Danielle Reilly and Susan DaQuila School of Education The College of New Jersey 1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level - Introducing Landforms: The Seven Continents and Plate Tectonics / 2nd Grade 2. Lesson Essential Question(s): What are landforms? What do different types of landforms look like? How are landforms created? 3. Standards: - 5.4.6.D.1 - Lithospheric plates consisting of continents and ocean floors move in response to movements in the mantle. - 5.4.8.D.2 - Major geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building, result from the motion of plates. Sea floor spreading, revealed in mapping of the Mid- Atlantic Ridge, and subduction zones are evidence for the theory of plate tectonics. - CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.7 - Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations). 4. Learning Objectives and Assessments Learning Objectives Assessments Students will be able to recognize the definition of a continent, as well as recognize and name the seven continents. Students will explore the continents by researching and compiling facts about the continents in expert groups and sharing the information they learn with the rest of the class. Students will be able to understand the basics of plate tectonics and the role they play in creating landforms, as well as visually recognize Students will work in groups to put together a plate tectonics puzzle of the world.
Transcript
Danielle Reilly and Susan DaQuilaSchool of Education
The College of New Jersey
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level - Introducing Landforms: The Seven Continents and Plate Tectonics / 2nd Grade 2. Lesson Essential Question(s): What are landforms? What do different types of landforms look like? How are landforms created? 3. Standards: - 5.4.6.D.1 - Lithospheric plates consisting of continents and ocean floors move in response to movements in the mantle. - 5.4.8.D.2 - Major geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building, result from the motion of plates. Sea floor spreading, revealed in mapping of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and subduction zones are evidence for the theory of plate tectonics.- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.7 - Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).
4. Learning Objectives and Assessments
Learning Objectives Assessments
Students will be able to recognize the definition of a continent, as well as recognize and name the seven continents.
Students will explore the continents by researching and compiling facts about the continents in expert groups and sharing the information they learn with the rest of the class.
Students will be able to understand the basics of plate tectonics and the role they play in creating landforms, as well as visually recognize plates on a map.
Students will work in groups to put together a plate tectonics puzzle of the world.
5. Materials: Computer, online video (http://www.makemegenius.com/video_play.php?id=138&type=0), continent picture cutouts, large classroom map of the world, map of the world depicting tectonic plate boundaries, maps or globes for each expert group, information sheets for each expert group, question sheet for each expert group, pencils, tectonic plates puzzle 6. Pre-lesson assignments and/or prior knowledge: Students will have already been briefly introduced to the concept of continents during a map skills lesson that was conducted about three weeks before, but they had some trouble differentiating between continents and countries. This will be addressed in the lesson to avoid any misconceptions and will be assessed by a question on the worksheet that asks the students to find a country within the continent they are researching. In addition, the reading rug in the classroom is a map of the world depicting and labeling the seven continents, so the students will most likely recognize the concept but will probably not have a thorough understanding of the individual continents. This lesson will serve
as an introduction to plate tectonics, as the students have probably never heard of the concept before, in order to introduce the students to the mechanism behind the formation of many of the landforms they will be learning about throughout the unit. 7. Lesson Beginning: - We will first call students to the reading rug to show them a video from makemegenius.com that explains plate tectonics in simple terms. This video will engage students and help them to learn about this concept in a way that we could not recreate for them in class. We will pause the video at certain points to ascertain what students have learned from the video. After the video, we will ask the students what they liked about the video, what they thought was interesting, and what they learned about. I will then tell the students that this video discussed many topics that we will be teaching them over the next few weeks, since we will be teaching them about landforms and natural resources. However, the major focus of the video (plate tectonics) is responsible for many of the landforms we will be learning about, so we are going to learn about that first. We will then tell the students that we will also be learning about the seven continents today, and have the students return to their seats.
8. Instructional Plan: - We will begin teaching about tectonic plates by explaining that each of the continents have different land features, or landforms. I will tell the students that we will now talk about how all of those landforms got there. We will ask the students what they remember about plate tectonics from the video they just watched. Then we will show students a map of the world that depicts the location of the tectonic plates beneath Earth’s surface. We will ask them what they notice about this map that is different from the other maps we have worked with and observed in past lessons (which is that this map depicts plate boundaries). We will then explain that there are different layers of Earth, not just the land that we walk on, and that the top layer is called the crust. We will explain that these tectonic plates exist far below the Earth’s surface, underneath the Earth’s crust. We will tell the students that these plates are responsible for many of the landforms and natural disasters that happen on Earth, because when these plates move or shift in some way by hitting into each other, moving away from each other, or sliding past each other, landforms such as mountains can be created, volcanoes can erupt and form new islands, or earthquakes could rock the Earth’s surface. We will transition from learning about plate tectonics to the continents by telling the students that now that we have explored what happens below the Earth’s crust, we are now going to learn about the continents that experience many changes (including the creation of landforms) as a result of what happens below!- We will ask the students what they already know about the continents. Then we will point out the seven continents to the students on the map of the world. We will also remind them that the seven continents are shown on the reading rug, so next time they go over to the rug they should take a close look at it! We will explain what continents are, and how they are different from countries, by pointing out countries on the map in relation to the continents they are on. The students will later have to apply this concept on the worksheet they will complete.- Students will be placed into six expert groups. Each expert group will be give a specific continent to learn more about (excluding Antarctica, due to the fact that there are only six groups of students in our class; we will provide the same information about Antarctica that the other students researched for the other continents once everyone else has presented their material). Each student in the group will be asked to find out a different piece of information about their specific continent (for example, the size of the continent or important landforms found on the
continent). They will find this information out by using information on a handout given to them. After they find out their specific piece of information, they will be asked to write down this information on the group worksheet. At the bottom of this worksheet they will also be asked to share any interesting facts that they found about their specific continent. - While each group is working on finding information about their continent, tables will be called back one at a time to work on the plate tectonic puzzle so they will be able to see all the different plates found around the world and how they fit together. Ms. Reilly or Ms. DaQuila will be at this station to answer any questions the groups may have and to make sure that each group has successfully completed the puzzle before returning to their seats; the other teacher-in-training will be walking around and monitoring the work being done in the expert groups.- After completing this worksheet, each group will be asked to come to the front of the room to share the information that they learned about each continent with the rest of the class. One student in the group will hold up the cutout of the continent they were assigned, so that the other students can visually distinguish the continent they are discussing from the others. This will serve as a way for other students in the class to learn about each of the continents. Students will be able to ask questions to the expert group about the particular continent. Miss Reilly and Miss DaQuila will then present the information that we found out about Antarctica.
