E-learning for Kids
E Learning for Kids: Madagascar: What Are Tectonic Plates and How Are They Moving?
This lesson teaches students about tectonic plates, plate boundaries, and their role in earthquakes and volcanoes.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: O Logy: Plates on the Move
Find an interrelated set of tools--maps, animations, diagrams, photographs, and text--to help you understand tectonic plates and how they move.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Plix: Map for Earth's Tectonic Plates: Earth's Tectonic Plates
[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.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Plates on the Move
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.
National Association of Geoscience Teachers
Nagt: Geology Map Observations
In jigsaw groups, students construct the Earth's tectonic plates using geologic maps. Skills such as careful observation, presentation, and synthesis are used to create a map that shows the type and location the plates.
US Geological Survey
Usgs: Major Tectonic Plates of the Earth
A map of major tectonic plates of the Earth showing where the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates are located.
National Association of Geoscience Teachers
Nagt: Discovering Plate Boundaries
Students work collaboratively using data maps to discover plate tectonic boundary processes. Data sets used are earthquakes, volcanoes, seafloor age, and topography.
Vision Learning
Visionlearning: Plate Tectonics: The Origin of Plate Tectonic Theory
Discover Alfred Wegner's ideas relating to continental drift and seafloor spreading which are both evidence to the concept of plate tectonics.
US Geological Survey
Usgs: Plate Tectonics, Hot Spots, and Ring of Fire: World Map
A world map featuring active volcanoes, plate tectonics, hot spots, and ring of fire.
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Geologic Maps & Earthquakes
This activity is designed to give learners practice using a geologic map to assess the likelihood and location of a particular natural hazard- earthquakes- in California.
Curated OER
Merriam Webster: Visual Dictionary Online: Tectonic Plates
Labeled map showing locations of world's tectonic plates.
Other
University of Delaware: Plate Tectonics
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.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign: About Antarctica: Plate Tectonics
Explanation of why Antarctica has fossils of ferns, amphibians, and reptiles. Gondwanaland is discussed and shown in an interactive map.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: A Data Rich Exercise for Discovering Plate Boundary Processes
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"...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Discovering Plate Boundaries
A data rich exercise built around four global data maps to help students discover the processes that occur at plate tectonic boundaries. The lesson plan is based on the jigsaw concept, mixing the students to work in different groups...
University of Wisconsin
Scien Count Ers: Earthquake Proof Buildings
This instructional activity looks at how the forces of an earthquake impact on buildings, and different ways to make buildings earthquake-proof. Includes student worksheet and tectonic plates map.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: Global Volcanism Program: This Dynamic Planet
Interactive activity that allows the learner to make their own regional map using layers of their choice such as volcanoes, craters, plate tectonics, or earthquakes. This map of the Earth zooms in and out, highlights essential processes,...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Looking Into Earth With Gis
Multi-instructional activity activity where learners 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...
Other
Paleomap Project
Virtual reality animation map showing continental drift from 200mya to the present. The animation map is small but effective in showing the positions of the land masses.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Fairly Simple Geology Exercises
A collection of geology exercises which include relevant background information, complete instructions, student handouts, and answer keys. Topics include rock and mineral identification, Bowen's reaction series, crystal models,...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Getting to the Point: Exploring Tectonic Motion Point Reyes Seashore
The intent of this module is for students to make straightforward numerical calculations as they learn about earthquake geology at a National Park.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Discover Our Earth
Study earthquakes, volcanoes, topography, plate tectonics, and sea level change using graphs, maps, and movies. Engage in earth science knowledge discovery, critically evaluate the data and results, and reach conclusions about the earth...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Geological Oceanography
This unit will focus on the geological characteristics of the world ocean, plate tectonics, and the mapping of the ocean floor.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: This Dynamic Planet
Research and explore past earthquake and volcanic activity on this interactive world map. User can manipulate which notable events and other map characteristics to view depending on the type of study being done.