Plate Tectonics Unit Outline
Click on the links below to view s description of each lesson. The duration of each lesson is included in parenthesis. These estimates are based on 45-50 minute class periods.
Earth’s age and geologic time lesson (1 class)
Continental drift lesson (2 classes)
Introduction to the theory of plate tectonics (2 class)
Plate boundaries lesson (2 classes)
Build your own seismograph lesson (complete lesson plan included)
Liquefaction demonstration lesson (complete lesson plan included)
Volcanos online technology lesson (complete lesson plan included)
Mountain building (1 class)
Rock cycle (3 classes)
Erosion and weathering (1 class)
Earth’s age and geologic time lesson (1 class)
- This lesson will introduce geologic time.
- The lesson will have students read and place important events in earth’s history into the different time periods
- This lesson will cover the layers of the earth and their composition as well as other properties
Continental drift lesson (2 classes)
- Students use puzzle pieces representing the different continents to model how they originally fit together to form Pangea.
- Students watch a video showing an artist’s conception of how the continents moved to end up at their current locations
- Students will briefly examine the historical development of the theory of continental drift
- Students will also explore the mechanism behind this plate motion through an investigation of convection currents
Introduction to the theory of plate tectonics (2 class)
- Students will watch a short video about the history of the theory and how plate tectonics theory relates to continental drift theory
- This lesson will also explain what the theory is, what it says, and what that means
- Students will examine evidence that supports plate tectonics theory and draw their own conclusions
Plate boundaries lesson (2 classes)
- This lesson will relate plate motion to earthquakes, volcanos, and mountain building
- Students will use a computer simulation to investigate what happens when Earth’s plates collide and when they slide past each other
Build your own seismograph lesson (complete lesson plan included)
- 2 classes
Liquefaction demonstration lesson (complete lesson plan included)
- 1 class
Volcanos online technology lesson (complete lesson plan included)
- 1 class
Mountain building (1 class)
- This lesson will address the geologic events that causes mountain building
- In this lesson, students will explore how and where mountains form
Rock cycle (3 classes)
- Flipped classroom lesson
Erosion and weathering (1 class)
- How erosion and weathering shape the surface of the earth
- Landforms created by erosion and weathering will be introduced in this lesson
- Students will compare and contrast constructive and destructive forces
- Students will also determine which landforms are created by constructive forces and which landforms are created by destructive forces