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Ciencia Asombrosa
Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough
The rocks you see everyday can be grouped into different types, like igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic. Some rocks are actually minerals, and you can even find fossils in some types of rocks. Complete with activities and experiments, this nonfiction science book is perfect for introducing children to geology.
24 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Natalie M. Rosinsky
76 books3 followersMy touchstones have always been books. Like clear-eyed family members, different books have anticipated my needs and questions, mirrored my problems, and provided help or inspiration.
I grew up on an inner-city block made famous in Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. As a high school English teacher, I recognized many funny or painful experiences captured in the pages of Bel Kaufman's Up the Down Staircase. Later, the mayhem—if not the murders—of Amanda Cross's mystery novels, with their university settings, seemed familiar as I completed graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became a college professor. What Color is Your Parachute? guided my next career move—into the business world, where I worked as a corporate trainer and instructional designer.
For a quarter-century, I lived with my husband and son in Mankato, Minnesota, on the “Big Hill” of Maude Hart Lovelace's beloved Betsy-Tacy series for young readers. Those works and my encounters with Lovelace fans on their pilgrimage to our neighborhood took on new meaning as I began to write myself. Now, after a recent move to Bloomington, Minnesota, I am ready for another new chapter in my life! Which books shall I read...what new work may they inspire?
Since 1994, I have written over 100 nonfiction articles, activities and books for children and young adults. In 2000, my piece about puzzles in Cricket magazine, “No Cross Words Allowed,” won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Merit Award for the year's best nonfiction article. In 2004, my article about forensic science in Odyssey magazine, “'Facing' Jack the Ripper: Forensics Then and Now,” was awarded a letter of merit in SCBWI's annual competition.
Sarah Winnemucca: Scout, Activist, and Teacher, my biography of that Northern Paiute leader, was honored by the Western Writers of American as a finalist in the 2007 Spur Award competition for juvenile nonfiction. Sarah Winnemucca also represented the state of Nevada at the 2006 National Book Festival in Washington, D. C. This biography was named one of 2006's best books for children by the Bank Street College of Education.
I have written science picture books and chapter books on holidays, money, hospitals, Native American tribes, California ranchos, the Vietnam War era, world religions, and science. My longer works for older readers include a book about the mystery of Jack the Ripper and biographies of popular author Amy Tan and scientific genius Sir Isaac Newton. I have also written the stories of the atomic bomb and pharmaceuticals and delved into the culture of comics. In 2011, Graphic Content! The Culture of Comic Books was named a "Book of Note" for young adults by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association.
I enjoy writing so much that I completed a series of books to help young people write their own stories and books. In 2008, this ongoing series won a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers. In 2009, the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association named Write Your Own Graphic Novel a 2008 Young Adult Top 40 Nonfiction Title. My motto is “Plan ahead, but also live ‘write now’.”
I grew up on an inner-city block made famous in Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. As a high school English teacher, I recognized many funny or painful experiences captured in the pages of Bel Kaufman's Up the Down Staircase. Later, the mayhem—if not the murders—of Amanda Cross's mystery novels, with their university settings, seemed familiar as I completed graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became a college professor. What Color is Your Parachute? guided my next career move—into the business world, where I worked as a corporate trainer and instructional designer.
For a quarter-century, I lived with my husband and son in Mankato, Minnesota, on the “Big Hill” of Maude Hart Lovelace's beloved Betsy-Tacy series for young readers. Those works and my encounters with Lovelace fans on their pilgrimage to our neighborhood took on new meaning as I began to write myself. Now, after a recent move to Bloomington, Minnesota, I am ready for another new chapter in my life! Which books shall I read...what new work may they inspire?
Since 1994, I have written over 100 nonfiction articles, activities and books for children and young adults. In 2000, my piece about puzzles in Cricket magazine, “No Cross Words Allowed,” won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Merit Award for the year's best nonfiction article. In 2004, my article about forensic science in Odyssey magazine, “'Facing' Jack the Ripper: Forensics Then and Now,” was awarded a letter of merit in SCBWI's annual competition.
