PLATE TECTONICS
DO NOW
 SWBAT create a concept map of plate tectonics terms as a pre-
assessment
Enter Silently
Grab Materials
Begin Do Now
1. Write in your planner for the week
2. Open your notebook to the front of page 17.
I DO (5 MIN)
 Topic: Earth
Front Page 17 Title: “How to Make a Concept Map”
1. Start with the main topic at the top
2. Link concepts using words to make a sentence
3. Use arrows to show direction of linking concepts
 What are some terms related to Earth?
 Rocks, Layers, Ect…
CONCEPT MAPS PRACTICE (5MIN) (WEATHERING)
(YOUDOWEDO)
 Front Page 17
 Using these terms, practice and create a concept map by connecting the concepts with a one-way arrow, and a
phrase to complete a sentence
Topic: Weathering
1. Mechanical
2. Chemical
3. Abrasion
4. Ice Wedging
5. Plant Root Growth
6. Pressure Release
7. Dissolving
8. Rusting
CONCEPT MAP PRE-DRAFT (20MIN)
Write theseterms on to your small sticky notes
Topic: Plate Tectonics
1.
Alfred Wegner
2.
Continental Drift
3.
Convection
4.
Tectonic Plates
5.
Plate Boundaries
6.
Continental
7.
Oceanic
8.
Sea floor spreading
9.
Fossils
10. Glacier Grooves
First
Create a Concept Map Individually on the
small paper
Second
Discuss in your group similarities and
differences in your map and try to fix
them.
Third
As a group, use what you discussed, and
create a concept map on the large paper.
11. Pangaea
12. Matching Rock Layers
(These will be used for a gallery walk)
GALLERY WALK
 Rotate clockwise around the room and look at each concept map
Note any similarities or differences
1. Did you forget something?
2. Did they forget something?
3. Do they have something different than your group?
4. Do they have something that’s the same?
DO NOW
1. Which layer of the Earth is
the most dense? Explain.
2.What layer of the Earth
Is divided into an upper, cooler, more
rigid rock and a lower, hotter, softer
rock?
THE EARTH IS MADE OF LAYERS
Copy Notebook BACK OF PAGE 17
Crust
Mantle
Outer Core
Inner Core
LAYERS OF THE EARTH
 Lithosphere
-Together the crust and upper mantle are called
the lithosphere and they extend about 80 km deep.
 Asthenosphere
-The asthenosphere is flexible and can be pushed
and deformed like silly putty in response to the
warmth of the Earth. These rocks actually flow, moving in
response to the stresses placed upon them by the churning
motions of the deep interior of the Earth. (convection)
BOOK CHECK OUT
Changing Earth Books
1. Take a book, fill out the information on the sheet as it gets passed around the room
2. The book number is on the yellow tag.
3. Individually work on your plate tectonics concept map
 Keep these books in good condition, I am going to email home that you are receiving these books.
 They’re to be kept at home, and used for homework assignments
EXIT TICKET
1. Which layer of the Earth has a upper part of cool, more rigid rock and a lower part
of hotter more flexible rock?
2. What layers of the Earth is the Lithosphere comprised of?
3. What layers of the Earth is the Asthenosphere made of?
4. What part of the Earth churns, flows, and moves because of the heat coming from
the core in a processes called convection?
DO NOW
 SWBAT describe evidence of Alfred Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift
1. Alfred Wegener, a German scientist proposed that all of the continents on Earth were once joined
together in a massive supercontinent called Pangaea. Observe the map above. What evidence, or
inferences could you make to support Alfred Wegener’s claim?
CLASS CLOSE READ
 Highlight
 Annotate what you think as you go through it
1. What are some examples of scientific changes that you have noticed in
the past few years?
2. Can new scientific ideas come from old observations or evidence? Why or
why not?
Scientific changes also involve developing new theories to explain observations or reinterpret old
evidence.The facts may not change, but the explanation does.
EVIDENCE JIGSAW
This is the evidence that Alfred Wegener gathered, as well as a couple of
new pieces of evidence that was later added to the theory in the mid-1900’s
to further support continental drift.
