Science // Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Earth Is Made of Rock

Understand that Earth is made of rock and other solid materials

Ages
5 to 7
Type
Concept
Builds on
0 topics
Leads to
2 topics

Quick check

If the learner picks up a stone in the garden, can they tell you that the whole Earth is made of rock and other materials like that stone?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • State that the ground beneath us is made of rock
  • Identify rocks and stones as pieces of the Earth
  • Explain that Earth is solid and made of natural materials

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

0 topics

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Earth Is Made of Rock

Ages 5 to 7 // Concept

Leads to

2 topics
  • Earth's LayersRequired

    Volcanoes & Earthquakes // Ages 7 to 9

    Earth's layers builds on knowing Earth is made of rock

  • Types of RockRequired

    Volcanoes & Earthquakes // Ages 7 to 9

    Rock types build on knowing Earth is made of rock

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For ages 5–7: build the idea that if you dig deep enough beneath the soil, grass and pavement (sometimes also through sand, clay or gravel), you reach rock, that the Earth is made mostly of rock and other materials, and that stones and pebbles are small pieces of the Earth's rock. Two complementary moves anchor the concept: DIG DOWN (from familiar ground through soil to bedrock) and ZOOM OUT (a held pebble is a tiny chip of the rocky planet). Keep to 'rock and other solid materials'; defer layers, heat and the core to a later 'Earth's Layers' topic for 7–9s. Confront the common beliefs that the Earth is dirt/soil all the way down, that it is hollow, and that stones are separate from the ground.

Common misconceptions

  • 'The Earth is made of soil/dirt' — soil is only a thin covering; solid rock lies beneath almost everywhere
  • 'The Earth is hollow inside' — it is solid rock and other materials all the way down (interior detail comes later)
  • 'Rocks and the ground are different things' — stones are broken-off pieces of the same Earth-rock
  • 'Only mountains/cliffs are rock' — rock is under flat ground and under the sea too, just often hidden by soil or water
  • 'The ground is just made of the stuff on top (grass, sand)' — those are thin surface layers over rock

Useful representations

  • Dig-down cross-section: grass → thin soil → solid bedrock → deep rock
  • A held pebble shown as a tiny piece of a big rocky Earth (zoom-out)
  • Real rock/stone samples to handle and compare
  • A simple 'Earth is a ball of rock' globe cutaway (surface-level, no internal layers yet)

Teaching practices

  • Handle real rocks, stones and pebbles — tie the abstract 'Earth is rock' to objects children can hold
  • Use a DIG-DOWN move (soil → bedrock) so children see soil is a thin skin over solid rock, correcting 'Earth is made of dirt'
  • Use a ZOOM-OUT move so a held pebble is understood as a small piece of the whole rocky Earth
  • Start from familiar local ground (playground, beach, garden) before generalising to the planet
  • Keep to 'rock and other solid materials'; defer layers, heat and the core to the 7–9 'Earth's Layers' topic
  • Bridge to Y1 materials vocabulary ('rock' as an everyday material) so the idea sits in prior science

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Dig down to the rock

    Why it works: Soil is a thin covering compared with the rock beneath; dig deep enough (sometimes through sand, clay or gravel as well) and you reach solid rock almost everywhere, so the Earth is not dirt all the way down.

    1. Start from a picture or cross-section of a familiar patch of ground — a garden, playground or beach.
    2. Work down through the layers in order: grass, then a thin band of soil, then solid bedrock, then deeper rock.
    3. Lift or reveal the soil layer to find the message underneath: 'just a thin skin — rock is underneath'.
    4. Say aloud what is under the soil almost everywhere (rock), and how thin the soil is compared with the rock below.
    5. Compare a real rock or stone in hand with the rock shown deep in the cross-section.
  2. 2

    Hands-on dig: how thin is the soil?

    Why it works: Removing the soil yourself in a model shows the idea that soil is a thin layer sitting on top of much more rock below — the tray or screen is a model of the real ground, so it represents the real depths rather than measuring them.

    1. Use a trowel or digging tool — a soil tray set up as a model of the ground, or an on-screen dig — to remove soil until you reach something hard.
    2. Mark or measure how deep the soil goes before you reach the hard layer.
    3. Describe out loud: the soil layer is thin, and in the real ground the rock keeps going far below it (in the tray or screen, the hard layer stands for that deep rock).
    4. Handle real rock, stone and pebble samples and compare them with each other.
  3. 3

    Zoom out: a pebble is a piece of the Earth

    Why it works: Stones and pebbles are small pieces of the Earth's rock that have broken off and often been worn down — they are part of the Earth, not separate from it.

    1. Hold a real pebble or stone and look at a picture of the whole Earth as a planet made mostly of rock.
    2. Zoom out from the dug-down ground to the whole planet, seeing it as an enormous ball made mostly of rock.
    3. Point to the pebble and state that it is a tiny piece of the Earth's rock.
    4. Decide and explain whether a stone found on the ground is a piece of the Earth or a separate object.

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