Earth Surface Features Teacher Resources

Sixth graders follow in the footsteps of early scientists as they put the pieces of Pangaea back together and discovered the forces that create the variety of landforms and sea-floor features of our Earth.

In this tectonic plate worksheet, students learn about the movement of the plates that make up the earth's crust. They read about the Theory of Pangaea, lithosphere, divergence, convergence, and plate transformation. Students then answer...

In this landform review instructional activity, students use 17 provided terms to complete a paragraph about different landforms. After filling in the blanks, they name 4 kinds of mountains and provide examples of each.

Students use geological techniques such as plate tectonics, mountain building, earthquakes, and volcanoes, in order to explain the earth.

In this lesson, Google Earth Landforms, students research a landform that has been studied in class. Students explore Google Earth and record everything they find about their landform. Students have the opportunity to extend their...

In this plate tectonics worksheet, students answer questions about plate tectonics including topics such as the lithosphere, the asthenosphere, rising and sinking convection currents, continental drift and the types of boundaries.

After viewing a teacher-led demonstration on a variety of landforms of the Earth, 1st graders create an Earth book. This nicely-done hands-on lesson has students produce books that describe, in pictures and words, different aspects of...

Students practice throwing skills by rolling a ball at a target, and practice the location of the seven continents, the equator, and the northern and southern hemispheres.

Students study earthquakes, monitor seismic activity using the Web, and plot real-time activity. They examine movement of the Earth's tectonic plates. They create an earthquake preparedness project.

Students are introduced to the causes of plate movements and the hazards they present. They plot the location of 50 earthquakes and 50 volcanic eruptions on a map and explore the relationships between plate tectonics, earthquakes, and...

In this continents word search worksheet, students locate the names of the 7 continents, listed in the word bank, within the word search puzzle. Students fill in the blanks in 8 sentences with the appropriate continent names.

In this plate movement worksheet, students review the 3 types of plate boundaries and predict where plates will be as they continue moving along their current path. This worksheet has 2 short answer questions.

Fifth graders, in groups, create paper bag "globes", complete with magnetic poles. They use compasses to determine and label various locations (N. and S. Poles, Prime Meridian, Equator, etc.) and finish it by drawing in the continents...

Students use photo images from space to create a large map of the United States or the world, find where they live and label other places they know. They are exposed to a Web resource that allows them to view photo images of Earth taken...

Volcanoes are among the most spectacular geological features on the planet. Jump into an exploration of these amazing phenomenon with this multimedia instructional activity series. Working collaboratively in small groups, young...

Students watch a video about plate tectonics. in this Earth Science lesson, students watch a video clip from Bill Nye about Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics. They make a slight crack in a hard boiled egg and manipulate the egg to...

Students order the continents in terms of area, population and other geographic terms.

Students examine a variety of landforms that are found on the Earth and compare and contrast the distinguishing qualities of these forms. A topographical model of the landforms is made.

Young scholars investigate, identify and compare the various geographic terms that can be used to describe the landforms occurring in the Hawaiian islands.

Students research about earthquakes that took place within a certain distance from their place. In this geology lesson, students explain why earthquakes occur. They analyze patterns of different earthquakes using a computer program.

See the world as it was—and also how it will be! A riveting video from a vast biology and earth science playlist takes viewers back in time to see how supercontinents formed, broke apart, and formed again. The resource includes a sneak...

Students investigate magma flow using gelatin volcano models. In this earth science lesson, students sketch the magma bodies as observed from the top of their model. They explain why magma moves that way.

Students determine Earth's deepest trench, outline continents, major ocean mountains, and trenches on color-key map using Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils, identify oceans' geographic features, locate significant oceanic features around...

Readers use context to determine the meaning of words found in a short article about earthquakes and the movement of the earth's crust.