentary rocks. Safety: No mineral samples, dust, heating, or pressure tools needed. Stop: Stop after the paper sort. Do not heat, crush, hammer, or collect rocks.

Materials: Paper; Pencil; Six torn paper cards 1. Make three headings: Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic. Write a short formation phrase below each, including Without melting below metamorphic. 2. Copy these illustrative formation cards: A molten lava cools at the surface; B magma cools underground; C sand grains are buried, compacted and cemented; D mud is buried and becomes rock; E limestone changes into marble under heat and pressure without melting; F shale changes into slate without melting. 3. Sort all six cards by their formation evidence, not by colour. Draw a process arrow beside one card in each group. Keep the examples on paper rather than trying to alter rocks. 4. Add a shell symbol to card D and explain how burial can protect evidence of life. Finish two cautions: not every sedimentary rock contains fossils; a layered appearance alone does not prove a rock is sedimentary. Draw an alternate path from a rock to Melt and then to Igneous. Done: Three formation headings, six sorted cards, three process arrows, and two fossil/layer cautions are complete. Proof: Keep the sort and explanations. Note help reading the supplied formation clues; this is not independent identification of natural specimens. Stop: Stop after the paper sort. Do not heat, crush, hammer, or collect rocks.