Individually, close read the section of article your group is assigned
1. Highlight important details and information about the section you are assigned.
2. Make annotations about things that come to mind when reading
CREATE A POSTER TO PRESENT
With your group, and using the article
Create a poster about your section of evidence to present to the class, using this framework
Evidence
Details
Picture
(what is the evidence)
(What are the details of
the evidence?)
Draw a picture of the
Evidence
PRESENTATION NORMS
Listener:
 Be Respectful
 Listen Actively
 Be Supportive
 Fill in your chart for your notes
Presenter:
 Speak at a 5
 Speak Clearly
 Use scholarly vocabulary
 Address the topic completely
MY CHART
 FRONT OF PAGE 18
 Make sure your chart looks like this and has this information on it
EXIT TICKET
1. Who is credited with the theory of continental drift?
2. According to the theory of continental drift,
a) Earth’s surface is made up of 7 different land masses
b) Continents don’t move
c) Earth was once joined with the moon to make a super planet
d) The continents were once joined together in a single landmass called
Pangaea
3. What 6 pieces of evidence is there that proves that tectonic plates have
drifted apart?
DO NOW
SWBAT identify and describe evidence for continental drift
1. Who is credited with the theory of continental drift?
2. According to the theory of continental drift,
a)
Earth’s surface is made up of 7 different land masses
b) Continents don’t move
c)
Earth was once joined with the moon to make a super planet
d) The continents were once joined together in a single landmass called Pangaea
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbU809Cyrao
PRESENTATION NORMS
Listener:
 Be Respectful
 Listen Actively
 Be Supportive
 Fill in your chart for your notes
Presenter:
 Speak at a 5
 Speak Clearly
 Use scholarly vocabulary
 Address the topic completely
MY CHART
 FRONT OF PAGE 18
 Make sure your chart looks like this and has this information on it
LITHOSPHERIC PLATES NOTES
BACK OF PAGE 18
TECTONIC PLATE VS. CONTINENT
 Notice that the
African plate extends
out of the continent
and into the ocean.
 The continent itself
only makes about half
of the plate.
PREDICT
 Make a prediction
 Predict the names of each of the plates on your map.
 Write the name down for each of the plates
LABEL AND COLOR EACH PLATE
Use the Earth’s Lithospheric Plates Map and Page 19 of the
book to color and label some of the Earth’s most important
tectonic plates
 Label
 Color
EXIT TICKET
1. What 6 pieces of evidence is
there that proves that tectonic
plates have drifted apart?
2. What is the name of the plate
that is pushing to the right
(light blue) into the South
American Plate.
DO NOW
1. What 6 pieces of evidence is
there that proves that tectonic
plates have drifted apart?
2. What is the name of the plate
that is pushing to the right
(light blue) into the South
American Plate.
CONCEPT MAP PRE-DRAFT (10MIN)
Write these terms to create your concept maps
Topic: Plate Tectonics
1.
Alfred Wegner
2.
Continental Drift
3.
Convection
4.
Tectonic Plates
5.
Plate Boundaries
6.
Continental
7.
Oceanic
8.
Sea floor spreading
9.
Fossils
10. Glacier Grooves
First
Create a Concept Map Individually on the
small paper
Second
Discuss in your group similarities and
differences in your map and try to fix
them.
Third
As a group, use what you discussed, and
create a concept map on the large paper.
11. Pangaea
12. Matching Rock Layers
(These will be used for a gallery walk)
GALLERY WALK
1. What concepts do you need to study?
EXIT TICKET
1. How do fossils support Wegener Continental Drift Theory?
2. How do glacier grooves support Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory?
3. Which type of lithospheric plate is more dense, oceanic or continental?
(MINI QUIZ MON)
SWBAT demonstrate their understanding of continental drift theory.
Enter Silently
Grab Materials
Begin Do Now
1. Explain continental drift theory as if you were explaining it to a 1st grader
Continents drift apart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhkyXrWNoVA
NUMBERED HEADS
Numbered heads together
1,2,3
A,B,C
1. What is Pangaea, and what
happened to it?
2. What evidence is there for
continental drift?
PANGAEA PUZZLE (5 MIN)
 Puzzle contest
 Groups of 3 (put the books up as barriers in between)
 Look at the World map as it is today
 Put the puzzle together by using the evidence from page 17 of your
notebook
 “Cover it up-” or “no-”
NAMES OF PLATES (EACH OF YOU GET 3 MINUTES)
Sage and scribe study
 With your partner across from you:
1. Person with longest hair goes first.
2. Look at the map of the tectonic plates and name as many as you can.
3. Other partner, you can help coach- but do not tell answers
4. Celebrate your partner
Switch sage and scribe at the buzzer.
