Plate Tectonics: Movements Within the Earth
You and your team are a group of authors, scientists, and artists who have been
hired by a publishing company to write a book on plate tectonics. This book is
intended for use in grades 3 and 4. Therefore, it needs to be readily understood by
students at that level. The general theme of the book will be to show how
“continents” move based on the theory of plate tectonics. Your group will need to
indicate and explain changes that have occurred in Earth’s past, how Earth looks
today, and how Earth might look millions of years in the future. Since the book is
aimed at young children, it should have numerous drawings, maps, diagrams, and
other graphics that can be easily interpreted. Your drawings should be original (not
traced from someone else’s work) and accurate. They should include locations of the
continents and oceans, climatic zones, biomes (regions with specific types of plants
and animals, e.g., grasslands), landforms, and whatever else you feel is necessary for
a complete explanation. Your team will research these various areas and produce
global maps, figures, and diagrams that accurately reflect your findings.
Children at this age do not have a sophisticated vocabulary, so the text of your book
should be simple yet accurate. Your final product will be a book that contains your
text, drawings, and other important information that could be easily used by a
student at the elementary level.
General Guidelines for Book
Sections should include, but are not limited to, the following:
I. A story line that would cause the young student to wonder about the past, present,
and future.
II. The internal structure of Earth and how this relates to plate tectonics. Include the
major plates and their
locations.
III. The different types of plate boundaries and their associated landforms (e.g.,
volcanoes, mountains,
trenches, etc.).
IV. How the plates on Earth have moved over the past 250 million years and how
Earth has changed in
appearance as a consequence.
V. The different types of biomes found around the world today and the different
types of climates. You
should explain how these might change as the plates move.
VI. The impact of plate tectonics on human lives, property, costs, etc. around the
world.
VII. Predictions of how Earth might look millions of years in the future.
As you research plate tectonics you may discover many different kinds of drawings
and models. Your
challenge is to be accurate and creative in your design so that a young student is
able to understand your Plate
Tectonics book. Be sure to identify and label all parts of your drawings.
Teacher Rubric: HT211: Plate Tectonics
Scoring Criteria:
Criterion #1
Criterion #2
Criterion #3
GENERAL PRESENTATION
A) Student uses a book format with a definite story line that deals with plate
tectonics (i.e., not just a collection of scientific facts).
AND
B) Student provides illustrations that connect to the story.
AND
C) The story is appropriate for elementary children (i.e., does not read like a high
school textbook).
PLATE TECTONICS
Student meets Criteria 1A and 1B AND
A) Discusses/Illustrates how the plates have moved through time (i.e., how the
earth's surface has changed).
AND
B) Meets ONE of the following:
1) Names the plates or clearly illustrates plate boundaries (other than just
present boundaries of continents).
2) Discusses/Illustrates internal structure of the earth (i.e., core, mantle,
crust) and relates to plate tectonics (such as through convection currents
or magma sources).
3) Correctly discusses plate boundaries.
A) Student discusses climate change/biome shifts as a result of plate tectonics.
Must give two examples of biomes and relate these biomes to latitude or to
direction continent moved and original position of continent.
OR
B) Student discusses/illustrates at least one plate boundary and related relative
motion at the boundary to landforms, such as volcanoes, mountain ranges, island
arcs, trenches, rifts, etc.
Criterion #4
A) Student discusses the impact of plate tectonics on human beings (such as
property damage, loss of lives, etc.).
OR
B) Student predicts future earth changes due to plate tectonics (or states why
predictions cannot be made).