Science Lesson Plan #2:
Physical Geology: Changes in Earth's Surface
5th Grade
Two (50) minute class periods
I. Rationale: This lesson is important because students need to know that the world is
changing all around them. They also need to know the causes of those changes. We are
all affected by these changes whether it is earthquakes, volcanoes, or mountain ranges.
Where we live is also affected by how the earth’s plates move and what physical features
are created.
II. Goals:
• To learn about earthquakes and their causes
• To learn about different kinds of volcanoes
III.Objectives:
• Students will be able to identify the causes of earthquakes and volcanoes.
• Students will be able to distinguish between the different types of volcanoes.
IV.QCC's
28 - Recognizes that changes that occur on the Earth's surface (earthquakes,
volcanoes and erosion) are a result of forces acting upon it. Describes examples of
changes in the environment that are the result of wind and water forces. Describes how
the movement of molten rock affects features such as faults and volcanoes.
National Science Standards for Fifth Grade:
CONTENT STANDARD G:
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop
understanding of
o
o
o
Science as a human endeavor
Nature of science
History of science
V. Content:
Volcanoes
The term Volcano has two definitions;
1.An opening in the crust of the Earth in which molten rock called magma and gases can
escape to the surface.
2. The mountain that is formed from volcanic eruptions.
Volcanoes actually build themselves into a mountain with repeated eruptions. During the
next eight years the volcano did not grow much taller but the cone's base grew wider and
wider (Light gray). Paricutin stopped erupting in 1952 almost as fast as it started. The
mountain has been silent since.
Volcanoes can build themselves into high mountains one day and in the case of Mt. St.
Helens erupt violently blowing their top off the next day. Mt. St. Helens lost over 1300
feet of its summit during the eruption and simultaneous landslide of 1980.
Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant, and extinct. Active volcanoes are either
currently erupting or have erupted in recorded history. There are over 500 volcanoes on
Earth that fit this category today. Dormant or resting volcanoes are not currently erupting
but are considered likely to do so. Mt. St. Helens had been dormant for one hundred
twenty-three years before it erupted in 1980. Extinct or dead volcanoes have not erupted
in recorded history and are not expected to erupt again.
There are three ways that volcanoes form. Subduction Zone volcanoes form at the
boundaries of two plates, one overriding the other. Subduction zone volcanoes are the
most violent and destructive of the volcanic types. Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Pinatubo,
Krakatoa, and Mt. Vesuvius are all famous explosive subduction zone volcanoes. Midocean rift volcanoes form where two oceanic plates are spreading apart. There are more
rift zone volcanoes than any other type.
These mid-ocean or rift zone volcanoes are the world's longest continuous mountain
chain. This mountain chain encircles the entire Earth. It is more than 40,000 miles long.
The third way that volcanoes form occurs at a Hot Spot. Hot spots are usually found
under oceanic crust, but can be located under continental crust. You will learn more about
Hot Spot volcanoes in the lesson "Hot Spots-Yellowstone and Hawaii".
Geologists generally group volcanoes into four main kinds--cinder cones, composite
volcanoes, shield volcanoes, and lava domes.
Cinder cones are the simplest type of volcano. They are built from particles and blobs of
congealed lava ejected from a single vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently into
the air, it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as cinders around the vent to
form a circular or oval cone. Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit
and rarely rise more than a thousand feet or so above their surroundings. Cinder cones are
numerous in western North America as well as throughout other volcanic terrains of the
world.
Some of the Earth's grandest mountains are composite volcanoes--sometimes called
stratovolcanoes. They are typically steep-sided, symmetrical cones of large dimension
built of alternating layers of lava flows, volcanic ash, cinders, blocks, and bombs and
may rise as much as 8,000 feet above their bases. Some of the most conspicuous and
beautiful mountains in the world are composite volcanoes, including Mount Fuji in Japan,
Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador, Mount Shasta in California, Mount Hood in Oregon, and
Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier in Washington.
Most composite volcanoes have a crater at the summit, which contains a central vent or a
clustered group of vents. Lavas either flow through breaks in the crater wall or issue from
fissures on the flanks of the cone. Lava, solidified within the fissures, forms dikes that act
as ribs which greatly strengthen the cone.
The essential feature of a composite volcano is a conduit system through which magma
from a reservoir deep in the Earth's crust rises to the surface. The volcano is built up by
the accumulation of material erupted through the conduit and increases in size as lava,
cinders, ash, etc., are added to its slopes.
