Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

Teacher Candidate: Todd Megan

School: _________________________

Date: 10/22/2014
Subject: Earth Science

Grade Level: 9

Unit/Lesson Title/Number: Plate Tectonics/Lets Talk Crust!/Lesson 2

Lesson Context and Central Focus:

This is lesson 2 of 3 of the plate tectonics unit. For this lesson, students will build on their new knowledge
of the Earths interior by creating a surficial map of tectonic plate boundaries. Building their own map will
allow students to gain a geographical and geologic context to the content of volcanoes, earthquakes,
tsunamis, etc. that are pervasive in todays media to which current 9th graders are exposed. The teacher will
assist students with finding current events relating to the topic and will help students to build upon their
geographic understandings.

Class Profile:
Consider what students know (prior knowledge), what they can already do, what they are learning to do,
what you know about their experiences, cultural backgrounds, and interests.

Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

State-adopted
content standards
and/or
Common Core
Standards

Assessed: Standard 4, 2.1j: Standard 4, 2.1l The lithosphere consists of separate plates
that ride on the more fluid asthenosphere and move slowly in relationship to one
another, creating convergent, divergent, and transform plate boundaries. These motions
indicate Earth is a dynamic geologic system.

(Include CC
Literacy Standards)

These plate boundaries are the sites of most earthquakes, volcanoes, and young
mountain ranges.
Compared to continental crust, ocean crust is thinner and denser. New ocean crust
continues to form at mid-ocean ridges.
Earthquakes and volcanoes present geologic hazards to humans. Loss of property,
personal injury, and loss of life can be reduced by effective emergency preparedness.

Common Core WHST 9-10.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce,
publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of
technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly
and dynamically.
Common Core WHST 9-10.5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by
planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing
what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

Interdisciplinary
Connections

21st Century Skills

Global Awareness
1. Understanding of processes occurring around them.
2. Using 21st century skills to understand and address global issues

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

1. Reason Effectively - Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as
appropriate to the situation
2. Use Thinking Systems - Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to
produce overall outcomes in complex systems

Environmental Literacy
1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of societys impact on the natural world
(e.g., population growth, population development, resource
consumption rate, etc.)

1. Students will be able to construct a tectonic features map of the Earth with 100%
Lesson
Objectives/Targets percent accuracy (2 locations and description for each type of plate boundary-6 total
map points).
Label :
(Blooms Taxonomy)

Must be numbered

2. Students will be able to distinguish the differences between oceanic and continental
crusts.
3. Students will be able to describe how plate tectonics has resulted in many
catastrophic events in modern history.

Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

Acceptable
Evidence
*Could be collected for
accountability
and/or auditing
purposes.

Language
Function

Procedure
Teacher input,
development,
instructional
method(s), modeling,
guided practice,
independent practice,
and/or activities

Label: Bell Ringer

Also may be called:
set induction,
anticipatory set,
introduction/review,
Do Now, Write Now,
Silent Starter

1. Formative/Performance/Authentic Student tectonic boundary maps

2. Formative Science journals
3. Formative - WebQuest

Identify one language function essential for students within your central focus and
include the corresponding learning task(s).

Day 1 40 minute block

Class Layout/Famous Pairs: Hand out plate map and small paper cutouts of
plate names as students enter. Make sure to have the plate map used for cutouts ready
to go up on the SmartBoard or projector before class.
1. Introduction/Review: 10 Minutes
a. The teacher will ask students to think pair share about the layers of the
cross-section of Earth.
b. The teacher will call on volunteer students to write on the white board in
the front of the class, one by one, until all four (4) layers are represented
correctly. CFU-content/ALM-Visual/CSE
c. The teacher will circle the plate layer and introduce todays topic; Plates
and plate movement.
2. Teacher Art: Continental vs. Oceanic Crust T Chart

Label: Transitions

Label:
visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic
Accommodations for
learning modalities

Label:
Checks for
Understanding:
directions,
procedures/routines,
and/or content
(formative) Ex. (CFU
directions)

3. Famous Pairs: 20 Minutes: The teacher will turn on SmartBoard/projector

and group students by having them find a peer with a plate that touches theirs
on the plate map (CSE/21st-Critical Thinking and Problem Solving1). Groups
no larger than 3 students.
a. The teacher will instruct the students to circle a spot on the map where their
plates are touching on their individual maps and number it with 1 (CFUDirections)

b. The teacher will instruct the students to brainstorm with their group as
to the nature of the plate boundary between them, and take notes on
their thoughts in their science journals (CSE). A student will be chosen
to explain the direction (CFU-directions). The students can use their
textbook/reference tables as resources.
c. The teacher will ask some students to share what they learned about
their plate boundary.

Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

d. The teacher will instruct the students to take out their guided notes. The
students will identify the nature of their plate boundary (Type of crust
and type of boundary) on their map. (CRU-Directions/CFU-Content/
WHST9-10.5)

Label: Evidence of
21st Century Skills
(21st)

Label:
Evidence of
Cognitive Student
Engagement (CSE)

Label:
Closure

e. After 10 minutes of this group work, students will be asked to share

findings in T-Chart on the board of the different plate boundaries.
4. Closure: The students will be instructed to number 7 more plate boundaries
on their maps (making sure to represent transform, divergent, and convergent
boundaries). They will label the type of plate boundary in their journals for
HW. CFU-directions
Day 3 40 minute Block
5. WebQuest: 35 Minutes: Inside Earth
https://sites.google.com/site/mrdearthscience/unit-3-tectonics/platetectonics The Students will be able to answer these question following the
directions on the website. (21st-Global Awareness, Technology)
6. Closure: The students will be instructed to add to the 8 boundary descriptions
in their science journals.
Day 2 40 minute block:
1. Continue WebQuest all period.
2. The teacher will have students work on tectonic maps when finished until the end of
the period.
3. Teacher will collect WebQuest worksheet

Assessment and
Evaluation

White boards formative assessment which will be used to collect data

detailing students participation in the brainstorming activity.
Science journals formative assessment which will be used to determine
students prior knowledge, working knowledge of new concepts (Earth interior
and plate movement), and will be used to self-reflect upon completion of the
experiment. The journals are worth 20% and are graded using a Science Journal
rubric. Feedback is given on the rubric and commentary is written in each
journal.
WebQuest formative assessment which will allow students to practice 21st
Century skills.

Type: Smartboard
Technology
Describe type and
purpose. Include a
back-up plan.

Purpose: interactive media for students to see teacher show plate map
Back-up Plan: White board/Print out of Earths plates

Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

Academic Language:
Academic
Language
required for the
lesson

Introduced: Via guided notes and group discussion.

Practiced: Group discussion and experimentation.

How will the language
be introduced,
practiced, & assessed?

Assessed: Written definitions in their own words in the science journal

ELL considerations:
Accommodations,
Student Supports,
and/or
Interactions with
Co-Teachers
and/or Support
Staff

Accommodations for students with IEPS and/or 504s:

Colleague Collaboration:

Resources/
Materials
Time Required

Include key instructional materials and written assessments. Provide citations for materials that you did not create

Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

Name: ______________________________

Inside Earth WebQuest: Worksheet

Part 1: Earth's Interior
Compositional Layers:
How is Earths interior like an apple?
What causes the mantle to "flow"?
Describe in your own words how the earth's layers were formed.
Structural Layers:
What is the Lithosphere and describe its characteristics?
What is the Asthenosphere and describe its characteristics?
What is the Mesosphere (or Mantle) and describe its characteristics?
Describe differences in characteristics between the Outer Core and Inner Core?

Part 2: Convection Currents and the Mantle

How is heat transferred by conduction?
Explain the process of convection.
How is heat transferred by radiation?
If air is a fluid, why isnt convection responsible for transferring heat to Earth from the sun?
Test your knowledge! Scroll down to the bottom of the Heat Transfer Web page and take the
"Mini Quiz".
Describe how convection currents occur in Earth's mantle.
Part 3: Drifting Continents
What 5 factors did Wegener use to support his theory?

Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

List three of the arguments of geologists that disproved Wegener's theory.
Arthur Holmes came up with his own theory of drifting continents in 1928. What was his
theory?
Part 4: Sea-Floor Spreading
What is an ocean ridge?
Why are two plates spreading considered to be 'constructive'?
What is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge? How many miles does it stretch?
Part 5: The Theory of Plate Tectonics
What is the theory of plate tectonics?
What new information led to the theory of plate tectonics?
About how fast do the plates move in relation to each other each year?
What is it called when two plates meet?
Convergent Boundaries:
What are convergent boundaries?
What occurs when a continental and oceanic plate collide?
When an oceanic plate digs into Earth's hot interior, what occurs?
How were the Andes Mountains in South America formed?
Divergent Boundaries
What are divergent boundaries?
Explain how volcanoes form in the central rift valley of a divergent boundary?
How much does the Atlantic Ocean widen per year due to divergent boundaries?
Transform Boundaries
What are transform boundaries?

Lesson Plan Template: Hackett 2014

What could happen to a stream bed that is split by a transform boundary?
Name one of Earth's most famous transform boundaries? Where is it located?
True or False? Due to transforming plates, Los Angeles will break away from California. Explain
your answer.