3rd Grade Earth Movements
Content Standard IV: Earth
Essential Learnings:
What do students need to know and be able to do?
Big Ideas:
1. Experimental Design (observations, question, hypothesis and
design)
Students will…..
2. Scientific testing (conduct investigations, collect and organize
data)
Explore the Massive movements that are constantly shaping the Earth.
Learn how fossils/rocks provide evidence about the plants and animals and
clues to Earth’s history, structure, environment and geological activity.
3. Analysis and Conclusions (analysis trends, and conclusions)
4. Composition and structure of Earth
Construct Earth cross-sections to compare ocean and continental crusts.
Investigate Earth processes that lend support to the theories of continental
drift and plate tectonics.
Model ocean-floor spreading, plate subduction, magma convection
currents, volcanism, and earthquakes at plate boundaries.
Essential Vocabulary:
Continent
Mantle
Plate
Core
Mid Ocean Ridge
Ocean Floor Spreading
Trench
Subduction
Continental Crust
Plate Boundary
Fossil
Volcano
Convection
Continental Drift
Earthquake
How will we effectively teach to ensure students learn?
 Inquiry
 High Yielding Instructional Strategies embedded in each investigation below
Page 1 of 3 Earth Movements
Activity 1: Our
Earth
Essential Question:
What are the properties of
each layer of the Earth?
Activity 2: The Earth’s Crust
Activity 4: Convection Currents
Activity 3: Rock: Clues to the Past
Activity 5: Continents Adrift
Essential Questions:
Activity 6: Plates in Motion
What are the geographic features found in oceanic
and continental crust?
Essential Questions:
How do rocks provide scientists with clues about the
history and structure of the Earth?
Activity 7: OceanFloor Spreading
Activity 8:
Subduction
What causes convection currents?
What causes continents to move?
Activity 9: Building Mountains
Activity 10: A Model Volcano
Essential Question:
Activity 11: The Vibrating Earth
How do mountains form?
Activity 12: The Ring of Fire
Essential Questions:
How do mid-ocean ridges
form?
How do ocean trenches
form?
How do we know if students are learning?
Assessment:
Use Copy Masters section in the Delta Teacher’s manual
Page 2 of 3 Earth Movements
Essential Questions:
How does temperature affect a gas under pressure?
What causes volcanic eruptions?
What causes earthquakes?
Why do volcanoes and earthquakes occur at plate boundaries?
What will we do if students don’t learn or if they are already performing at or above grade level?
Science Extension opportunities provided in teachers manual
Reteaching Strategies
Suggested Time Frame:
19 sessions 45 minutes each
Scope and Sequence:
Students will only have personal experiences with earth movements and
composition of the Earth.
DRAFT 5/8/2009
Page 3 of 3 Earth Movements