Dale Rothermel
Earth Science Lesson Plan: Plate Tectonics
Grade 5
Standards:
3.3.5.A3: Explain how geological processes observed today such as erosion, movement
of lithospheric plates, and changes in the composition of the atmosphere are similar to
those in the past.
S4.A.3.2.2: Use models to make observations to explain how systems work (e.g., water
cycle, Sun-Earth-Moon system).
Objective:
Students will be able to draw and label pictures of the different types of plate tectonic
movement: convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries after engaging in a hands-on
simulation and a class discussion about plate tectonics.
Materials:
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Pictures of mountains, faults, ocean floor, islands, etc. to show on overhead or
Smart Board
Icing
Graham Crackers
Fruit Roll-Ups
Wax Paper
Cups of water
Science notebooks
Pencils
Beginning (*Engage)
Set the stage for the lesson
 Show pictures of mountains, faults, islands, other land forms.
 The class will have been learning a little bit about plate tectonics prior to this
lesson. They will have learned that the earth’s surface is made up of the
lithosphere which is broken into plates. The ocean plates are thin and dense, and
the continental plates are thick and less dense. These plates float atop the
asthenosphere, which a hot, viscous layer of magma which moves around and
pushes the plates. Pose the questions: “How do you think these land formations
are created?”
Middle (*Explore)
 Have students take out their science notebooks. Ask them to write a hypothesis of
how they think these land forms are created.
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Students will work in pairs for this lesson. Hand out materials to each pair.
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Have lots of resources available
o Students should draw pictures, label, and take notes as they observe what
happens during each demonstration of plate tectonic movement.
o Students are to write down if the observations supported their hypotheses
or not.
o Start out by telling students that as a class, you will be demonstrating what
happens when the plates that make up the earth’s surface move around.
o First, students will participate in a demonstration of divergent plate
boundaries. Do not tell students what divergent boundaries are, but write
the word “divergent” on the board.
 Tell students to start out by spreading out the icing on their wax
paper. Next, they should place the fruit roll ups next to each other
on top of the icing. Ask questions to check for prior understanding.
Questions may include: “What do you think the icing represents?”
(This is called the asthenosphere. It is the layer of magma that is
underneath the earth’s plates. It is about the texture of icing-not
quite solid, not liquid. Write this word on the board) “What do you
think the fruit roll up represents?” (This represents the ocean
floor.) Students should be instructed to push down a little bit on the
fruit roll ups. This is because the ocean plates are dense.
 Next, instruct students to pull the fruit roll ups away from each
other, while pushing down slightly on the icing.
 Ask students what they observe (they should see the icing coming
up between the fruit roll-ups as they are pulled apart). Ask
students, “What do you think happens on the ocean floor when the
ocean plates are pushed apart from each other? If students are
unable to answer, scaffold them with questions such as, “What
happens when icing is left out? Does it harder eventually?” (New
ocean floor is created after the asthenosphere cools and hardens.
This can also result in the formation of islands.)
 Ask a student to describe what they observed. Give students time
to draw and label what they observed.
o Next, the class will do a demonstration of convergent boundaries.
 Tell students to take one of the fruit roll-ups off the frosting. They
can eat it if they want. They should place a graham cracker on the
frosting where the fruit roll-up was.
 Tell students they will now see what happens at a subduction zone,
which is a type of convergent boundary. The graham cracker
represents the continental crust, and the fruit roll-up represents the
ocean crust. Tell them the ocean crust is denser than the
continental crust. Ask the question “What do you think happens
when continental crust is pushed into the ocean crust?”
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Tell students to push the graham cracker and the fruit roll-up
toward each other. Observe what happens. Ask for a volunteer to
describe what they saw. (The graham cracker should push over top
of the fruit roll-up. Tell students that this is one way that
mountains are formed).
o Now, students will observe what happens when two continental crusts
collide. This is another type of convergent boundary.
 Instruct students to remove the remaining fruit roll-up.
 Next, students should dip 2 graham crackers about halfway into the
water for a couple seconds, not until the graham cracker
disintegrates.
 Students should gently place graham crackers on the icing. They
should not push hard, because continental crust is light and floats
on top of the asthenosphere.
 Instruct students to push the graham crackers together and observe
what happens. (Graham crackers should push upwards to simulate
mountain formation. This is the way that large mountains are
formed. Can anyone name the largest mountain in the world? Mt.
Everest was formed by a convergent boundary between two
continental plates).
o Finally, students should take two new graham crackers and press them
together. Then they should slide them past each other.
 This is called a transform boundary, when two plates move
horizontally past each other. Ask, “What do you think happens
when this type of movement occurs?” (earthquakes, faults)
Ending (*Explain, Elaborate)
 Ask students what they observed. What happened during each demonstration? Is
it what they expected? How were the different formations made? Is this a new
phenomenon? How long have the tectonic plates been shifting?
 The teacher should initiate a class discussion of what students first hypothesized,
and if the demonstrations supported these hypotheses or not.
*Evaluation
 Science notebooks will be collected for evaluation. Evaluation will be based on a
written hypothesis, as well as drawings, labels, and observations made.
 Formative assessment will also take place during the lesson. The teacher should
circulate around the classroom to observe the participation and understanding
displayed by students. The teacher should also take note of each student’s
participation in class discussions.
Differentiation
 Students who may be at risk for having trouble understanding the concepts
presented in this lesson should be paired with students who are more likely to
understand the concepts easily.
 For students who may already be familiar with this topic, allow them to elaborate
on explanations of the different types of tectonic movement during class
discussions.