South Carolina Educational Television
Know It All Media: Plate Tectonics: Plate Movements
Animated simulations showing the three types of plate movements: divergent, convergent, and lateral plate boundaries.
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.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Plate Tectonics
In this interactive lesson you will learn about the theory of plate tectonics and the three types of plate boundaries that are responsible for Earth's geologic features.
National Geographic
National Geographic: Plate Tectonics
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...
Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, Stevens Institute of Technology
Ciese: Musical Plates: A Study of Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics
This activity has students access USGS earthquake information to plot the their locations on a world map. Doing this will help students discover for themselves the boundaries of tectonic plates.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Analyzing Plate Motion Using Earth Scope Gps Data
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...
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.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Discovering Plate Boundaries
A classroom activity designed to introduce students to the process of observing and classifying data, in addition to the fundamentals of plate tectonics.
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...
Science Struck
Science Struck: Theory of Plate Tectonics
A detailed discussion of plate tectonics. Looks at continental drift, types of tectonic plates and plate boundaries, and primary and secondary tectonic plates.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Fourth Grade Science: Earth Science: Theory of Plate Tectonics
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Discusses what a tectonic plate is and how scientists can recognize its edges, how the plates move by convection in the mantle, the three types of plate boundaries...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Mountains Are Formed
Students investigate how mountains are formed. Concepts include the composition and structure of the Earth's tectonic plates and tectonic plate boundaries, with an emphasis on plate convergence as it relates to mountain formation....
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Mapping Quake Risk
Learners 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.
Indiana University
Indiana University: Evolution of Continents and Oceans
A course lecture on how the Earth's geological features have evolved through the movements of tectonic plates. Explains the different types of plate boundaries and how they manifest in geological formations. Also describes the structure...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Interactives: Dynamic Earth: Slip, Slide, & Collide
Looking for more information about plate tectonics and what happens at plate boundaries? This site gives definitions of all plate boundaries as well as animations to help visualize what is happening.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Dynamic Earth Interactives: Plate Tectonics
The resource explores the Earth. There are tutorials on plate tectonics, plates and boundaries, and the Earth's structure. There is also an introduction and an interactive activity to test the students on skills taught.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Expeditions to the Sea Floor: Plate Tectonics
Interactive site provides information on the Breakup of Pangea, plate boundaries, plate movements as well as a quiz.
Other
Digital Library for Earth System Education: Teaching Box: Plate Tectonics
A suite of lessons focusing on finding the fossil evidence for lithospheric plate tectonics. Inquiry-based exploration of plate tectonics evidence includes fossil distribution, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Writing About Plate Tectonics
This lesson is a writing assignment focussed on the use of data to support the theory of plate tectonics. It includes a scoresheet that was created for a calibrated peer review assignment. The assignment directs students to determine the...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Musical Plates: A Study of Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics
Four part lab activity involves students using real-time data to solve a problem, study the correlation between earthquakes and tectonic plates, and determine whether or not there is a relationship between volcanoes and plate boundaries.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Tour of Park Geology: Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics and different plate boundaries are discussed on this website. Also, learn about the type of plate boundaries found in our National Parks.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Plate Interactions Challenge
Identify real-world cases of boundary interactions and predict the most likely future geologic outcomes. In the lightning round, unscramble four geologic terms.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Actions at Plate Boundaries
This lesson will allow the students to understand the cause and effects of plates interactions. The students will learn that plate boundaries function as a release for much of the Earth's potential energy. The students will be able to...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Dynamic Earth Interactives
Interactive tutorials on plate tectonics, plates and boundaries, and the Earth's structure convey the dynamism of geologic processes, such as earthquakes and volcanoes. Takes a multidimensional approach to coverage of basic geologic...