Many mountains and volcanoes are formed by Earth's clashing plates.
The theory of plate tectonics, or "plate structure," was developed in the 1960s. The theory says that the continents and oceans are actually set on a series of plates and that these plates move. The theory explains how earthquakes and volcanic explosions occur and how deep ocean trenches and mountain ranges form due to the shifting plates. When thinking up plate-tectonics activities for a fifth-grade class, go as interactive as possible so tectonics is never boring. Taking students on field trips to see types of rock and making scale models is an ideal way to introduce earth's fascinating and changeable structure.
Supercontinent
The world map shows how continents once fit together.
Alfred Wegener in 1915 posited that the continents used to be one massive landmass or supercontinent, and a few years later someone gave this huge landmass the name Pangaea -- "all earth" in Greek. Students can create a Pangaea puzzle to show how all the continents fit together. Show a map of the world to your fifth-graders and have them draw a quick sketch of each continent. Ask them to label the continents, too. Make photocopies of their blank world map and cut out the continent sketches. After mixing all the continents around, ask students to try to fit the continents together. You can also have them sketch and cut out islands, as they are sometimes chunks of land that drift into the ocean (others are formed by ocean volcanoes). Discussing Pangaea and showing the way plate tectonics shifted the continents apart from each other teaches students about how changeable and temporary the world's form is.
Volanoes
Volcanoes form when two oceanic plates collide.
The earth's plates move 1 to 10 cm each year. Most of the Earth's seismic activity, such as volcanoes and earthquakes, occurs at plate boundaries as they clash. Mount St. Helens in Oregon, for example, is the result of the Pacific plate sliding under the North American continent, according to the U.S. National Park service. Introduce students to how plate tectonics forms volcanoes by showing a video of volcanic formation on a science channel network. Follow the program by building a model volcano in the classroom (see "Making a Volcano" link in Resources) over a few days or asking students to prepare them at home with a parent or guardian.
Geological Field Trip
Rock arches are a geological phenomenon.
If you live in a rich geological area with mountains, fault lines, dormant or active volcanoes, and other interesting rock formations, taking your fifth-graders on a field trip is a must. After studying the plate-tectonics theory in the classroom, you can take your students for a guided field trip with a park ranger or other specialist, if you are not a geologist or scientist, to learn how rock formations sprout from the earth due to clashing plates. If your school is located near a national park, plan on spending at least a half of the school day in the park, exploring trails and taking guided walks to see the sights.
Tags: clashing plates, continents together, field trip, have them, plate tectonics
