The rock cycle is explicitly addressed in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) primarily at the middle school level through MS-ESS2-1, and extended with experimental evidence at the high school level through HS-ESS2-5. [1, 2]

Middle School: MS-ESS2-1 (Cycling of Earth's Materials)

• Performance Expectation: Students are expected to develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. [1]

• Core Processes Covered: Melting, crystallization, weathering, deformation, and sedimentation. [1]

• Energy Drivers: The model must account for two primary engines: energy flowing from Earth's hot interior (driving volcanism, mountain-building, and melting) and energy from the sun/gravity (driving weathering, erosion, and water movement). [1]

• Assessment Boundaries: Students are required to model the processes and the movement between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic forms, but they are not required to memorize, identify, or name specific mineral types. [1]

• You can review the full standard outline on the Next Generation Science Standards Earth's Systems Topic Page. [1]

High School: HS-ESS2-5 (Earth's Systems & Hydrologic/Rock Connections)

• Performance Expectation: Students plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.

• Core Focus: Establishing empirical evidence for the overlap between the hydrologic (water) cycle and the rock cycle (e.g., mechanical weathering like frost wedging or stream deposition, and chemical weathering like dissolution and recrystallization). [1, 2]

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) & Concepts

• ESS2.A (Earth Materials and Systems): Earth's processes operate on different spatial and timescales, driven by the cycling of matter and the flow of energy.

• Crosscutting Concept (Stability and Change): Students examine how rocks are not permanent fixtures, but rather temporary forms in a continuous loop of transformation.

• For supplementary breakdowns of how these lessons translate to the classroom, check the Khan Academy Middle School Geosphere Guide. [1, 2, 3, 4]