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Curated OER
What's The Difference?
Students identify geologic features that are associated with volcanoes. In this volcanic exploration lesson students compare and contrast convergent and divergent volcanoes and are able to explain why some erupt more explosively.
Curated OER
The Volcano Factory
Collaborative groups work together to report on the volcanic activity leading to island formation and construct models to demonstrate the process. Consider having each group present their project to the rest of the class. There are many...
Curated OER
A Hydrothermal Adventure
Students analyze hydrothermal vents. In this hydrothermal vents lesson plan, students discover the effects of hydrothermal vents on tectonic plates. Students make model hydrothermal vents to understand how they form and operate.
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Three Main Rock Groups
Students are introduced to igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. They use foods to demonstrate the basic formation of each type of rock, read books about rock formation and view related videos.
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Plate Tectonics
Students identify the three layers of the earth: core, mantle and crust. They demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of convergent and divergent motions of the earth and an understanding of plate tectonics.
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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
The Mountain Blows its Top
Students replicate a volcanic eruption. In this volcanoes lesson plan, students follow the provided procedures to show and describe how the inflation of a bulge led to the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics
In this science worksheet, 6th graders find the words related to the concept of plate tectonics and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.
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Surfing for Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Students search the Internet for data pertaining to the world's volcanic and seismic activity.
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 1
How do scientists provide evidence to support the theories they put forth? What clues do they put together to create these theories? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation class members engage in a series of...
Oregon State
World Map of Plate Boundaries
Young geologists piece together the puzzle of plate tectonics in an earth science lesson. Given a physical map of the world, they search for land formations that indicate the location of different types of plate boundaries.
Curated OER
My Own Private Idaho; Using Social Studies to Explore Idaho
Students engage in several activities to explore Idaho and Social Studies themes. Using an variety of media, students become familiar with Idaho's geography and geology.
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Mastering the Keyboard
Sixth graders view an animated program showing how the continents fit together millions of years ago. In groups, they compare and contrast the distribution of rocks and fossils based on how the continents fit together. After reading a...
Curated OER
Building a Better Sentence
Sentence construction is both a science and an art. This bare bones instructional activity ties an analysis of earth's geology to sentence formation. Although referenced as a major part of the activity, there are no links to the...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics: Fourth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
The pre-lab portion of the lesson introduces emerging geologists to the various layers that make up Earth. After completing a sheet on the identification of the layers, class members simulate plate boundaries and their...
CK-12 Foundation
CK-12 Earth Science Concepts for Middle School
Explore a variety of science concepts in an interactive textbook created for middle school scholars. A lengthy table of contents takes readers to pages comprised of a subject overview, outline, and summary. Follow links further to find...
Curated OER
Musical Plates
Sixth graders engage in a study of the plates and how they are part of the formation of the ever changing landscape of planet earth. They access web sites that have applications for observation and conducting different activities. The...
Curated OER
Erosion in Different Soils [Erosion Races]
Fourth graders review how erosion can happen by wind, water, and gravity which they studied in previous lesson. They attempt to discover if all soils erode at the same rate. In small groups, 4th graders experiment with three different...
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Plate Tectonics: Recycling the Seafloor
Students classify earth's layers and plates using Ocean Seismicity data. In this plate tectonics instructional activity, students outline where the plate boundaries are on the world map. They then compare these predicted boundaries with...
Curated OER
Tic-Tac-Toe for Layers of the Earth
Eighth graders identify the different layers of the earth. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders choose a project to do from a given list according to their learning style. They present their finished project in class.
Curated OER
Video: The Birth of a Theory
For this plate tectonics worksheet, students answer questions from a video about how the theory of plate movement came about along with questions about earthquakes, faults, seafloor spreading and other geological events.
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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.
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Rock Cycle
Third graders identify various types of landforms of the United States. They discuss earth movements that produce geologic structures and landforms and define cycle as it relates to rocks and soil. They demonstrate the processes forming...
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Frogs Frogs Frogs
Students view a disk on the continental movement and analyze the given data on fossils, rock types and climate zones. In this geology lesson students draw a diagram of the earths layers, take a quiz complete a PowerPoint presentation.