Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.

• Lesson Assessment and Answer Key
• Readings: Readings & comprehension questions.
• Creative Writing: Use a writing prompt to combine science with language arts.
• Activity & Photo Gallery: Take a closer look at sand.
  
• Video Readaloud: Third graders read Everybody Needs a Rock, a wonderful book by Byrd Baylor.

These readings about sand are free with registration on ReadWorks, a nonprofit that provides Common-Core-aligned readings. All readings include comprehension questions.

• How Not to Save a Sand Castle tells a story about a sand castle that's washed away by the waves. (Grade 2)
• Explore the Seashore describes animals that live at the seashore. (Grade 2)
• The Perfect Sandcastle tells three friends who work together to design and build sand castles. (Grade 2)
• What Is a Rock? introduces vocabulary words related to rocks and sand. (Grade 2)

Ask students to pretend to be a big rock high in the mountains. Tell them their story starts when a thunderstorm washes them into a river. Ask them to imagine what might happen next. Have them think about where their journey could end.

• Bring in some beach sand.
  
• Have each student sprinkle some sand on a piece of white paper and some sand on a piece of dark paper.
• Take a close look. Use a magnifying lens if you have one.
• Ask students how many different colors of sand grains they can they can find. What else do they notice about the sand?
• For an even closer look at sand grains, visit Dr. Gary Greenberg’s gallery of sand grains. These photographs show sand viewed through a microscope.