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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: A Data Rich Exercise for Discovering Plate Boundary Processes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This article in the Journal of Geoscience Education describes a classroom exercise based on four world maps containing earthquake, volcano, topographical and seafloor age data. Students participate in this exercise by using a "jigsaw"...
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Unit Plan
National Geographic

National Geographic: Plate Tectonics

For Students 9th - 10th
A short tutorial on plate tectonics. Includes a video, background reading, three questions, fast facts, and a vocabulary list. Discusses the publication of the Tharp-Heezen map of the seafloor in 1977 which paved the way for a much...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Discovering Plate Boundaries

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A data rich exercise built around four global data maps to help students discover the processes that occur at plate tectonic boundaries. The lesson is based on the jigsaw concept, mixing the students to work in different groups during...
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Lesson Plan
National Association of Geoscience Teachers

Nagt: Discovering Plate Boundaries

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students work collaboratively using data maps to discover plate tectonic boundary processes. Data sets used are earthquakes, volcanoes, seafloor age, and topography.
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Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Mapping Quake Risk

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students use GIS to observe worldwide patterns of earthquakes and volcanoes and analyze the relationships of those patterns to tectonic plate boundaries. Then they identify cities at risk.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Analyzing Plate Motion Using Earth Scope Gps Data

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this chapter, you will access Global Positioning System (GPS) data from the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) and analyze the data in a spreadsheet to measure the motion of GPS stations in the Pacific Northwest. From your analyses, you...
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: O Logy: Plates on the Move

For Students 9th - 10th
Find an interrelated set of tools--maps, animations, diagrams, photographs, and text--to help you understand tectonic plates and how they move.
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Plates on the Move

For Students 6th - 8th
Explore how plates move with this interactive site. Students choose locations on the map of Earth to see if the tectonics plate are slipping, spreading, colliding, or subducting.
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Activity
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Plix: Volcano Map: Oceanic Oceanic Convergent Plate Boundaries

For Students 7th - 9th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Get an inside look of a subduction zone with the animation on this page. Page includes a interactive animation and a short quiz.
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Unit Plan
E-learning for Kids

E Learning for Kids: Madagascar: What Are Tectonic Plates and How Are They Moving?

For Students 5th - 7th
This lesson teaches students about tectonic plates, plate boundaries, and their role in earthquakes and volcanoes.
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Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Plix: Map for Earth's Tectonic Plates: Earth's Tectonic Plates

For Students 7th - 9th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Understand what is happening at the plate boundaries with this interactive map of Earth's tectonic plates. This page slso includes a short quiz over plate tectonics.
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Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: What on Earth Is Plate Tectonics?

For Students 9th - 10th
An easy-to-understand explanation of what plate tectonics is. Contains information about the inner parts of the Earth, the difference between the three types of plates, and numerous maps and illustrations.
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Website
Extreme Science

Extreme Science: A Lesson in Plate Tectonics

For Students 9th - 10th
With its clickable map, this site provides text and graphics on spreading boundary, converging boundary, subduction zone, transverse boundaries and faults.
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Handout
Other

University of Delaware: Plate Tectonics

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site is a very simple overview of plate tectonics. It includes a map of all the major plates and a diagram of the layers of the earth.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Looking Into Earth With Gis

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Multi-lesson activity where students will work with data from a seismic wave model in a GIS (geographic information system) program. They will examine maps, select data, and produce graphs to explore variations in seismic wave velocities...
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Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Chile and Argentina, 1911

For Students 9th - 10th
A map from 1911 showing the political boundaries of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay at the time. Bordering portions of Brazil and Bolivia are also shown. State boundaries are shown in red, and the map includes capitals, major...
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Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Ireland Plate I, 1920

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of the northern section of Ireland in 1920, showing cities, towns, ports, railways, canals, rivers, lakes, and coastal features north of Dublin and Galway. The map is color-coded to clearly show county boundaries.
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Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Ireland Plate Ii, 1920

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of the southern section of Ireland in 1920, showing cities, towns, ports, railways, canals, rivers, lakes, and coastal features south of Dublin and Galway. The map is color-coded to clearly show county boundaries.
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Graphic
Curated OER

Extreme Science: A Lesson in Plate Tectonics

For Students 9th - 10th
With its clickable map, this site provides text and graphics on spreading boundary, converging boundary, subduction zone, transverse boundaries and faults.
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Handout
National Geographic

National Geographic: Encyclopedia: Mantle

For Students 9th - 10th
An in-depth look at the structure and composition of Earth's mantle, with lots of visuals. Covers lithosphere, Mohorovicic discontinuity, asthenosphere, transition zone, lower mantle, the d double-prime region, mantle convection, mantle...