Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics Writing Assignment

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students complete a writing assignment focused on the use of data to support the theory of plate tectonics. They access data using the "Our Dynamic Planet" CDROM, capture images of the data plots, and incorporate them into their writing. T
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics & Land Forms

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discuss the different interactions of plates and the ways mountains are created.  In this plate tectonics lesson plan students complete an activity in groups.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonic Cycle

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the Earth's movements by completing worksheets. In this plate tectonics activity, students define such natural disasters as volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and mudslides and discuss their connections to plate tectonics....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics: Surface and Subsurface Processes

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the geological process of plate tectonics. In this plate tectonic lesson, 8th graders design, construct and present a working model of a plate tectonics concept. This lesson includes a rubric, worksheets, and 2...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students reinforce their knowledge of plate tectonics from what they have already learned on the subject. In this science lesson, students watch a small clip from the movie "Ice Age" which engages the students to participate throughout...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Dynamic Earth

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use the Internet to investigate earthquakes and plate tectonics. For this plate tectonics lesson, students complete a web quest with multiple links and activity types relating to earthquakes and volcanoes. They connect the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquake Formation

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students explore earthquakes. In this natural disaster and engineer career education instructional activity, students identify features of the earth's surface that increase the likelihood of an earthquake. Students use visual aids to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get Ready to Rumble

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students use the Internet to examine earthquakes. They discover the theory of tectonic plates and analyze faults throughout the world. They also examine the science of seismology to explain how earthquakes are measured.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

PLATE MOVEMENTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students label three geological maps with continents provided to analyze the relationships between the movement of tectonic plates and the changes in the climate. In small groups, they discuss their findings and form hypotheses about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquakes

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students take a closer look at earthquakes. In this earthquake lesson, students investigate the causes of Kashmir earthquake and the impact of the earthquake. Students also consider aid efforts in the aftermath of earthquakes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Patterns

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read about a volcano and use the latitude and longitude information to plot and describe the volcano on the map. They discuss patterns seen on the map. In addition, they color code a map according to zones, plates, etc.
Lesson Plan
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Montana State University

Sea Floor to Summit

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Who knew that mountain formation could be so entertaining? Leanr how mountains form with a resource on Mount Everest. Activities to guide learning include a simulation, project, videos, coloring activities, and worksheets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Explosive Ideas!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the layers of the Earth and the dynamic changes that they cause on Earth's surface. Volcanoes and earthquakes become the focus of the lesson as the Oregon State quarter and its Crater Lake images are linked to the topic.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Formation of Volcanoes

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore the process of different volcanoes and how plate tectonics plays a role. For this volcanic lesson students complete several assignments on plate tectonics.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Patterns

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners review the patterns they discovered from a previous activity.  In this investigative lesson students plot data as a class and color a map. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ring of Fire

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students locate some of the 1,500 active volcanoes on a world map. Then by comparing their maps with a map of the world's tectonic plates, they discover that volcanoes occur because of the dynamic nature of the Earth's lithosphere.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World's Most Dynamic Force

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars explore the Earth's forces. They review an assessment task and its accompanying rubric. They classify ten items as long-term or short-term interactions of the Earth's components and rank the destructive impact of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Waves Lesson Plan

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Pupils demonstrate an understanding of tsunamis and possible causes.  In this investigative instructional activity students view a video and explore earthquakes and movement of tectonic plates. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquakes

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explain that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults. They list the major geologic events including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mountain building, which are the result of crustal plate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Physical Geography of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars access information from the United States Geological Survey's Web site This Dynamic Earth to research the Ring of Fire. They answer four questions and then apply what they have learned to create a bulletin board display.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun and Weather

For Teachers 6th - 8th
How is the Earth's weather created? Middle schoolers will explain how the Sun's energy is transformed into different forms. They will perform mathematical calculations of volume, mass, and temperature. They they will explain the...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Weathering of Limestone

For Teachers 9th - 12th
We all know limestone weathers, but what affects the rate of weathering? Young scientists investigate the physical and chemical weathering of limestone (chalk) through experimentation. First, they conduct trials with different-size...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquake

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students view a video and conduct a problem solving activity to explain the effect different waves have on the earth's structure and what effect they have on different structures.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquakes

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore reasons for earthquakes. They discuss and describe the types of faults. Using the internet, 6th graders research a specific location of a former earthquake. They describe the damage, magnitude, the epicenter,...