Sarah Winnemucca: Scout, Activist, and Teacher, my biography of that Northern Paiute leader, was honored by the Western Writers of American as a finalist in the 2007 Spur Award competition for juvenile nonfiction. Sarah Winnemucca also represented the state of Nevada at the 2006 National Book Festival in Washington, D. C. This biography was named one of 2006's best books for children by the Bank Street College of Education.
I have written science picture books and chapter books on holidays, money, hospitals, Native American tribes, California ranchos, the Vietnam War era, world religions, and science. My longer works for older readers include a book about the mystery of Jack the Ripper and biographies of popular author Amy Tan and scientific genius Sir Isaac Newton. I have also written the stories of the atomic bomb and pharmaceuticals and delved into the culture of comics. In 2011, Graphic Content! The Culture of Comic Books was named a "Book of Note" for young adults by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association.
I enjoy writing so much that I completed a series of books to help young people write their own stories and books. In 2008, this ongoing series won a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers. In 2009, the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association named Write Your Own Graphic Novel a 2008 Young Adult Top 40 Nonfiction Title. My motto is “Plan ahead, but also live ‘write now’.”
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
September 21, 2017
This is a book all about rocks. It tells about the three different categories of rocks. At the end of the book their is a rock chart to tell how you show what rock is which. This is a great way if you want to teach your students about rocks and how to categorize them. Also this book has great illustrations!
February 22, 2025
Fabulous and cute introduction about the three main types of rocks! As an Earth Science teacher I greatly appreciated the accurate information that was written for a child to be able to easily comprehend and enjoy.
October 5, 2023
I like the book so much. Now I know what obsidian is in Minecraft and Roblox.
February 28, 2025
3.5 rounded up
July 26, 2012
This book has terrific illustrations and a simple text that discusses the formation and features of rocks. With a nice Rocks Chart in the back, students can see how to classify rocks by kind, color, what it feels like, and its uses. Offered in a Spanish edition as well.Grades K-2.
Curriculum Connection: Science Standard 3.1: Earth’s materials can be compared and classified based on their properties. Before reading the rock book to students, I would begin by modeling some essential questions I would like students to be able to answer during our study, such as "How do rocks form and what types are there? How are rocks used? and Who studies rocks and why?" An empty gathering grid would be ready to go on the computer and projected on the screen in front of us. As we read the information, we can record together, typing the source and the page numbers as we go. If students have access to science kits, there should be some rocks to sort, and students could work in teams to fill in a chart like this of their own. To check understanding, students can bring a rock in and place it on a display table, underneath the appropriate section labeled igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. (There should be additional rocks available for those that do not bring one in, so they can also demonstrate their knowledge.)It would be fun to let students save their milk cartons, fill with sand, and a ½ glue/ ½ water mixture and let dry several days to make a sandstone brick!
Citation: Rosinsky, N. (2004). Rocks: Hard, soft, smooth, and rough. Picture Window Books.
Reviews and Awards: Science and Children (NSTA) 03/01/05
Curriculum Connection: Science Standard 3.1: Earth’s materials can be compared and classified based on their properties. Before reading the rock book to students, I would begin by modeling some essential questions I would like students to be able to answer during our study, such as "How do rocks form and what types are there? How are rocks used? and Who studies rocks and why?" An empty gathering grid would be ready to go on the computer and projected on the screen in front of us. As we read the information, we can record together, typing the source and the page numbers as we go. If students have access to science kits, there should be some rocks to sort, and students could work in teams to fill in a chart like this of their own. To check understanding, students can bring a rock in and place it on a display table, underneath the appropriate section labeled igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. (There should be additional rocks available for those that do not bring one in, so they can also demonstrate their knowledge.)It would be fun to let students save their milk cartons, fill with sand, and a ½ glue/ ½ water mixture and let dry several days to make a sandstone brick!
Citation: Rosinsky, N. (2004). Rocks: Hard, soft, smooth, and rough. Picture Window Books.