QUIZ (15 MIN)
 Turn in quiz in the back basket
DO NOW (TUES)
 SWBAT describe the difference between divergent,
convergent, and transform plate boundaries
Enter Silently
Grab Materials
Begin Do Now
 Alfred Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift was
rejected because he didn’t have evidence to explain
how the continents drifted apart from each other.
1. Describe how do tectonic plates move as if you were
telling a first grader.
HOW DO THE PLATES MOVE?

The lithosphere is made up of these giant slabs of rock called tectonic plates that “float” on top of the asthenosphere.

Convection is the transfer of energy by the movement of fluids

Convection occurs in the Asthenosphere

Heated rock rises, then cools and starts to sink
https://youtu.be/ryrXAGY1dmE
1. If convection is a way for heat to transfer,
where is the heat coming from to make
the asthenosphere rise and fall?
DO NOW
1. This is a picture of San
Francisco after an
Earthquake in 1906.
How do you think
Earthquakes like this
one happen?
NUMBERED
HEADS
TOGETHER
 What direction do
the convection
currents move to
create a ridge?
 In what direction
do the plates move
as a result?
PLATE BOUNDARIES
TYPES OF LITHOSPHERIC PLATE BOUNDARIES
Boundary Type
Divergent – plates
move away
(separate)
Results
 Rift Valleys (Africa)
 Ocean Ridges – Sea floor spreading
(Mid-Atlantic Ridge)
 New Crust
Convergent – plates  Volcanoes (Ring of Fire)
move together
 Builds mountains (Himalayas)
(collide)
 Plates shrink
 Creates trenches
Subduction - one plate is pushed into the
mantle where it melts.
Transform – plates
move side by side
 Earthquakes (California)
Epicenter – beginning above ground
Focus – beginning underground
 Faults (San Andreas)
Picture
BOUNDARY DANCE
3 types of boundaries
 Divergent- spread apart
 Convergent- come together
 Transform- slide
Convection review- motion, what types of boundaries occur (how
convection currents create these boundaries) (hand dance)
PLATE BOUNDARIES WORKSHEET (EXTREME 8?)
 Books
EXIT TICKET
1. What process causes tectonic plates to move?
2. What are the three types of plate boundaries?
3. How are the plate boundaries which collide, slide, and
separate related to the motion of convection currents?
DO NOW ( FRI DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES RESULTS)
 SWBAT describe the results
of a divergent boundary
 What type of boundary is shown in the diagram above.
VIDEO OF ICELAND DIVERGENT BOUNDARY
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgDM6m0lUGY
DIVERGENT BOUNDARY
Definition
Place where 2
plates are being
forced apart by
convection
Creates new
crust
Convection Direction
Plate Direction
EAST AFRICAN RIFT VALLEY
(RESULTING LAND FORMS)
 2 continental plates
 Land is pulling apart
 Lakes are filled by rain
water and run-off
 Volcanoes caused by
thinning crust
 East African Rift Valley will
split
MID-OCEANIC RIDGES (RESULTING
LAND FORMS )
 2 oceanic plates  
 Large chain of volcanoes
 Plates are separating
 Iceland is the only place on land
page 18.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Add the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge and the East African
Rift Valley as shown below
East African
Rift Valley
BOARDS UP
 Kagan strategy
 Numbered heads together?
WHICH LETTER IS THE DIVERGENT BOUNDARY
WHAT LANDFORM IS THE RESULT OF THE DIVERGENT BOUNDARY
IN THE DIAGRAM
WHAT IS THE PROCESS CALLED AT THE MID-OCEANIC RIDGE THAT IS
CAUSING NEW CRUST TO BE MADE SPREADING THE OCEANIC PLATE
APART?
WHAT IS HAPPENING AT LETTER E?
EXIT TICKET
 Fill in the “ACTUAL BOUNDARY” portion for
Djibouti (E. African Rift Valley) and the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge with this information.
1.
type of boundary,
2.
resulting landforms,
3.
plate movement,
4.
types of plates involved
5.
how convection currents are moving
DO NOW (MON) SEA FLOOR SPREADING CLOSE READ AND MAG
REVERSALS
1. What is a plate boundary?
2. What is the first type of plate boundary we learned about?
3. Describe the plate movement and what two types of landforms it
creates.
THINK-WRITE-PAIR-SHARE

Sea floor spreading video
1. How did Harry Hess map the sea floor?
2. How did scientists discover the Mid-Atlantic ridge?
3. What kind of boundary is a mid-oceanic ridge, and what types of tectonic plates
are involved?
4. How is the age of the sea floor related to how far or close it is to the midoceanic ridge?
5. If new rock is being created at the mid-oceanic ridge, why does the Earth not get
larger?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ctk4KR-KU
SEA FLOOR SPREADING CLOSE READ
(choice options to read)
1. Highlight definitions (4-5)
2. Highlight important facts in a different color (5)
3. Answer questions on back- cite where you found the evidence in the
article by writing the question number next to the sentence where you
found the answer
MAGNETIC REVERSALS AND AGES OF ROCKS
New oceanic
crust at midoceanic ridge
Old oceanic crust is in a
subduction zone under
the continental plate
Magnetic reversals show that rocks on each side of the ridge are created at
the same time because the magnetic poles in the rocks match.
EXIT TICKET
1. What type of plate boundary would you find at a mid-oceanic ridge?
2. Draw the direction of the convection currents in the asthenosphere
at a mid-oceanic ridge (circles- which way are they going?)
3. The process that continually adds new material to the ocean floor is
called what?
4. How do magnetic reversals in rocks along mid-oceanic ridges
provide evidence for sea-floor spreading?
DO NOW (TUES- CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES)
Make a prediction:
 Fossils deposited in a deep sea 400 million years ago are now found on top of
Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Why are marine fossils at the
top of the tallest mountain in the world?
(subduction= TRENCH)
"The Summit of Mt. Everest is Marine Limestone"
The great nature writer John McPhee wrote about Mount Everest in his book Basin and
Range: "When the climbers in 1953 planted their flags on the highest mountain, they set them in
snow over the skeletons of creatures that had lived in the warm clear ocean that India, moving
north, blanked out.
Possibly as much as twenty thousand feet below the seafloor, the skeletal remains had
turned into rock.This one fact is a perfect example for the movements of the surface of the
Earth. If I had to limit all this writing to one sentence, this is the one I would choose: The summit
CONVERGENT BOUNDARY
Definition
Place where 2
plates are
colliding because
of convection
Convection Direction
Plate Direction
OCEAN VS. OCEAN
Ocean to
Ocean
Collision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYv6V5EJAKc
The older
oceanic plate
subducts (sinks
because it is
more dense)
and creates a
subduction
zone
Results
1. Trench
2. Islands
Examples
Marianas
Trench
MARIANAS TRENCH
I JUST ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT WHEN TWO
OCEANIC PLATES MEET AT A CONVERGENT
BOUNDARY AND THE OLDER OCEAN PLATE
SUBDUCTS UNDER THE NEWER OCEAN
PLATE TO MAKE A TRENCH
OCEANIC VS. CONTINENTAL
Ocean to
Continent
Collision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgPy_bXNA-Y
Ocean V. Continent
Oceanic
plate
subducts
under the
continental
plate
Results
1. Trench
2. Coastal
Mountains
Examples:
Andes
Mountians
CONTINENTAL VS. CONTINENTAL
Continent
to
Continent
Collision
Both plates
collide and
begin to rise
Results
1. Folded
Mountains
Example:
Himalayas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0lTfJDiZsw
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/plate-tectonics
Exit Ticket
T-W-P-S
A
B
C
H
G
F
D
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
E
In the Diagram above, which letters represent the convergent boundaries?
Draw the direction of the convection currents at a convergent boundary.
In the Diagram above, which letters represent a subduction zone?
What two types of plates converge to create a volcanic island?
What two types of plates converge to create a Trench?
What two types of plates converge to create a coastal mountain?
What two types of plates converge to create folded mountains like the Himalayas?
EXIT TICKET
 Fill in the “ACTUAL BOUNDARY” portion for
Himalayas and the Marianas Trench with this
information.
1. What type of boundary?
2. What is the resulting landform?
3. How are the plates moving?
4. What types of plates are involved?
5. How are convection currents in the asthenosphere
moving?
DO NOW
A
C
B
H
G
F
D
E
1. In the Diagram above, which letters represent the divergent boundary?
2. In the Diagram above, which letters represent the convergent boundaries?
3. Pick one of the Following to answer:
a. How is a Rift Valley Formed?
b. How is a island formed?
c. How are the Himalayas currently forming?
d. How did the Marianas Trench Form?
TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES
NUMBERED HEADS TOGETHER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhPpp7As8k8
1. Earthquakes shake and crumble buildings, but what else were the residents of San
Francisco unprepared for that caused a lot of damage?
2. What type of plate boundary is the San Andreas fault line?
3. What type of fault is the San Andreas Fault?
4. Why is it important to understand tectonic plate boundaries like the one that occurs
at the San Andreas Fault?
TRANSFORM BOUNDARY
Definition
Place where 2
plates slip past
each other in
opposite
directions
Convection Direction
Plate Direction
RESULTS
Transform Faults and Earthquakes
are the results of Transform
Boundaries
WHAT TYPE OF BOUNDARY CREATED THE EARTHQUAKE?
The 2011 Japan Tsunami Was Caused By Largest Fault Slip Ever Recorded
Experts calculate the fault—or the boundary between two tectonic plates—in the Japan
trench slipped by as much as 164 feet (50 meters). Other similarly large magnitude earthquakes,
including the 9.1 Sumatra event in 2004, resulted in a 66-to-82 foot (20-to-25 meter) slip in the fault.
"We've never seen 50-meter [slips]," said Kelin Wang, a geophysicist with the Geological Survey of
Canada in British Columbia.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
 Due at the end of class today
EXIT TICKET
 Fill in the “ACTUAL BOUNDARY” portion for the remainder
of the Extreme 7. (if you do not have room, complete this on a
separate sheet of paper and tape it into your notebook on the
back of page 19)
1. What type of boundary?
2. What is the resulting landform?
3. How are the plates moving?
4. What types of plates are involved?
5. How are convection currents in the asthenosphere moving?
DO NOW
A
B
C
H
G
F
D
E
1. In the Diagram above, which letter represents the transform boundary?
2. What is the resulting feature of the transform boundary in the diagram?
3. If the two plates at the transform boundary were to slip past each other what event would
occur?
E
D
C
T-P-S
1. Which letter is a rift valley?
B
A
BOUNDARIES WORD SORT (T-W-P-S)
Match each concept or vocabulary term with the type of boundary it is
associated with
1. Think/ Write- Individual
2. Pair- With person across from you
3. Share- Class (cold call)
CHOICE CLOSURE (INDIVIDUAL)
1. Draw and label a plate boundary of your choice (POSTER)
OR
2. Write a paragraph about one type of plate boundary
 What type of boundary is it? (di/con/tran)
 Landforms that form at the boundary
 Types of plates (continental / oceanic)
 Plate movement
 Convection movement in the asthenosphere
 Explain why your boundary happens and how the landforms are forming.
DIAGRAM POSTER (ACC THREES)
Create a poster by making a Diagram and labeling the following information on it:
A Divergent Boundary
 Definition, convection
direction, and plate direction
 Mid-oceanic ridge
 Rift valley
 Label the types of plates
involved
(oceanic/continental)
 Name an example of each
landform
 An explanation of Sea-Floor
Spreading and Magnetic
reversals
Convergent Boundary
 Definition, convection
direction, and plate direction
 Subduction zone
 Volcanic islands
 Trench
 Coastal Mountains
 Label the types of plates
involved in each
(oceanic/continental)
 Name an example of each
landform
Transform Boundary
 Definition, convection
direction, and plate
direction
 Transform Fault
 Label the types of plates
involved
(oceanic/continental)
 Name an example
DO NOW (QUIZ DAY)
 What causes the motion of the lithosphere, and how does it
work?
TEST
 Chance to reach class goal
 Try your best
 Turn the test into the back basket when you finish
PLATE BOUNDARIES LAB?
 Demonstrate different plate boundaries
 What do you think each type makes?