Volcano Lessons
Students will have a blast with hands on lessons related to volcanoes.
By Jennifer Sinsel
“Pacific submarine volcano issues 'big burp'?! "Volcano blasts terror in Central and South America?.” “Giant ash cloud threatens flights in Pacific?.” Headlines like these can be found on any given day in world news reports, and they can easily be used as a springboard for a unit on volcanoes.
The four main types of volcanoes are cinder cone, composite, shield, and lava dome. Cinder cones are built from blobs of lava ejected from a single vent. These blobs eventually form a cone-shaped volcano with a crater in the middle. Composite volcanoes often erupt explosively and consist of alternating rock and lava fragments. Shield volcanoes have broad, sloping sides and form when many layers of runny lava build up over time. Lava domes form when thick lava erupts slowly and hardens over the vent instead of flowing away. Students can do research on these types of volcanoes and present their findings to the class. They can also investigate recent volcanic activity, reasons volcanoes erupt, and ways to keep people safe during volcanic eruptions.
For a hands-on way to investigate how volcanoes form, give small teams of students some Play-doh (four different colors), vinegar, baking soda, a paper cup, a cardboard sheet, several clear straws, a marker, a plastic spoon, and a graduated cylinder. Then ask them to complete the following procedure:
1. Cut the paper cup so it is only about an inch high. Place it in the middle of your cardboard sheet.
2. Scoop one spoonful of baking soda into the cup and add 20 ml of vinegar. You have just created a volcanic eruption!
3. Watch the “lava” spill over the edges of the cup. When the eruption is over, draw a line around the edge of the “lava”. Wipe up the excess with a paper towel.
4. Spread one color of Play-doh over the cardboard in the space left by the lava.
5. Repeat the eruption three more times, each time marking where the lava reaches and spreading a different color of Play-doh over the cardboard. Some of your Play-doh will form layers over previous eruptions. The more “eruptions” you create, the bigger your volcano will be!
6. In order to understand when and how different eruptions occur, geologists take core samples of the surrounding area. Take a core sample of your eruptions by sticking clear straws into various locations around your cardboard. Pull out the straws and study the colored layers. Can you tell the order in which each eruption occurred? Draw pictures of your core samples.
7. Trade volcanoes with another group of students. Try to determine the order in which their eruptions occurred.
For more hands on ways to teach the topic of volcanoes, check out the following lesson plans.
Volcano Lesson Plans:
In this lesson students observe a volcanic eruption using a model. They measure, observe, and sketch a drawing of the eruption. Afterwards they complete a worksheet, and discuss how scientists models to predict and analyze eruptions.
Dark Skies: Volcanic Contribution to Climate Change
This lesson has students analyze the link between volcanic eruptions and the climate. They hear first-hand accounts of people who experienced volcanic eruptions. They show how eruptions effect the environment, and create a graph.
In this lesson students create model volcanoes. There is something for students in any grade level, and the models can be made to fit within a class budget.