Objectives:

Students will know that millions of years ago, the continents were joined together in a supercontinent known as Pangaea, and have gradually moved over time.

Students will understand how evidence from fossils, geology and climate helped scientists to understand continental drift

MaterialsWorld map- large wall map or transparency for the whole class to view at once Handouts or transparency of locations of plant and animals fossils, such as the map found at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/continents.html Handouts of outline map of the world for students to cut apart Scissors Glue sticks Blue construction paper

Introduction

Show students a map of the world, and ask if they notice anything about the shape of the continents. Point out that the east coast of South America looks like it would fit together with the west coast of Africa like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Explain to students that in 1915, a German scientist named Alfred Wegener was convinced that the continents were not always the same shape that they are today. He believed that in the distant past, all the continents were joined together in a giant supercontinent, which he called Pangaea, meaning "all land," and that they had gradually separated. Wegener called this process continental drift.

There are three lines of evidence to show that the continents were once joined together:

1. Fossil evidence- Fossils of the same extinct plants and animals are found coasts of continents separated by oceans.

2. Geological evidence- mountain ranges that begin on one continent appear to continue on another continent separated by the ocean. Rocks of the same type and age are also found on the coasts of these separated continents.

3. Climate evidence- Geologists have found evidence that glaciers once existed in South Africa, which has a warm climate today. This indicates that it was once located closer to the South Pole. Fossils of ferns that live in warm climates have been found in northern Europe, where they cannot grow today because the climate is too cold, indicating that the region was once closer to the equator.

Show students the map of Pangaea with locations of where fossils of plants and animals were found, indicating how the continents fit together.

Scientists in Wegener's time rejected his theory because he could not offer an explanation of how the continents moved. Since then, geologists have discovered a great deal of evidence to explain how the continents move, including mid-ocean ridges, sea-floor spreading, and subduction zones.

Student Activity

Pass out the outline maps of the world, and have students cut out the continents and fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle to recreate Pangaea. Students will glue the pieces onto the construction paper.