Cracking Up: Plate Tectonics

This page was developed as part of the NASA-funded Sustainable Trainer Engagement Program by LPI
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Standards

6(10)  Earth and space. The student understands the structure of Earth, the rock cycle, and plate tectonics. The student is expected to:

• (C) identify the major tectonic plates, including Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian, Pacific, North American, and South American; and
• (D) describe how plate tectonics causes major geological events such as ocean basins, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building.

8(9)  Earth and space. The student knows that natural events can impact Earth systems. The student is expected to:

• (A) describe the historical development of evidence that supports plate tectonic theory;
• (B) relate plate tectonics to the formation of crustal features.

Activities

• Plate Tectonics Vocabulary Matching
  These terms, descriptions, and illustrations can be used as a sorting activity, for concentration, or turned into an I have/ Who has game.
• Features and Layers of the Earth Vocabulary Matching
  These terms, descriptions, and illustrations can be used as a sorting activity, for concentration, or turned into an I have/ Who has game.
• Jigsaw Puzzle of Plates
  We cut up the plates from the plate boundary map; your students can cut these apart and determine how to put them together to help learn and remember the names of the current plates on Earth.  Please note that putting together Pangea won’t help most students learn the names of today’s tectonic plates.
• Discovering Plate Boundaries
  Excellent inquiry based activity through which students in upper elementary through college can make observations about the patterns of features on Earth’s surface – and draw conclusions about Earth’s tectonic plates.
  Modified version with student worksheets provided by Carol Waters and Angela Ruggeri
  Plate Boundaries Guiding Questions by Carol Waters
• Subducting Plate Graphs
  In this activity, students create a three-dimensional model of a subducting plate boundary, using earthquake data.
• Real Evidence of a Subducting Plate
  The objective of this activity is to allow students to manipulate real data and understand how such data is interpreted and used in support of a theory. Students construct a 3D map of seismic data at a subduction zone plate boundary.
• Hot Spot Motion
  In this activity, students measure the motion of the Pacific Plate using the location and age of islands in the Hawaiian chain
• Edible Plate Tectonics
  Students use edible materials to model a plate boundary, including the asthenosphere, the plate crusts, and the resulting features from the interaction
• History of Plate Tectonics Sorting
  Students sort statements relating to the various discoveries that built and tested today’s theory of Plate Tectonics into chronological order.

Resources

• Plate Tectonics Misconceptions
• Discovering Plate Boundaries powerpoint
• A Brief History of a Unifying Theory powerpoint
• 2015 Revised history of Plate Tectonics
• Think-Pair-Share Questions
• Plate Tectonics Resources List
• Step Notes for Plate Tectonics
• Earth's Interior powerpoint