Reviews and Awards: Science and Children (NSTA) 03/01/05
October 17, 2012
Grade K-1st, Classification of Rocks, Characteristics of Rocks (objects), Sorting, Introduction to the rock cycle
Another science book that has plenty of room for integrating math and literature. There are many vocabulary words that could be used as part of a word find/matching game (with pictures) and with the addition of real rocks from the students or from an exploratory walk, or the teacher's collection, the rocks can be sorted and described. Characteristics of the rocks can be used to sort and then count the rocks. Graphs. Weigh the rocks, compare the size and weight of certain rocks to others. Why do you think they differ? What do you think they are made of that affects this? Introduction to the rock cycle.
Another science book that has plenty of room for integrating math and literature. There are many vocabulary words that could be used as part of a word find/matching game (with pictures) and with the addition of real rocks from the students or from an exploratory walk, or the teacher's collection, the rocks can be sorted and described. Characteristics of the rocks can be used to sort and then count the rocks. Graphs. Weigh the rocks, compare the size and weight of certain rocks to others. Why do you think they differ? What do you think they are made of that affects this? Introduction to the rock cycle.
April 22, 2012
This is a good book to use during a lesson on rocks. It can simply be read during the elaborate portion of the lesson to further explain types of rocks in detail, and how they originate or form. The types of rocks that this book discusses was igneaous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. In the classroom, I can use this book by providing my students with certain rocks that are outlined in books, such as obsidiean and granite. In addition, I can use this book t create a concept map with my students on types of rocks and specific rocks that fall under the particular branch of that rock. I can provide real life examples that rocks make up such as jewelry.
April 30, 2012
The pictures in this book are super cute and kid friendly. This book would be excellent for elaborating on rocks. I would use Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough for kids from kindergarten to third grades. This book describes different types of rocks and teaches students proper terms for describing and naming rocks! A lesson could be done by having students select rocks then reading the book and have them discover what type of rock they think they have from the characteristics described in the book!
March 8, 2012
The book, Rocks:Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough talks about the characteristics of the different types of rocks there are. This book could be used in a science lesson where students are learning about differentiating between sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. It could be used in the elaborate part of the lesson where students could choose a rock and describe what type of rock it is after learning about the different types of rocks. This lesson would be used with students in first through third grade.
March 9, 2012
This book is Rocks:Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough by Rosinsky. This book focuses on the characteristics of different types of rocks. This book can be used for lesson on different rock types, such as sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. This book can be read in the explain or elaborate part of the lesson. This book can be used to expand on rock characteristics. Students can use the book to help them identify rocks and learn ways to identify rocks. This lesson would be used with students in second through third grade classrooms.
March 6, 2012
I would read this book during the elaborate part of my unit on rocks. While reading this book I would have rocks on the desk that fit the description of the rocks given in the book. I would have the students raise their rocks up when they find the rock on the table that fits he description. I would want my students to begin to see that certain descriptions for certain rocks and thy can identify rocks by their description and characteristics. I would use this lesson in grades 2-3.
April 18, 2012
Author: Natalie M. Rosinsky
Grade level: 1-2
Content: Physical properties of rocks and 3 categories rocks fall into" Sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.
Book talks about the 3 ways rocks are formed as well as provide examples of each. It also refers to the characteristics of rocks, such as smooth, rough, hard and soft.
Literature:
I could incorporate a lesson for LA referring to adjectives used in order to describe rocks.
Grade level: 1-2
Content: Physical properties of rocks and 3 categories rocks fall into" Sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.
Book talks about the 3 ways rocks are formed as well as provide examples of each. It also refers to the characteristics of rocks, such as smooth, rough, hard and soft.
Literature:
I could incorporate a lesson for LA referring to adjectives used in order to describe rocks.
March 6, 2012
I would use this book during the elaborate part of my unit on rocks. I would give each student rocks that fit the description of the rocks in the book. I would have the students raise their rock up when I read about a rock that fits their description. I would use this lesson for second or third grade.
April 19, 2012
Great book to teach young children about geology. This book goes into talking about formation of rocks.
