Day One
40 minutes
Prepare the Learner:
(10 minutes)
Picture it brainstorming. Draw a picture of a volcano on the blackboard and write, where in the world will you find one of these? Have the students work independently or in pairs writing down as many locations they may know. Poll the classroom and write down the locations on the blackboard. Leave this on the board for later discussion with the class.
Ask if any students have ideas why the earths outer layer is constantly changing.
Lesson:
(20 minutes)
This lesson will teach the student about fault lines and boundaries where two separate tectonic plates meet, and why volcanoes are formed. Begin with a brief introduction of the theory of plate tectonics. Explain to the class that plate …show more content…
Instruct the students that convection currents in the asthenosphere travel to the surface of the Earth, where it breaks apart the plates at “spreading centers”, and as the plates separate the constantly streaming magma cools when it reaches the surface creating new ocean floor. Stress the fact that due in a large part to the volcanic activity, the new ocean floor moves away from the crests on both sides of the boundary. Further explain that when two tectonic plates are moving away from each other under the oceans it creates what is called a submarine rift valley, and the volcanic activity that is common in these areas sometimes create underwater volcanic cones. Be sure to note that divergent plate tectonics happen all along the mid-ocean ridge, and scientists have discovered many submarine rift valleys along the crests of large ridges found throughout the earths oceans. State to the class that when plate tectonics are a combination of continental crust and oceanic crust, they create continental rift valleys. Now show the video “The Great Rift Valley”. Then explain to the class that if a divergence boundary is under a continent, the continent will tear itself apart, creating a rift valley over land, and usually these long and narrow rift valleys measure hundreds of kilometers in length with relatively flat floors. Be sure to note that continental rift valleys are not as numerous as submarine rift valleys, but they still have sites of plate spreading. Expand by describing that the sides of continental rift valleys drop steeply, sometimes hundreds of meters, with steps and terraces formed along the floor away from the sides, and many contain deep lakes and volcanic cones on their
40 minutes
Prepare the Learner:
(10 minutes)
Picture it brainstorming. Draw a picture of a volcano on the blackboard and write, where in the world will you find one of these? Have the students work independently or in pairs writing down as many locations they may know. Poll the classroom and write down the locations on the blackboard. Leave this on the board for later discussion with the class.
Ask if any students have ideas why the earths outer layer is constantly changing.
Lesson:
(20 minutes)
This lesson will teach the student about fault lines and boundaries where two separate tectonic plates meet, and why volcanoes are formed. Begin with a brief introduction of the theory of plate tectonics. Explain to the class that plate …show more content…
Instruct the students that convection currents in the asthenosphere travel to the surface of the Earth, where it breaks apart the plates at “spreading centers”, and as the plates separate the constantly streaming magma cools when it reaches the surface creating new ocean floor. Stress the fact that due in a large part to the volcanic activity, the new ocean floor moves away from the crests on both sides of the boundary. Further explain that when two tectonic plates are moving away from each other under the oceans it creates what is called a submarine rift valley, and the volcanic activity that is common in these areas sometimes create underwater volcanic cones. Be sure to note that divergent plate tectonics happen all along the mid-ocean ridge, and scientists have discovered many submarine rift valleys along the crests of large ridges found throughout the earths oceans. State to the class that when plate tectonics are a combination of continental crust and oceanic crust, they create continental rift valleys. Now show the video “The Great Rift Valley”. Then explain to the class that if a divergence boundary is under a continent, the continent will tear itself apart, creating a rift valley over land, and usually these long and narrow rift valleys measure hundreds of kilometers in length with relatively flat floors. Be sure to note that continental rift valleys are not as numerous as submarine rift valleys, but they still have sites of plate spreading. Expand by describing that the sides of continental rift valleys drop steeply, sometimes hundreds of meters, with steps and terraces formed along the floor away from the sides, and many contain deep lakes and volcanic cones on their