Curated OER
The Biggest Plates on Earth
The best part about teaching guides is all the great information you can use to inform your class. They infer what type of boundary exists between two tectonic plates. Then, using given information on earthquakes and volcanism they'll...
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...
PBS
Lessons - Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!
Volcanoes are among the most spectacular geological features on the planet. Jump into an exploration of these amazing phenomenon with this multimedia lesson series. Working collaboratively in small groups, young scientists view videos...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics
Middle schoolers identify that most of mountain ranges found on all major land masses and in the oceans are external reflections of tectonic movements within the earth. They identify that earthquakes and related phenomena are caused by...
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...
Montana State University
Sea Floor to Summit
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.
Curated OER
Earthquake Formation
Students explore earthquakes. In this natural disaster and engineer career education lesson, students identify features of the earth's surface that increase the likelihood of an earthquake. Students use visual aids to locate the earth's...
Curated OER
Science: Plate Tectonics, Faults, and Volcanoes
Eighth graders conduct Internet research on plate tectonics, faluts, and volcanoes. In groups, they compile information related to teacher-provided questions. Students write papers detailing their findings and make oral presentations...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 2
Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...
National Geographic
Mapping the Americas
Celebrate the geography of the Americas and develop map skills through a series of activities focused on the Western Hemisphere. Learners study everything from earthquakes and volcanoes of the Americas and the relationship...
Curated OER
Cultures of the Ring of Fire
Students explore the Ring of Fire. In this Ring of Fire lesson, students research information about the Ring of Fire and plate tectonics. Students write 2-page research papers regarding their findings.
Curated OER
Shaky New Zealand
Students explore Earth science by building a model in class. In this tectonic plate lesson, students identify the impact tectonic shifts have on humans and animals and where the plates and faults lie under New Zealand. Students examine...
Curated OER
The Ocean Floor
Practice reading comprehension by approaching oceanography through 2 pages of informational text. The text compares the ocean floor to the Grand Canyon to gives students perspective, and gives a brief coverage of the earth's crust and...
Curated OER
Tectonic Plates, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes
Challenge geography classes to locate the major volcanoes and earthquake faults on a world map. In groups, they identify the pattern made and examine the relationship between the locations of the faults and volcanoes and tectonic...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 9
Here's a workshop for teachers that rocks the academic world! Using earthquakes as a medium for instruction, educators learn about crosscutting engineering with science. Fun, hands-on, collaborative exercises encourage participants to...
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
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
Earthquakes
Young scholars take a closer look at earthquakes. In this earthquake lesson, students investigate the causes of Kashmir earthquake and the impact of the earthquake. Young scholars also consider aid efforts in the aftermath of earthquakes.
Curated OER
Are You Ready to Shake
Students examine earthquakes and tsunamis. In this Earth science instructional activity, students investigate the causes and hazards associated with earthquakes and tsunamis.
Curated OER
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
Exploring Alaska's Seamounts - Volcanoes, Plates, and Chains
Students examine the formation of seamounts in the Gulf of Alaska. In this seamount instructional activity, student focus on how the Axial-Cobb-Eikelberg-Patton chain was formed. They learn the associated vocabulary, and watch a teacher...
Curated OER
The 50 States and its Holidays
Though the format of this ELL lesson is confusing (the standards listed are for plate tectonics, yet the objectives are for American geography and holidays), a teacher could glean some ideas from the main idea. Here, pupils complete a...
Curated OER
Where in the World Is That Volcano?
Identify the Earth's major volcanoes with an earth science instructional activity. Elementary and middle schoolers locate major volcanoes on a world map. Then, in groups, they research how the volcano affects the region in which it...
Curated OER
Volcano Live
Learners discover the inevitable threat of volcanoes as they identify the ring of fire. In this natural disasters lesson, students examine the tectonic plate theory and discuss how magma works it's way to the surface of the Earth....