Volcanoes

Title: Unit Plan for Earth Science Teacher: Susan Gilmore - Cohort 1 School: Clear Creek Elementary Grade Level: 5 th Grade Concepts Targeted: Volcanoes

Learning Goals Students will understand that: Volcanoes often occur where oceanic and continental plates collide. Earthquakes are also related to plate tectonic activity.

Standards S5E1. Students will identify surface features of the Earth caused by constructive and destructive processes. a. Identify surface features caused by constructive processes. – Deposition (Deltas, sand dunes, etc.) – Earthquakes – Volcanoes – Faults b. Identify and find examples of surface features caused by destructive processes. – Erosion (water—rivers and oceans, wind) – Weathering – Impact of organisms – Earthquakes – Volcanoes

Essential Questions Are all volcanoes alike? Why do volcanoes erupt? What claims can you make about where volcanoes are located? What evidence can you site to support your claim about where volcanoes are located?

Lesson 1 Engage Engaging students by reading the book The Wrath of Vesuvius. The book is about the volcano Vesuvius that was primarily an ash-and- pyroclastic –flow type eruption that occurred in AD 79. Discuss what type of volcano Vesuvius was. Are all volcanoes alike? Students will view images of famous volcanoes on the website Engage students in a brainstorming activity. “What are some words associated with volcanic eruption?” Create a class concept map. Pre-assessment (Diagnostic): “Why do you think volcanoes erupt?” Misconceptions: Students are often surprised to find no description of a lava flow, since many students think that is the only kind of volcanic eruption.

Lesson 2 Explore Students will explore the location of volcanoes. A pair of students will work together with a map of the world with latitude and longitude intervals marked on the edges and a list of 18 world famous volcanoes. Using the latitude and longitude information, students placed an X on the map for each volcano on the list. Map and information and list of volcanoes can be located on the website 3D Geography Discuss and list ideas students think about their maps: (Formative Assessment) “What claims can you make about where volcanoes are located?” Misconceptions: Students often believe volcanoes are randomly located around the world.

Lesson 3 Explain In order to help students connect volcano locations to plate boundaries, introduce the idea of continental drift. Show a short United Streaming film chip on Alfred Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift, “Our Raging Planet”, and his evidence of how the continents fit together, fossil evidence, and plate boundary activity. The students examine more evidence using the website: They will observe the locations of volcanoes with an overlay of locations of plate boundaries found on the website. The students add plate boundaries in blue to their world map of volcano locations they completed yesterday. Discuss as a class observations the students have made from viewing the film clip and their maps. (Formative Assessment)

Lesson 4 Elaborate Review observations from Lesson 3 in which most volcanoes occur in areas where oceanic plates were moving into continental plates. The students examine evidence that most earthquakes also occur in plate boundary areas were plates collide. Visit the website and add in red locations of several resent earthquakes.

Lesson 5 Evaluation Reflect on the lessons and write a memoir: Think back about what you know about volcanoes, earthquakes, and plate tectonics. Summative Assessment: “What claims can you can make about volcanoes? What is your evidence for each claim?”

Integrate Other Subjects Social Studies: Students will use longitude and latitude information to locate volcanic sites, plate boundaries, and earthquakes on a world map Technology: Students will use the websites during their investigations. ELA: trade book “The Wrath of Vesuvius”

Assessments Engage: brainstorming and pre-unit concept mapping (Diagnostic) Explore: making a claim (Formative) Explain: volcano explanation and labeled drawing (Formative) Elaborate: earthquake explanation and labeled drawing (Formative) Evaluate: memoir that list claims and evidence (Summative)