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Hello!
I observed multiple awesome rock experiments in the classroom last semester in my 3rd grade classroom. For metamorphic rocks, which are formed from heat and pressure, the students had the opportunity to smash different kinds of candy into sugar cookie, cookie dough. This would be the pressure part of the forming process. The teacher than took the cookie dough and baked it in the kitchen which demonstrated the heating part of the forming process. My students absolutely loved this experiment and they remembered how metamorphic rocks were formed because of the connection with the cookie.
To experiment with sedimentary rocks, which are formed from a lot of pressure, the students placed white bread and wheat bread on top of each other in order to form layers. The students then placed textbooks onto the bread and left it over night for two nights. The students were then able to take the textbooks off and see how the different layers of bread became one, forming a 'sedimentary rock.'
Lastly, for igneous rocks the students took a piece of bread with a thin layer of peanut butter on it and put a large pile of jelly 'lava' on top. The students then lightly placed a piece of bread on top. The teacher then walked around as a 'meteor.' The meteor crushed (placed 2 fingers into the center of the bread creating a large hole) the bread and created a volcano. Lava (jelly) poured out and created the 'igneous rocks.' The students absolutely loved these activities and when asked about the different types of rocks they would think back to the experiments in order to remember how each rock is formed.
Hopefully this helps! Best of luck!
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