I would use this book when we are focusing on rocks and describing how rocks look like.
Recommended for grades 2-5.
I think this book was pretty interesting. This book contains information that even adults don't know!
I would use this book when we are focusing on rocks and describing how rocks look like.
Recommended for grades 2-5.
I think this book was pretty interesting. This book contains information that even adults don't know!
April 22, 2012
This is a great book to use when studying rocks. It has a lot of great information about rocks and would be great when used in conjunction with actual rocks. That way, students would be able to get hands on experience with what they are reading in the book. This would be great for 2nd-4th grades.
October 15, 2012
This book would be a good book to read to a 4th grade classroom when introducing the kinds of rocks and how they are formed. A fun thing to do would be to instruct each student to bring in a rock the next day and talk about their rock and certain characteristics that classify it into the type of rock it is and allow them to draw a picture of it.
October 15, 2012
Science Literature Grade 4-5 Topic: Rock
Use this book when teach a rock unit. Then provide the students different types of rocks for them to classify using; color, luster, size and texture. Read the book to the students after the students have classifid their rocks. Then have students find their own rock where they live and have them classify again.
Use this book when teach a rock unit. Then provide the students different types of rocks for them to classify using; color, luster, size and texture. Read the book to the students after the students have classifid their rocks. Then have students find their own rock where they live and have them classify again.
November 20, 2011
Another science book about Geology. It discuss the different types of rocks such as igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks. Vivid images that provide a clear understanding if what each types of rocks look like.
March 6, 2012
Give each student a rock to hold and ask them to quickly write down things to describe their rocks. once they are done, read the book to the students as part of the elaborate part of the lesson. This book would be good for grades 2-3.
March 6, 2012
A book about geology and the different types of rocks. This book shares facts about the different characteristics the different rocks may possess. This. book would go along great with a lesson covering geology and earth science. This book would be appropriate elementary grades 3-5.
March 6, 2012
This book discusses facts on rocks. Although they are drawings and not pictures it still has great facts to help children understand rocks. It discusses sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. Great for elaborating on rocks in grades K-3.
March 6, 2012
This is a content book on rocks. In a science lesson, I would read this book after students had the opportunity to identify, touch, and examine different rocks. This book would explain a lot of the observations the students had made about rocks earlier in the lesson.
March 12, 2012
Grade k-3, Physical attributes and types of rocks
-describes the many different types of rocks
-includes the vocabulary metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks
-describes a few characteristics of the three types of rocks and also gives examples
-describes the many different types of rocks
-includes the vocabulary metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks
-describes a few characteristics of the three types of rocks and also gives examples
March 18, 2012
This is a book about how rocks are formed and the different kinds of rocks there are.
I would use this book to help explain the process of how some rocks form as well as showing the students the different kind of rocks there are.
I would use this book to help explain the process of how some rocks form as well as showing the students the different kind of rocks there are.
Read
March 31, 2012This book is a really good book to use when learning about rocks. There is a lot of really good information in it, but it is still very kid-friendly. I think the kids would really enjoy reading this book! It could be used in a second or third grade classroom.
April 25, 2012
Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks are all covered in this book. It has great illustrations and is the perfect book to open up a lesson in rocks. It covers the rock cycle. Rock traits are also covered.
November 25, 2012
This book can be used to teach students about rocks and refer students to when they have questions about rocks. It does a great job of describing rocks and explaining how different rocks are/were formed.
Read
October 22, 2012Grade K-1. Classification of rocks. Describing rocks by their physical attributes. This book can be used as a great informative and interactive activity. As the teacher reads the book, students can sort the rocks into groups using the information provided. Great listening and hands-on activity.
November 15, 2012
Rocks are in different shapes, form, and sizes! They all have different features and textures, and that is all the book talks about! This book is right for you if you need a book to refer a child to when they're learning about rock cycles.
November 19, 2012
This is a great science book that can show the students about the different kinds of rocks that the world is made of. It has great illustrations and easy to read. It would probably be good for third graders.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews