Organizing the Internet

I have always enjoyed the use of technology for classroom lessons. Students are always excited to do something different from the traditional day to day lesson. As I explored some online resources that would help me get students excited about the information, I chose to focus my lesson unit on plate tectonics. I found several very good interactive sites that would enhance the students' understanding of the concepts. This lesson unit would be completed with a sixth grade class and I hope to have the opportunity to carry it out at some point in my career.

The GLEC's and METS targeted for this unit include:

E.SE.06.51 - Explain plate tectonic movement and how the lithosphere plates move centimeters each year.

E.SE.06.52 - Demonstrate how major geological events (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mountain building) result from these plate motions.

E.SE.06.53 - Describe layers of the Earth as a lithosphere (crust and upper mantle), convecting mantle, and dense metallic core.

Basic Operations and Concepts #4 - Understand that new technology tools can be developed to do what could not be done without the use of technology.

Technology Productivity Tools #2 - Use a variety of technology resources, including the internet, to increase learning and productivity.

On my delicious site, you can see the resources I have chosen to complete this unit under the tab Plate Tectonics Unit.

This unit will be completed over a week time frame. The calendar below gives a brief overview of what will be covered on each day.



Day 1 of the unit covers the information about the layers of the earth with a heavy focus on the liquid convecting mantle. This layer of the earth is the main source for plate movement on the earth's surface. The website The Restless Earth: A Geologic Primer provides very helpful information about each of the layers of the Earth and what effect they have on plate tectonics. There are cross sections pictures to help students visualize what the Earth's layers look like and how large each layer is in comparison to each other. This site provides students with much of the background knowledge they will need to understand the further instruction of the day's lesson involving the convection cycle of the liquid mantle as well as for the rest of the unit.

Day 2 of the unit covers the different kinds of plates that make up the crust of the Earth. There are continental plates and oceanic plates. The students will use an interactive website to help them visualize the many different plates of the Earth and where the plate boundaries are. The student will also be able to see how these boundaries have changed over time and can also click to see areas of volcanoes and earthquakes to help them identify the types of plate movement taking place in certain areas.

Days 3 and 4 of the lesson will introduce and discuss the three different types of plate movement. The students will use the USGS website to find detailed information about the three types of plate movement as well as visual representations. This site also provides students with maps of where each type of movement usually occurs on the Earth and the types of landforms that are created from each. The students can find where hot spots are and why they are caused. The USGS website will be primarily used on day 3.

On day 4, the students will continue their understanding of the different types of plate movement and the landforms that are formed as a result. For their exploration they will use the interactive website Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker. The students can get on the website and drag arrows to show different types of plate movement. As the students drag the arrow, the diagram moves the earth to show what the plates do as they are moving and how the landforms are created. As they do this, a description of the movement shows up below the diagram and a map comes up of where this type of plate movement occurs. This site can really help students to visualize what is happening above and below ground simultaneously.

On day 5 of the unit the students will use GoogleEarth to identify the locations of the different landforms caused by plate movement around the world. As a group they will work to find an example of each type of plate movement and the resulting landform. They will record the location using latitude and longitude and share their results with the class. After everyone presents the students will use the precise locations from GoogleEarth to see if their landforms are in similar locations. This will help students to see the actual landforms in 3D and will help them to make the connection of why landforms form where they do.