Curated OER
Hawaiian Hot Spots
Students discuss how plate tectonics and volcanic activity have affected Hawaii. In this Hawaiian lesson, students look at maps and photographs of Hawaiian Islands and discuss their formation through multiple volcanic eruptions. They...
Curated OER
Hawaiian Hot Spots
Students describe how plate tectonics contribute to the development of volcanoes. In this earth science lesson, students examine the map of Hawaii and explore the physical and biological environment there. They write a story about an...
Curated OER
Island Formation
Students create models of how islands are formed by hot spots and then write a summary of their observations and of how they think their model relates to volcanic hot spots and island formation.
Curated OER
Life of an Island: From Mountain to Atoll
Students research the evolution of a volcanic island from origin to erosion. They determine the relative ages of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands given their position in the archipelago.
Curated OER
Island formation
Students explain what an island is, and distinguish islands from similar landforms. They compare and contrast the different ways in which islands are formed.
Curated OER
Life of An Island
Young scholars identify the steps in the life cycle of an island. They label islands in the correct stage of their life cycle and illustrate the process themselves. They also review the concept of plate tectonics.
Mr. E. Science
Volcanoes
What is the difference between a shield volcano and a cinder cone volcano? How does the flow of lava influence the type of rock that's formed? A presentation on different aspects of volcanoes answers these questions for middle...
Curated OER
Lizard Lab
In this detailed and comprehensive multi-day activity, budding evolutionary biologists use real data from lizard populations in the Canary Islands to examine evolution and natural selection.
Curated OER
Moving Continents
In this moving continents activity, students review the different types of plate boundaries, what causes earthquakes, and where volcanoes are formed. This activity has 10 fill in the blank and 9 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Bermuda Today: Who Were Its Geologic Ancestors?
Students explore how the island of Bermuda came to be.
Curated OER
Volcanoes
A thorough description of volcanoes appears in this Earth science worksheet. Students read facts about volcanoes and answer 20 multiple choice comprehension questions. The answers appear at the end of the worksheet.
Curated OER
How Volcanoes Grow
Pupils study volcanoes including rock fragments, ash, aerosols and gases. In this volcano lesson students divide into groups and build models of the three major types of volcanoes.
Curated OER
Reading the Shapes of Volcanoes on Earth and Mars
Students compare and contrast the volcanoes of Earth and Mars, and examine specific volcanoes on Mars. They model the processes that create cone and shield volcanoes, and measure the slope angles of cone and shield volcanoes.
US Geological Survey
U.s. Geological Survey: Hotspots: Mantle Thermal Plumes
Learn more about the hot spot theory developed in 1963 by the Canadian geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson. Diagrams help you visualize the way hot spots formed geologic structures such as the Hawaiian Islands.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Volcanoes at Hotspots
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Volcanoes can form at hotspots away from plate boundaries. This article discusses hotspot activity and how it leads to volcanism in the oceans.