Shield volcanoes, the third type of volcano, are built almost entirely of fluid lava flows.
Flow after flow pours out in all directions from a central summit vent, or group of vents,
building a broad, gently sloping cone of flat, domical shape, with a profile much like that
of a warrior's shield. They are built up slowly by the accretion of thousands of highly
fluid lava flows called basalt lava that spread widely over great distances, and then cool
as thin, gently dipping sheets. Some of the largest volcanoes in the world are shield
volcanoes. In northern California and Oregon, many shield volcanoes have diameters of 3
or 4 miles and heights of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The Hawaiian Islands are composed of
linear chains of these volcanoes. Two of these are the world's most active volcanoes.
Earthquakes:
The biggest scientific breakthrough in the history of seismology -- the study of
earthquakes -- came in the middle of the 20th century, with the development of the
theory of plate tectonics. Scientists proposed the idea of plate tectonics to explain
a number of peculiar phenomenons on earth, such as the apparent movement of
continents over time, the clustering of volcanic activity in certain areas and the
presence of huge ridges at the bottom of the ocean.
The basic theory is that the surface layer of the earth -- the lithosphere -- is
comprised of many plates that slide over the lubricating athenosphere layer. At
the boundaries between these huge plates of soil and rock, three different things can
happen:
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Plates can move apart - If two plates are moving apart from each other,
hot, molten rock flows up from the layers of mantle below the lithosphere.
This magma comes out on the surface (mostly at the bottom of the ocean),
where it is called lava. As the lava cools, it hardens to form new lithosphere
material, filling in the gap. This is called a divergent plate boundary.
Plates can push together - If the two plates are moving toward each other,
one plate typically pushes under the other one. This subducting plate sinks
into the lower mantle layers, where it melts. At some boundaries where two
plates meet, neither plate is in a position to subduct under the other, so they
both push against each other to form mountains. The lines where plates push
toward each other are called convergent plate boundaries.
Plates slide against each other - At other boundaries, plates simply slide
by each other -- one moves north and one moves south, for example. While
the plates don't drift directly into each other at these transform
boundaries, they are pushed tightly together. A great deal of tension builds
at the boundary.
Where these plates meet, you'll find faults -- breaks in the earth's crust where the
blocks of rock on each side are moving in different directions. Earthquakes are much
more common along fault lines than they are anywhere else on the planet.
VI. Materials:
* Handouts including the “content” section in note form.
* Internet access
* white drawing paper
* markers
*
VII.Procedures:
1. Anticipatory Set: The teacher tells the following story to the class:
In 1943 a farmer in Mexico noticed that some cracks (fissures) in his
cornfield were growing wider and wider. The next day his field was
engulfed by a growing volcanic cone (Light Green). During the week the
cone grew 500 feet taller (Dark Green). Within a year (Dark Gray)
Paricutin was over 1200 feet higher than the surrounding landscape.
2. The teacher then asks the class if they think this is a true story.
3. The students are informed that it is, in fact, a true story.
4. The teacher explains that a volcano had formed very quickly.
5. Teacher asks students if anyone knows how volcanoes are formed,
scientifically speaking.
6. Teacher reactivates students’ prior knowledge from first science lesson by
probing the students for the types of faults.
7. After a brief recap of faults, teacher passes out notes on volcanoes and
earthquakes.
8. Class then goes over notes.
9. Teacher asks two volunteers to pass out white drawing paper and markers.
10. As students pass out materials, the teacher explains the activity:
Each student is to draw the three types of faults. Under each drawing,
student is to name the type of fault and the formation that is produced.
Extension of activity: If some students finish the drawings early, they are to
search the internet for pictures of volcanoes or earthquakes. After the entire
class has finished the drawings, those students who found pictures may print them
out to show the class.
11. After the activity is completed, the teacher will ask students to take out a sheet
of paper and put away their notes. [The teacher will inform the class that this
is NOT a pop-quiz. This will lower student anxiety.]
12. The teacher will then tell the students to write down the three types of faults
and what formations are created by each one. After the students are finished, a
student volunteer will take them up.
Closure: Students will turn to a partner and discuss their answers. If the pair
cannot name the faults or their formations, they may confer with another group.
The class will have a brief discussion over what the students have learned.
VIII. Evaluation:
Formal: The drawings that are handed in will be used for a daily grade.
The “quizzes” will be part of their class participation grade.
Informal: Teacher observation.