Lesson Overview

Students will:

• Consider how mountains are formed
• Construct a model of Pangea using geology and the fossil record
• Analyze a tectonic plate map and with the aid of another model (putty and tiles) students put together explanations for mountain formation
• Review STEM Career Pathways related to tectonics

Lesson Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Construct a model of a supercontinent using geology and the fossil record
• Analyze a tectonic plate map and use models to explain map features

This lesson is aligned with these Next Generation Science (NGS) Standards.

[su_accordion]
[su_spoiler title=”Standards Covered” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” anchor_in_url=”no” class=””]

Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI)

ESS1.C The history of planet Earth

• (3rd – 5th) Certain features on Earth can be used to order events that have occurred in a landscape.

ESS2.B Plate tectonics and large-scale system interactions

• (3rd – 5th) Earth’s physical features occur in patterns, as do earthquakes and volcanoes. Maps can be used to locate features and determine patterns in those events.

Science & Engineering Practice (SEP) 

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

• (3rd – 5th ) Construct an explanation of observed relationships (e.g., the distribution of plants in the backyard).

Crosscutting Concept (CCC)

Stability and Change

• (3rd – 5th) Some systems appear stable, but over long periods of time will eventually change.

[/su_spoiler]
[/su_accordion]