Unit Plan
Curated OER

Shaky New Zealand

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students explore geography by answering study questions in class. In this plate tectonics lesson, students identify the earthquake data concerning the country of New Zealand and answer questions regarding the data. Students identify...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquakes

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students take a closer look at earthquakes. For this earthquake lesson, students investigate the causes of Kashmir earthquake and the impact of the earthquake. Students also consider aid efforts in the aftermath of earthquakes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hawaiian Hot Spots

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discuss how plate tectonics and volcanic activity have affected Hawaii. In this Hawaiian lesson plan, students look at maps and photographs of Hawaiian Islands and discuss their formation through multiple volcanic eruptions....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Are We Falling Apart? Exploding Volcanoes

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students research and demonstrate volcanic activity. In this volcanism lesson, students research the types of volcanoes and define related terms using the Internet. They demonstrate volcanic activity with water, corn syrup, and flour.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Explorers

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study early explorers. For this World history lesson, 5th graders draw an outline of a map labeling each part, build geographical features out of dough, and paint each of the land and water features.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Distribution of Active Volcanoes Exercise

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students collect and plot data, then interpret the results and answer questions about the geologic causes and the human effects of volcanic eruption. They participate in a role-play activity and a virtual field trip, as well.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Model of Three Faults

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Pupils investigate faults. In this science lesson, students explore the many stresses and strains in the earth's layers and research the types of faults in their state.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonic - Volcanoes Post Lab

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders discover volcanoes that occur around the world. They identifying volcano parts.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Synthesizing Information from Texts about Natural Disasters: What Makes an Earthquake a Natural Disaster?

For Teachers 5th Standards
Are all disasters natural? Scholars reread Earthquakes! to determine what classifies these events as a natural disaster. They label earthquake facts as N for natural or D disaster to support their ideas. They then discuss academic...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Volcanoes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate the processes and characteristics of volcanoes. They watch real-life videos of volcanoes and identify the physical features and eruption types, create a notebook of volcano characteristics, and identify volcano...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Fuels (III), The Geology of Coal: Interpreting Geologic History

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students hypothesize about why various samples of coal have different characteristics. Pupils use information that they found during Internet searches to ascertain the validity of their hypotheses and verify the "story" of coal. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812: Shaking Our Misconceptions about Earthquakes in United States History

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students Examine how earthquakes work and what plate tectonics and fault lines are.  In this earthquake lesson plan students complete an earthquake scavenger hunt.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tic-Tac-Toe for Layers of the Earth

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the different layers of the earth. In this earth science lesson plan, 8th graders choose a project to do from a given list according to their learning style. They present their finished project in class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students identify the different layers of the Earth. In this earth science activity, students create a model of the crusts and continents. They explain how plates movement cause earthquakes and volcanoes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Deep is the Ocean

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students predict and then analyze the layout of the tectonic plates that form the ocean's floor using mapping skills and Inquiry based problem solving, They compare the depth of various regions in the ocean with the geologic age to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Day 4: Plate Tectonics II

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students explore the theory of plate tectonics. For this geology lesson, students conduct a simulation of the crust of the Earth floating on the mantle. Students research plate tectonics and share their findings with the class. Students...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Earthquakes: Fifth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers 5th
After learning about P waves and S waves, fifth graders view the intensity of earthquakes by examining seismographs and images of earthquake damage. Young scientists then forecasting future quakes by analyzing data about...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Spaghetti Fault Model

For Teachers 6th Standards
Does increasing the pressure between two moving plates provide a stabilizing force or create more destruction? The hands-on activity encourages exploration of strike-split fault models. The sixth activity in a 20-part series asks...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hawaiian Hot Spots

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students describe how plate tectonics contribute to the development of volcanoes. In this earth science lesson, students examine the map of Hawaii and explore the physical and biological environment there. They write a story about an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquake Depth

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars research and locate earthquake epicenters on a map using latitude and longitude. They determine if the depth of an earthquake has any relationship to the distance from a plate boundary.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Dynamic Earth

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use the Internet to investigate earthquakes and plate tectonics. In this plate tectonics lesson, students complete a web quest with multiple links and activity types relating to earthquakes and volcanoes. They connect the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Physical Geography of South Asia

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars describe the physical forces that formed and shaped the Himalaya, then discuss the physical geography of Mount Everest and how it influences the routes climbers take to the summit.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The 50 States and its Holidays

For Teachers Pre-K - Higher Ed
Though the format of this ELL activity 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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pangaea Puzzle

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students test evidence for the existence of Pangaea in the Earth's past. They create a current map of the Earth's continents and put them together like a puzzle. They compare this result to a a picture of the shape of Pangaea.