It is made up of thick, interconnecting pieces called tectonic plates that fit. Teaching plate tectonics a good lesson plan that demonstrates plate tectonics through easytodraw illustrations. Students will create a model of the earth that they can hold and examine. Gather, analyze, and communicate data that explains earths plates, plate motions, and the results of plate motions dok 12 d. It is a map titled this dynamic planet available in pdf format or as a large format wall map. A demo with a bar magnet and iron filings opens the topic of magnetic fields. You will recall from a previous chapter that there are three major layers crust, mantle, core within the earth that are. Introduction to plate tectonics to appreciate the extent that plate tectonics impacts the world to begin thinking about the issues of tectonic hazards. This quick and tasty kids science activity gives little scientists a hands on way to explore plate tectonics the movement of the earths crust that leads to the formation of volcanoes, mountains, and oceanic trenches. Displaying all worksheets related to earthquakes volcanoes and plate tectonics.
This plate tectonics lesson plan can easily be adapted for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university students. Young children can better understand earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis when they learn that we live on the surface of a. Evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics includes distribution of rock formation and fossils, shapes of existing continents, ocean floor features, and seismic and volcanic activity. Below is a sample breakdown of the plate tectonics chapter into a 5day school week. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Plate tectonics describes the distribution and motion of the plates. A middle school lesson on plate tectonics theory for grades 68. The plate tectonics chapter of this course is designed to help you plan and teach the causes and effects of plate movement in your classroom. How tectonic plates are interacting can be determined by land features. Level 1 is the most teacherdriven, and recommended for students in 4th5th grades. Sites of significant geologic activity earthquakes.
Worksheets are third grade plate tectonics, 3rd5th grade, name, 5 4 ovr l lesson 1 the earth is cracking up, lesson 3 a moving crust, lesson plate tectonics i national science, fourth grade plate tectonics, science. Students will find out how the magnitude of an earthquake is measured using the. The crossword puzzle has twenty clues which define the vocabulary words that are important to your students understanding of scientific concepts. The paleomagnetic evidence for plate tectonics was crucial, but sometimes confusing. Plate tectonics i grades 9 overview unifying concepts and lesson introduces students to geological oceanography by presenting the basic structure of the earth and the properties of arths primary layers.
Students will examine plate boundaries, continents, and oceans on a globe. Download pdf versiondownload doc versiondownload the. Plate tectonics the earths crust is divided into plates which are moved in various directions. Students will examine one method for creating a twodimensional map of a spherical surface. The earths crust is divided into plates which are moved in. In this lesson students read a text about the science behind shifting continents, and they practice annotating the text in order to understand it more deeply. The theory of plate tectonics states that earths surface is divided into rigid plates of rock. Students learn the structure and composition of oceanic and continental crust and the theory of plate tectonics. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the earths crust and upper mantle are. Our plate tectonics lesson plan introduces students to plate tectonics. A plate tectonic puzzle american museum of natural history. Introduction to plate tectonics and earthquakes lesson plans.
In areas where there are rift zones or ocean ridges, plates are diverging and in places where. The video lessons, quizzes and transcripts can easily. Plate movements are responsible for most continental and ocean floor features and for the distribution of most rocks and minerals within earths crust. The theory of plate tectonics grew out of earlier hypotheses and observations collected during exploration of the rocks of the ocean floor.
Use webbased or other technology tools to show connections and patterns in data about tectonic plate boundaries and earthquakes. This guide is an outline of the plate tectonic and earthquake seismology powerpoint presentations. Tectonic plates move atop the underlying mantle, a really thick layer of hot flowing rock. Plate tectonics is a theory that describes largescale movements of earths lithosphere. The lecture breaks the lesson down into smaller key concepts. Edible plate tectonics page 1 focus on inquiry the student will use food to model and observe the plate movement and consequences of plate movement associated with the theory of plate tectonics. Each plate moves over earths mantle and changes position with respect to other plates. It is made up of thick, interconnecting pieces called tectonic plates that fit together like a puzzle. Any other reproduction, for use or sale, is prohibited any other reproduction, for use or sale, is prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher. Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, andor atmosphere interact. Tell students that earthquakes are generally caused by the interaction of tectonic plates. Interactions at plate boundaries cause volcanic activity and earthquakes. Recognize and assemble the continents of the supercontinent, pangea. Jul 31, 2016 a middle school lesson on plate tectonics theory for grades 68.
