BM 5: Plate Tectonics

Create a series of 4-6 coloring pages that will indicate your knowledge of the following concepts. The pages are designed for 3-5 graders. Terms that are not used in the book will be defined on a final vocabulary review sheet.

Heat Transfer

Convection

Conduction

Radiation

Plate tectonics

Radioactive evidence

Fossil evidence

Seafloor spreading

Ring of Fire

Earthquakes

Volcanoes

Plate boundaries

Sedimentary rock

Igneous rock

Metamorphic rock

Prevailing winds

Layers of the earth

Alfred Wegener


THINGS to REMEMBER

Cartoons are meant to be line drawings. They should be drawn in one color of ink (a Sharpie marker works great for this). You may create them using a paint tool in powerpoint or by hand. You may not simply use clipart, although you may print something and trace.

Grading Rubric

10	7-9	3-6	0-2
Use of vocabulary concepts (x2)	All concepts correctly illustrated or defined	One or two minor concept mistakes	Four or more concepts missing	More than half of the concepts missing
Examples are relevant to young children (x1)	All examples are relevant	Minor mistakes in examples	Examples are haphazard or unclear	Examples don’t make sense to young children
Composition of coloring page(x1)	Drawings are original composition and not smudged. Drawings include a statement that explains the coloring page in language kids can understand	Drawings look like they were ‘borrowed’ from someone else. Drawings include statements that are unclear or hard for kids to understand.	Drawings are smudged and look like they are not original. Statements are unclear or missing.	Drawings are messy or indecipherable. Statements are unclear
Concepts covered (x2)	Coloring pages cover 10 or more concepts correctly. A vocabulary page is included	Coloring pages cover 7-9 concepts correctly. A vocabulary page is included	Coloring pages cover 4-6 concepts corectly. A vocabulary page is included.	Coloring pages do not cover concepts correctly, OR a vocabulary page is NOT included.

This is due on Thursday, September 3.

Sample Quiz

Sample Quiz

Sci.SI1.5: Students will model heat transfer mechanisms as a rationale for weather and plate movement on the earth.



Students will:
Sci.SI1.5.1: Contrast convection, conduction, and radiation inside the earth, in its water and weather patterns, and from the sun.
Sci.SI1.5.2: Examine the prevailing winds at different locations on earth, and discuss the movement of weather systems.
Sci.SI1.5.3 Model plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanos.
Sci.SI1.5.4: Analyze fossils and other technologies for tracking plate movement

Big Ideas #2, Unit 5

The earth is made of layers, including a core, inner core, mantle, and crust.

There are three types of heat transfer: convection, conduction, and radiation. Each is important to the earth. Convection happens with gases and fluids.

Properties of earth materials mean that they heat and cool at different rates, even if they receive equal amounts of radiant energy.

Convection currents move magma inside the mantle.

Radiation and convection currents move weather systems.

Uneven rates of heating and cooling create currents, or winds.

The ring of fire has many volcanoes, and a great deal of earthquake activity.

Not all plate boundaries have earthquakes and volcanoes. And, sometimes, earthquakes are caused by other factors than plates.

People live in many places around the world in spite of natural hazards, including weather, ground shakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, and floods.

Claim vs. Evidence

Make a claim related to wind about a) hurricanes, b) Alaskan weather systems c) Iowa rainstorms. Then, brainstorm a list of weather tools that could be used to help you gather specific evidence to support your claim.

Rewrite the definition of prevailing winds from this Infoplease article in such a way that a fifth grader could understand it. Use a diagram and concepts learned in this unit to support your ideas.

Finally,

Why would anyone live in an area where an earthquake was possible?  Explain your thoughts in two to three sentences.  Then, go to here and look at the earthquake data.  What surprises you the most?

Big Ideas #1, Unit 5

Plate tectonics is a claim by Wegener that the Earth's continents fit together like puzzle pieces. He did not live to see his theory accepted.

Acceptable evidence includes fossil connections, radioactive dating, and seafloor spreading.

Seafloor spreading was discovered as a by-product of World War II. On either side of a sea floor spread is a symmetrical rock band made of basalt. In this band, we can see that on a somewhat regular basis, the north and south pole change places.

There are three main rock types: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic.

Rocks are made of minerals

Fossils are a living thing that turns into rock over time by being covered with sediment and water. This means that fossils are found in sedimentary rock.

Igneous rock is found mainly as a result of volcanoes. Obsidian and basalt are common igneous rocks.

A visual picture of this event:



The earth will probably not end in 2012.

Welcome to the 2009 School Year!

I am looking forward to having the opportunity to teach all of you this year, and to learn with you about the world of science.