Lesson Planet
Search educational resources
  • Sign In Try It Free
  • AI Teacher Tools
    • Discover Resources Search reviewed educational resources by keyword, subject, grade, type, and more
    • Curriculum Manager (My Content) Manage saved and uploaded resources and folders To Access the Curriculum Manager Sign In or Join Now
    • Browse Resource Directory Browse educational resources by subject and topic
    • Curriculum Calendar Explore curriculum resources by date
    • Lesson Planning Articles Timely and inspiring teaching ideas that you can apply in your classroom
    • Our Story
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Us
  • Pricing
  • School Access
    • Your school or district can sign up for Lesson Planet — with no cost to teachers
      Learn More
  • Sign In
  • Try It Free

Hi, what do you want to do?

Create a lesson plan
Create a lesson plan
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Find a teaching resource
Find a teaching resource
Fault Formations Lesson PlanFault Formations Lesson Plan
Publisher
Science Matters
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
6th
Subjects
Science
2 more...
Resource Type
Lesson Plans
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
1 hr 30 mins
Instructional Strategies
Collaborative Learning
2 more...
Technology
Scientific Equipment
Usage Permissions
Fine Print: Educational Use
Lesson Plan

Fault Formations

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This Fault Formations lesson plan also includes:
  • Introduction and Conceptual Flow Narrative
  • Grade Six Planning Guide
  • Conceptual Flow Graphic
  • Worksheet
  • Reading Passage
  • Activity
  • Join to access all included materials

The San Andreas Fault moves about two inches a year, approximately the same rate fingernails grow—crazy! The third lesson in the series allows for hands-on exploration of various fault formations. Through the use of a Popsicle stick, clay, and push boxes, scholars observe and record tension, compression, and shearing faults.

17 Views 22 Downloads
CCSS: Adaptable

Concepts

earthquakes, fault lines, faults, plate tectonics, plate boundaries, plate movement

Additional Tags

science

Instructional Ideas

  • Demonstrate the proper way to complete step 12 as the instructions are likely to confuse students

Classroom Considerations

  • Instructor needs to build a push box for every set of four students before the class begins; the lesson does not include instructions, but they can easily be found online
  • Relies on knowledge from the first lesson in the series, so they should be completed in order

Pros

  • Lesson is in the 5E format
  • Uses cheap materials that are easy to obtain

Cons

  • Link to photo reference no longer works

Common Core

RST.6-8.2 RST.6-8.3 RST.6-8.4 RST.6-8.7

See similar resources:

Lesson Plan

Sea Floor to Summit

Montana State University
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.
4th - 8th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Activity

World Map of Plate Boundaries

Oregon State
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.
4th - 10th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

The Volcano Factory

Curated OER
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...
5th - 6th Science
Lesson Plan

Where in the World Is Our Teacher?

Polar Trec
Kirk Beckendorf, a middle school teacher, joined researchers at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica to help maintain automatic weather stations. The lesson encourages pupils to track his travels around the region. They connect with the...
6th - 8th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Activity

Weather Stations

Discover Earth
Transform your classroom into a fully functioning weather station with this series of hands-on investigations. Covering the topics of temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and cloud formation, these activities engage young...
3rd - 8th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

Atmospheric Layers

Science 4 Inquiry
Space diving refers to the act of jumping from outer space and falling through Earth's atmosphere before parachuting to land. Scholars learn about this extreme activity and study the layers of the atmosphere they must conquer in the...
6th - 8th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Printables

Lab Report

Carnegie Mellon University
A set of instructions and a 100-point grading rubric have been designed for writing lab reports. Appropriate for middle schoolers, this lays out what to include for each of the six steps in the scientific method: title, hypothesis,...
4th - 8th Science
Lesson Plan

Oil and Natural Gas Formation

Curated OER
Students complete a narrative paper and a drawing depicting how the formation of oil and natural gas taken from the Earth's crust were once plants and animals millions of years ago. In this oil and natural gas lesson plan, students read,...
6th - 12th Science
Lesson Plan

Lesson Idea: A Box Full of Science

Curated OER
Young scholars analyze and study a shoe box of simple objects. They experience a homemade alternative to a company box of commercial kits for science. Each student creates their own shoe box of simple objects to share with their classmates.
K - 8th Science
Organizer

Density Workbook

Mr. Hill's Science Website
It's all about density! Here's a dense workbook for young scientists; they solve (and show work for) 29 density word problems, including a problem where they solve for the density of Godzilla. They complete labs analyzing metal...
5th - 8th Math
Try It Free
© 1999-2026 Learning Explorer, Inc.
Teacher Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Resources

Sign up for the Lesson Planet Monthly Newsletter

Open Educational Resources (OER)

  • Health
  • Language Arts
  • Languages
  • Math
  • Physical Education
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Special Education
  • Visual and Performing Arts
View All Lesson Plans

Discover Resources

  • Our Review Process
  • How it Works
  • How to Search
  • Create a Collection

Manage Curriculum

  • Edit a Collection
  • Assign to Students
  • Manage My Content
Contact Us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Use