Moving Earth : Plate Tectonics lesson

Intended Audience: 5th-8th grade students

Estimated time: Three 50 minute classes

Main Idea: To expose students to the theory of plate tectonics

Standards:

Common Core Shift focus:  ELA 1: Balancing Information and Literacy Text; 5: Writing from Sources; and 6: Academic Vocabulary

Nevada State Science Standards:

·         E.8.C.1 Students know sedimentary rocks and fossils provide evidence for changing environments and the constancy of geologic processes. 

·         E.8.C.3 Students know Earth is composed of a crust (both continental and oceanic); hot convecting mantle; and a dense, metallic core.

·         E.8.C.4 Students know the very slow movements of large crustal plates result in geological events.

Lesson outline

Engagement –Do a quick earthquake drill with your students.  Then begin a conversation asking students to share what they know about earthquakes and volcanoes. Write some notes and then pose the question.  What makes an earthquake happen?

Exploration –Science experiment modeling plate tectonics—specifically how the mantle moves causing plate boundaries to move. 

Explanation – Create a living model of the earth with students, watch a several video clips on the movement of the earth’s crust and take notes on the layers of the earth, plate tectonics, and Pangaea.   

Elaboration—Teacher demonstration using a lava lamp followed by mapping out the plate boundaries and plotting locations of earthquakes and volcanoes finishing with a candy bar plate boundary activity.

Evaluation—Create a map of your own world.  Show where plate boundaries happen and what land forms are found at these boundaries. 

Objectives

·         Define plate tectonics

·         Identify plate boundaries and types of movement at specific boundaries

·         Explain the theory of plate tectonics

·         Distinguish landforms found on plate boundaries

Key Vocabulary

Plate Tectonics, Continental plate, Oceanic plate, magma, crust, Pangaea, fossils

Materials

Safety

·         Be cautious with boiling water.

Advance Preparation

·         Make enough sets for each lab group to have the following

o   Card board pieces made from a map of the earth and it’s plate boundaries (tracing the earth’s plate boundaries and cutting each piece out)

o   Pie pan or aluminum baking dish—container for water

o   If you have smart phone capabilities do this lab and make a time-lapse video of the changes in the boundaries location.

Procedure

Engagement (10min):

Have students come into the room and review the safety procedures for an earthquake drill and then have student get under their desk for 1 minute (Obviously if this is too dramatic or would cause your student to react negatively just begin a conversation on what students know about earthquakes, volcanoes and what causes them).  There will be a lot of excitement after this drill so quickly move into today’s topic of discussion—do we have earthquakes here, where do they happen, what causes earthquakes?  Ask for a few volunteers, record their responses and misconceptions.  Have students do the same in their science notebook.

Exploration (50 min):

a.       Hand out the materials needed for the science lab today.  Students will be exploring the concepts of plate tectonics by modeling how the earth’s crust moves when exposed to the convection in the upper mantle of the earth’s core.

                                I.            Have students place their plates in a container of water.  The water should be able to boil without overflowing.  Set up a similar designed lab in the  

                                              room so student can see boiling water in the glass container from a side view.  They can do this after the action of their lab has subsided.

                              II.            Have students make an initial sketch of where the plates are located on their observation sheet.

                            III.            Turn on the hot plates and at 3 minute intervals have students sketch or make a map of the plate’s location.  Do this for 5 intervals (15 minutes

                                             should be enough time to the plate moving in boiling water).

                            IV.            Have students turn off their hot plates and write a brief description of what they saw in the lab.

                              V.            On a white board, overhead, or smartboard have 3 student groups draw what their boundaries looked like at interval 1, interval 3 and interval 5.  

                                             Compare similarities and differences?  What cause the cardboard to move?  What does this model represent?  Have students observe the glass

                                            container in the front.  What do they see?  Pour out some corn syrup, ketchup, and molasses.  What would happen if we used these substances                                  instead of water?

Explanation

                                I.            Review  the lab students completed and discuss what they observed and then show the video clip of Pangaea

                                               https://sites.google.com/site/nvdmunderthestars/volcanoe

                           Draw special attention to the timeline.  How fast is geologic time?  Then show them the video of the earth’s crust’s moving to produce a volcano.   

                           All of these are models of plate tectonics.  Briefly discuss why we use models and how they help us.

                              II.            Have students act out a living model of the structure of the earth.  Either as a class or in small groups.  One or several students should be the core

                                              of the earth acting very strong and solid.  Next is the semi-liquid outer core.  These students should circle around the core and sway back and 

                                             forth to demonstrate the type of movement.  Next have a several students be the mantle of the core.  These students should be walking in little circles

                                             to show how the convection cycles work and make the comparison to the water or corn syrup.  The Mantle moves but slower.  Finally have several

                                             students be the crust.  Explain to them that they have to be very thin. Since the students have completed the earlier lab—ask them what should                                     happen to the crust?  It should move as the mantle pushes on it.  Have students act this out.

                            III.            From this point you can have students take two-column notes (left side diagrams/pictures and right side important content) on the following        

                                             concepts:

                                                               i.      Layers of the earth

                                                                                   ii.        Theory of plate tectonics  

Elaboration (50 min)

                                I.            Show students a lava lamp.  Ask them what this has to do with what they have been learning.  Briefly talk about plate tectonics and the layers of the 

                                              earth.  Then have two students come up to represent S. America and Africa in the time of Pangaea.  Have each student hold on to one end of a 

                                              liquorish rope. Have the students move apart.  Emphasis the time it takes for this to happen.  When the liquorish rope snaps have students stand 

                                             where they are and ask the class what we know about the liquorish rope.  How has it changed, how is it the same? Explain that this is similar to 

                                              what happens to the and pieces of the earth’s crust when it moves. 

                              II.            Give students groups a handout with two maps.  One of Pangaea and one of today’s world with the continents as they are now.  Ask    

                             students to use the internet resources https://sites.google.com/site/nvdmunderthestars/volcanoe  To find the answers:

                            How do we know that Pangaea happened? ( with an emphasis on fossil records).

                            How long ago was did the Continents form Pangea?

                           What will the earth look like in another million years from now?

                           What is the ring of fire?

                           What are the names of the different boundaries?

                           What causes earthquakes and volcanoes to happen?

                            III.            End class with a candy bar demonstration show how the plates move at different boundaries and what landforms form as a result (subduction, 

                                             transformation, convergent, and divergent).

Evaluation

                                I.            Have students draw a picture of world map 500 million years in the future.  Have them draw boundaries and explain where different landforms are

                                              and why.

                              II.            Or you can create an evaluation using the one found here e for a start http://www.biol.wwu.edu/donovan/SciEd491/Platetectonics.pdf

Extenstion

                                I.            Have student create a dance that corresponds to the rap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkELENdZukI

                              II.            Find a local geologist and write them a letter explaining what they have learned and asking the geologist to respond telling them how they use this

                                              information.

                            III.            Have students create political campaigns for two different plate types—continental and oceanic.  They need to include why each plate type

                                            deserves  to be on top!

Literacy Connections

                                I.            http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/plate_tectonics/alfred_wegener_biography.html

                              II.            http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/3039/plate-tectonics-could-be-essential-for-life

References