Curated OER
Heat Up the Floating Plates
Eighth graders research the connection between the convection currents within the mantle of the earth and the moving of Earth's plates. A connection to lessons at previous grade levels on the rock cycle and important background...
Curated OER
Pass the Plate
Students define constructive forces. They describe how landforms are created as a result of constructive forces. Students recognize active volcano areas in the United States. They demonstrate an understanding of Panagea.
Curated OER
Pangea All Lands
Students demonstrate how the earth's land masses were once one huge land mass known as Pangea. They fit continents together forming one large land mass. Describe the processes that cause plate movement.
Curated OER
Hawaiian Bowl!
Students describe the movement of tectonic plates in the Hawaiian archipelago region. They describe how a combination of hotspot activity and tectonic plate movement could produce the arrangement of seamounts obse
Science Matters
Up and Down Fault Blocks
The Sierra Mountains in Nevada and the Tetons in Wyoming originally formed as fault block mountains. In order to visualize these fault blocks, pupils use construction paper to create layers of earth. They cut the paper models and form...
Curated OER
Cruising the Mantle
Young scholars explore the plate boundaries of the earth. Through the use of video, internet and hands-on activities, students examine the types of plate boundaries. They create a model to illustrate the movement and interaction of the...
NOAA
Ocean Geologic Features
Sediment samples from the ocean bottoms tell scientists about climate change, pollution, and changes in erosion for the area. Groups of learners focus on sediments and their movement through water. During a hands-on activity, they...
NOAA
Mid-Ocean Ridges Interactive
Your class will be on top of their game when it comes to mid-ocean ridges! The second installment in a 13-part series focuses on the 65,000-km underwater ridge system that spans our globe. Junior oceanographers practice placing the...
Curated OER
Early Explorers
Fifth graders study early explorers. For this World history lesson, 5th graders draw an outline of a map labeling each part, build geographical features out of dough, and paint each of the land and water features.
Curated OER
Structure of the Earth
Eighth graders examine the forces that are constantly acting on the Earth. They describe the theory of tectonic plates and demonstrate the two kinds of earthquake waves. They also examine the role of volcanoes in the structure of the...
Curated OER
Continental Drift
Learners simulate convection waves using a model. In this earth science lesson, students explain the effect of plate movements to Earth's geography. They use the internet to find answers to graphic organizer questions.
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Sixth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Young seismologists learn more about plate tectonics with a set of pre-lab, lab, and post-lab lessons plans on earthquakes. After exploring how waves travel through various materials, sixth graders record their observations and draw...
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
What causes earthquakes? Second graders learn about stresses from plate movement with a set of hands-on activities. After tracing fault lines on a map with yarn, class members create a paper plate model of Earth to show its layers and...
Curated OER
The Layered Earth
Learners role play plate tectonics by creating a "plate statue" made up of students. In this earth science lesson, learners describe how Earth's movement cause earthquakes and volcanoes. They draw and name the different layers of the Earth.
Curated OER
Pangaea Puzzle
Students explore plate tectonics and the formations of the Earth's surface and why maps are distorted. In this Earth's surface lesson plan students complete a lab and answer questions.
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics And Convection Currents
Students observe the currents that occur through convection in water and relate them to the currents in molten rock in the Earth's mantle. They set up a convection current in a cake pan of water using a bag of ice on one end and an...
Curated OER
What Causes Earthquakes?
In this earthquakes learning exercise, students will read information about how different myths and legends have been created to describe the cause of earthquakes. Students will use this information to complete 3 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Volcanoes Word Search
In this earth science worksheet, students find the words that are associated with the concept of a volcano and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Making Waves: A Study of Earthquakes and Tsunami
Young scholars examine plate tectonics and the causative effect of earthquakes. In this tectonics lesson students differentiate between the types of energy waves that cause earthquakes and tsunamis and how waves travel at different...
California Academy of Science
Measuring Earthquakes
After a brief discussion on earthquakes, make a makeshift seismograph to record the shaking of the table that it sits upon. While the background information will be useful to you as a teacher, the seismograph does not seem like it would...
Curated OER
Faulty Movement
Students discover the faults throughout the Earth. They describe the different types of faults and how they are related to earthquakes. They build models of the faults.
Curated OER
Volcanoes: Sixth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Bring a set of pre-lab, lab, and post-lab lesson plans on volcanoes to your earth science unit. Sixth graders explore the three types of volcanoes found on Earth, plot the specific locations of these volcanoes on a map, and investigate...
Curated OER
Hazards: Sixth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Sixth graders explore the damage associated with an earthquake by designing a structure that can withstand earthquake intensities on a shaker board. They then view tips for preparing for an earthquake, and what to do after an earthquake...
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities
Beginning with a pre-lab, kindergarteners trace the letters in the word earthquake and discuss what happens in an earthquake. The lab portion allows young scientists realize that earthquakes trigger shaking of different intensities...