Rock Cycle Card Sort and Vocabulary Puzzle

Looking for a hands-on way to review rocks and the rock cycle? This rock cycle card sort turns vocabulary practice into an engaging puzzle students can complete with a partner, small group, or independently!

Students receive 16 jumbled puzzle squares and work together to match rock and rock cycle vocabulary terms with their correct definitions. As they make connections and correct mismatches, the pieces come together to form one complete square rock cycle vocabulary puzzle.

This activity encourages students to talk through vocabulary, explain their thinking, and use what they know about rocks and rock cycle processes instead of simply memorizing definitions.

Rock Cycle Card Sort Includes:

• 16 puzzle squares
• 24 rocks and rock cycle vocabulary terms
• Student-friendly definitions
• Helpful rock and process illustrations
• Full-color version
• Ink-friendly black-and-white version
• Teacher directions
• Completed puzzle for easy checking

Ways to Use This Rock Cycle Vocabulary Puzzle:

• Rock cycle review
• Partner or small-group activity
• Bell ringer or warm-up
• Early finisher activity
• Formative assessment
• Test review
• Interactive notebook activity
• Quick 10–15 minute lesson filler

For an easy reusable classroom activity, print the rock cycle card sort on cardstock and laminate the pieces. Store each set in a sandwich baggie and pull them out whenever your students need a quick rocks and rock cycle review.

Vocabulary Terms Included:

Rock Cycle, Magma, Lava, Igneous Rock, Sedimentary Rock, Metamorphic Rock, Weathering, Erosion, Sediments, Deposition, Compaction, Cementation, Cooling & Solidification, Heat & Pressure, Metamorphism, Minerals, Foliated, Vesicle, Intrusive Igneous, Extrusive Igneous, Biochemical, Granite & Basalt, Marble & Gneiss, and Limestone & Sandstone.

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