The earth is composed of layers of different composition and physical properties, principally the solid central core, the fluid peripheral core, the viscous mantle, and the solid. Displaying all worksheets related to 3rd grade plate tectonics. A pdf guide to plate tectonics and earthquakes is also available. A unifying theory is the main theory that explains how a whole group of natural phenomenon come about. This pdf explains the world tectonic mapping activity and includes the map of world plates in three pieces that can be printed on legalsize paper. Plate tectonics, theory dealing with the dynamics of earths outer shell that revolutionized earth sciences by providing a uniform context for understanding mountainbuilding processes, volcanoes, and earthquakes as well as the evolution of earths surface and reconstructing its past continents and oceans. Plate tectonics lesson plans, classroom activities. In this lesson, students are introduced to the theory of plate tectonics and explore. The lithosphere lithosphere is comprised of the upper mantle and the crust, the outer shell of the earth. Plate tectonics and volcanoes lesson plan template and teaching resources.
Workshop 9 lesson plan participants will refresh content related to plate tectonics. Types of boundaries include transform, transverse, and convergent boundaries and result in different. In part 1, students view flash interactives and quicktime videos which delineate the relationship between volcanoes, earthquakes and plate boundaries and discuss the ancient continent of pangaea. The theory of plate tectonics is a unifying theory for geology. The theory of plate tectonics grew out of earlier hypotheses and observations.
Aug 24, 2015 a series of powerpoint lessons and activites on plate tectonics including. Discuss the answers of the cloze activity with the students. Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set of earth structures or tectonic features. Earthquakes volcanoes and plate tectonics worksheets lesson. Explain the process of the motion of the tectonic plates. It can be used for a wide variety of teaching activities with elementary. Introduction to the relationship between plate boundaries. Most students are fascinated when they learn the continents are always drifting, and have done so for millions of years. Provide the students with a copy of the plate tectonics cloze activity. Level 4 is the most studentdriven, and recommended for students in 7th8th grades. Plate tectonics is crucial to our understanding about how all earth processes happen from the rock cycle to the building of mountains to volcanoes, to earthquakes, and more. Worksheets are work extreme earth, activityworld map of plate boundaries, activityworld map of plate boundaries, student work visualizing relationships between, sixth grade plate tectonics, fourth grade plate tectonics, chapter 1 alaska plate tectonics, plate tectonics.
The structure of the earth, plate tectonics and landforms. This worksheet has 5 fill in the blank and 4 short answer questions. This classroom activity can be used to introduce or expand plate tectonics for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university level students. Based on the pace of your course, you may need to adapt the lesson plan to fit your needs. The guide contains links to totle introduction to plate tectonics and earthquakes teaching resources and a table of contents of teaching resources on this topic. Each lesson in the unit has an inquiry scale that provides directions on how to implement the lesson at the level that works best for you and your students. It explains how and why features in earths crust form and continents move. In plate tectonics, students are introduced to the theory behind this geophysical phenomenon and investigate the evidence that supports it. Understanding the concepts related to this movement is more important than memorizing the names of the plates, except students should be able to identify. Foam model plate tectonics this lesson plan gives students a demonstration to visualize the concept of plate tectonics. While lesson 6 established the final piece of evidence sea floor spread for continental drift, lesson 7, plate tectonics includes explorations of different types of movement depending on the density of materials at plate boundaries. The tasc transition curriculum is a collaborative project of the new york state education department and the queens borough public library, supported by funding from the new york state department of labor. Shield and composite volcanoes, a case study of montserrat.
World map with shorelines and continental shelf boundaries pdf image. Graham cracker plate tectonics this quick and tasty kids science activity gives little scientists a hands on way to explore plate tectonics the movement of the earths crust that leads to the formation of volcanoes, mountains, and oceanic trenches. In this lesson, students explore the plate tectonics theory by watching a video and taking notes. For example, in areas where there are mountains and volcanoes, plates are colliding. For todays lesson, i collected, printed, and attached plate tectonics pictures to the anchor chart so that students can make connections between the pictures and newly learned information. Scc gk12 lesson plan solid earth and plate tectonics. E assessment file download zip 2 pdf s lesson 11 density of granite and basalt. This is a series of resources i used with a year 10 group set 2 of 7 to cover part of the geological processes section of the wjec gcse chemistry c1 sy. Lesson content overview students will demonstrate, identify, and explain the movement of the plates at. Answer any questions, then monitor and support the students as they independently complete the worksheet. Then, students examine how the earths systems spheres interact when plates collide. This plate motion causes them to collide, pull apart, or scrape against each other.