Science TEKS 6.10C, 6.10D, 8.

9B
Plate Tectonics

Focus Objective(s):
TEKS objective(s)

6.10. (C) identify the major tectonic plates, including Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian,
Pacific, North American, and South American
6.10.(D) describe how plate tectonics causes major geological events such as ocean basins,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building.
8.9.B(B) relate plate tectonics to the formation of crustal features

Lesson Summary

The Student will:

 Observe an egg demonstration of how plate tectonics work

 Do a plate tectonics puzzle to observe how various plates on earth were once connected
 Evaluate maps of the world showing plates and volcanoes to determine why volcanoes
occur
 Identify layers of the Earth
 Learn plate tectonics vocabulary
 Model plate boundaries with their hands
 “Vesuvius Quest – The Sleeping Volcano” project
 Complete a Plate Tectonic Model

Engage:
The first phase is to engage the student in the learning task. The student mentally focuses on an
object, problem, situation, or event. The activities of this phase should make connections to past and
future activities. The connections depend on the learning task and may be conceptual, procedural, or
behavioral. Asking a question, defining a problem, showing a discrepant event, and acting out a
problematic situation are always to engage the students and focus them on the instructional activities.
Teacher Resources and Handouts for Engage section:

Materials / Prep Work:

Egg Plate Tectonics demonstration:

A few hard-boiled eggs

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The Plate Tectonics Puzzle: http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/A-Plate-

Tectonics-Puzzle.doc
This activity was downloaded from the American Museum of Natural History website.
http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/pdf/dinos_plate_tectonics.pdf

Lesson Engage section below:

Egg Plate Tectonics demonstration:

1. Show the students a hard boiled egg and tell them it represents a model of the Earth.

2. Crack the shell of the hard-boiled egg.

3. Ask the students to identify what part of the egg represents the crust, the mantle, and the
core:

Crust = the thin shell of the egg (divided into plates – now that it is cracked)
Mantle = the firm, but slippery, white inside part of the egg
Core = the yolk (students cannot see this part of the model, but should be able to
answer)

4. Move the pieces of the shell around on the egg. Point out to the students how the shell
crumples in some places and exposes “mantle” in other places. Ask the students what
they think the cracked pieces of “mantle” represent.
Answer: - Earth’s tectonic plates

5. Explain how this “crumpling” and “exposure” is the same thing that happens on Earth,
but on Earth when the “plates” move results include mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes,
and new ocean floor.

(Demo adapted from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/tectonics/# )

A Plate Tectonics Puzzle: http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/A-Plate-Tectonics-

Puzzle.doc
To further introduce the students to plates, their movements, and the history behind it; have the
students work through “A Plate Tectonics Puzzle” activity. This activity will give a brief overview of
the theory of continental drift and Pangaea. This activity will help lay the foundation for the 8th
grade TEKS 8.9A.

Explore:
Once the activities have engaged students, they need time to explore their ideas. Exploration activities
are designed so that all students have common, concrete experiences upon which they continue
building concepts, processes, and skills. This phase should be concrete and meaningful for the
students. The aim of exploration activities is to establish experiences that teachers and students can
use later to formally introduce and discuss content area specific concepts, processes, or skills.
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Teacher Resources and Handouts for Explore section:

Materials / Prep Work:

Location of Volcanoes Activity Part 1 Sheet (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-

content/uploads/2011/10/Location-of-Volcanoes-Activity-1-Map-1.doc) 1 per student
Or
Webquest (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Plate-Tectonics-Webquest.doc) sheet
and computers with internet access

Lesson Explore section below:

1. Plates and Volcanoes (activity adapted from http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/teachers/pdf/AV-

Geolesson-5.pdf

Have students look at various maps of the Earth’s plates. Discuss what plates are. Reference back
to the Engage activity with the egg.
Next have students look at the map on the Location of Volcanoes Activity Part 1 sheet that you gave
them.
Guiding Questions: (Can be answered orally or in science journals)

1. What observations can you make about the map?

2. What do the lines on the map represent? (Answer: plate boundaries)
3. What layer of the Earth does this represent? (lithosphere)
4. What observations about the plates can you make from the map? (Answers will vary, but may
include the following:

 The edges are jagged

 The plates include oceans
 The plates are various sizes
 The plates look like puzzle pieces

5. Have students work through the Plates and Volcanoes Activity 1 – Map 1 questions.
6. Have students look at Map 2. Point out to students that the dots on the map represent
volcanoes. Then have students answer questions 4 and 5.

2. Plate Tectonics Webquest. (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Plate-

Tectonics-Webquest.doc)

Explain:
Explanation means the act or process in which concepts, processes, or skills become plain,
comprehensible, and clear. The process of explanation provides the students and teacher with a
common use of terms relative to the learning experience. In this phase, the teacher directs student
attention to specific aspects of the engagement and exploration experiences. First, the teacher asks
the students to give their explanations. Second, the teacher introduces explanations in a direct and
formal manner. Explanations are ways of ordering and giving a common language for the exploratory

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experiences. The teacher should base the initial part of this phase on the students' explanations and
clearly connect the explanations to experiences in the engagement and exploration phases of the
instructional model. The key to this phase is to present concepts, processes, or skills briefly, simply,
clearly, and directly, and then continue on to the next phase.

Teacher Resources and Handouts for Explain section:

Materials / Prep Work:

Demonstrating Plate Boundaries Script (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/Demonstrating-Plate-Boundaries-Script.doc)
Location of Volcanoes Activity 1 – Map 2 (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/Location-of-Volcanoes-Activity-1-Map-2.doc) (at least one for the
students to view during discussion)
Location of Volcanoes Activity 1 – Map 1 (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/Location-of-Volcanoes-Activity-1-Map-1.doc)
Plate Tectonics Vocabulary (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Plate-Tectonics-
Vocabulary.doc) (activity adapted from http://mjksciteachingideas.com/pdf/PlateTecVocab.pdf ) – 1
set per student
Science Journals

Lesson Explain section below:

1. Demonstrating Plate Boundaries (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-

content/uploads/2011/10/Demonstrating-Plate-Boundaries-Script.doc) (Lesson adapted from
NASA Astro-Venture Guide)
Teacher direct students how to model the various plate boundaries using their hands. Questions
may be answered verbally or in science journal)

2. Plate Tectonics PowerPoint located at http://www.middleschoolscience.com/earth.htm

Scroll down to Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes. Go to Plate Tectonics PPT.

3. Vocabulary Activity (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Plate-Tectonics-

Vocabulary.doc) (activity adapted from http://mjksciteachingideas.com/pdf/PlateTecVocab.pdf )
Students cut out definitions and paste them next to the correct vocabulary word.

Elaborate
Once the students have an explanation of their learning tasks, it is important to involve them in
further
experiences that apply, extend, or elaborate the concepts, processes, or skills.
Elaboration activities provide further time and experience that contribute to learning. The teacher
should provide opportunities for students to practice their learning in new contexts.

Teacher Resources and Handouts for Elaborate section:

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Materials / Prep Work:

Depending on which elaborate activity chosen, students may need a variety of materials. See
each individual activity.

Lesson Elaborate section below:

1. Have students complete the “Vesuvius Quest – The Sleeping Volcano” project located at the
following link:
http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01096/
Teachers can choose different portions of this project or have students complete it in its entirety.
Also, students can add to the project to include more about the culture in Pompeii at the time of the
eruption.
This activity incorporates the following 6th grade social studies standards:
6.2A, B, 6.4C, 6.6A, C

2. Plate Tectonic Model (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Plate-Tectonics-

Model.doc)(activity adapted from NASA Astro-Venture Guide)

Students will work in groups to design a model for plate tectonics. They will need to accurately
represent the movement of the plates and correctly represent the layers of the Earth that are
involved in plate movement.
Once designs are complete, groups can present and demo their models.

“Note to Teacher: When developing this activity, it was envisioned that students would use a viscous
material such as Ooblick (1 part cornstarch and 1 part water) to represent the asthenosphere. The
model would be a plastic container with Ooblick poured in it. A piece of plastic (like a plastic lid or
something else that is bendable) could serve as the oceanic crust, and a thick piece of polystyrene
could serve as the continental crust. Students could use their hands or string to pull/push the
polystyrene and plastic together across the Ooblick to show the plastic (oceanic crust) go
underneath the polystyrene (continental crust). Encourage your students to be creative and use
questioning to lead them to the best choices possible for their design. Questions might include:
What do you know about the consistency of the asthenosphere? How viscous is the asthenosphere?
You might also suggest that students brainstorm possible substances and then evaluate the pros
and cons or each…”

Have students complete the Plate Tectonic Model page.

Evaluate
At some point, it is important that students receive feedback on the adequacy of their explanations.
Informal
evaluation can occur from the beginning of the teaching sequence. The teacher can complete a
formal evaluation
after the elaboration phase. This is the phase in which teachers administer formative or summative
evaluations to determine each student's level of understanding. This also is the important
opportunity for students to use the skills they have acquired and evaluate their own understanding.
At this point, the teacher also determines whether students have met the performance indicators.
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Teacher Resources and Handouts for Evaluate section:

Materials / Prep Work:
Materials depend on activity chosen

Lesson Evaluate section below

Evaluation occurs throughout all of the previous activities.

Other activities for evaluation might include:

1. Plate Tectonics Concentration Game – website below

http://glencoe.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/0078617499/student_view0/chapter4/interactive_tutor.html#

2. Plate Tectonics Pick your Points Projects (http://ecc.hmns.org/wp-

content/uploads/2011/10/Plate-Tectonics-Pick-Your-Points-Project.doc )– adapted from
http://sciencespot.net/Media/plateassign.pdf

Resources used in the creation of this lesson:

http://glencoe.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/0078617499/student_view0/chapter4/interactive_tutor.html#
http://sciencespot.net/Media/plateassign.pdf
http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01096/
http://mjksciteachingideas.com/pdf/PlateTecVocab.pdf
http://www.middleschoolscience.com/earth.htm
http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/teachers/pdf/AV-Geolesson-5.pdf
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/tectonics/#
http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/pdf/dinos_plate_tectonics.pdf

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