o Differentiation: Within each expert group, children will have support from other members of the group at their table. Students will also be able to ask the teacher for assistance, if needed. Students will be given a passage including information about their continent that relates to their own level of reading. When completing the puzzle, students will be able to ask their classmates if they have trouble figuring out where a particular puzzle piece should be placed.
o Questions:■ What is a continent?■ What are the seven continents?■ What is a landform?■ What are plate tectonics?■ How are different landforms created?■ How is the Earth split into different tectonic plates?■ How do plate tectonics affect the creation of landforms?
o Classroom Management: In order to gain the class’s attention different management techniques will be used including, “one, two, three eyes on me” with the response “one, two eyes on you,” as well as saying “if you can hear me…” followed by do this specific action. Students will be reminded that they should raise their hand before they answer or ask a question. If there are any behavioral problems during the lesson, students will be reminded of what they should be doing. The groups will be formed using the groups the class is normally seated in. Miss DaQuila and Miss Reilly will pass out supplies for each expert group.
o Transitions: Students will gather at the back carpet to watch the video. Tables that are the quietest will be called back to the rug first. Before beginning the expert groups, students will be informed that when their table is called they should walk to the back table to work on the puzzle. When they are finished they will be asked to return to their seats, so that the next table
can be called on to work on the puzzle. The class will then come back together completely to share their continent information. 9. Closure: After each group does research on their particular continent, each group will come up to share information that they learned about the continent. This will serve as way for groups to learn more about the other continents that they did not study. Students will also be able to ask questions to each expert group. At the end, we will remind the class about plate tectonics and continents and how over the next few days we will be talking specifically about different landforms around the world. We will then give the students their unit long homework assignment, to be handed in at the latest on the following Monday, April 22nd. Students will have to ask their families which country or countries their family is from (their cultural heritage), and write down the name of the country and/or region of the country (especially if it is a large country) that their family is from. To demonstrate, Miss Reilly and Miss DaQuila will name and talk about the regions of the countries that their families are from.
Estimated Session Time: 55 minutes
North America- 3rd largest continent.
- Includes 23 countries.
- Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world.
- Has the 3rd largest river in the world, the Mississippi, and the shortest river, the Roe in Montana, U.S.A.
- Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Arctic Ocean.
- Willis Tower in Chicago is the tallest building in North America. It is 1,451 feet high and has 108 floors.
- Has over 528 million people living on it, making it the fourth most populated continent.
- Most North Americans speak English, Spanish, or French.
- Mexico City, Mexico is the largest city in North America.
- North America is the only continent that has every kind of climate.
Willis Tower
South America- 4th largest continent.
- All 12 countries speak Spanish, except for Brazil, which speaks Portuguese.
- Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world.
- The Andes mountain range on the west coast is the longest in the world.
- Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean.
- Has over 387 million people living on it, making it the fifth most populated continent.
- Has the largest rain forest in the world.
- Is home to the Amazon River, the second longest river in the world.
- Brazil is the largest country on the continent.
- The Andean Condor lives in many countries in South America and is the largest flying bird in the world.
Andean Condor Amazon River
Europe - 2nd smallest continent.
- Has the world's largest country; Russia, and the world's smallest country; Vatican.
- Includes 47 countries.
- Has over 738 million people living on it, making it the third most populated continent.
- The Statue of Liberty – the symbol of the United States and freedom – was actually constructed in France and given as a gift to the United States of America.
- The tallest ferris wheel is located on the continent, in London, England. It is called “The London Eye.”
- Europe is home to many famous and recognizable structures, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge in London, England, and the Coliseum in Rome, Italy.
- Europe is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.
- Most countries in Europe use the Euro as its form of money, while the United Kingdom uses the British pound.
- Europe is home to many volcanoes, including Mount Etna, Stromboli, and Mount Vesuvius.
The London Eye Mount Vesuvius
Africa- 2nd largest continent.
- Includes 54 countries.
- The Nile River in Egypt is the longest river in the world.
- Many children don't go to school.
- Home to four of the five fastest land animals, which are the cheetah, wildebeest, lion and gazelle.
- Has over one billion, twenty-two million people living on it, making it the second most populated continent.
- Surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
- The highest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
- The largest city on the continent is Cairo in Egypt, home to the pyramids.
- There are more than 1000 languages spoken across the continent.
Mount Kilimanjaro Male lion with his lion cub
Asia- Largest continent in both land mass and population.
- More than 4 billion people live there.
- Includes 44 countries.
- The Great Wall of China is there.
- The greatest elevation on earth is at the top of Mt. Everest - 29,035 feet above sea level.
- Surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
- The highest point on earth, Mount Everest, is in Asia. The lowest point on land, the Dead Sea, is also in Asia.
- Asia sometimes joins with North America in the winter by ice forming in the Bering Sea.
- Asia contains many of the largest cities in the world including the two largest – Shanghai, China and Mumbai, India.
- Giant pandas are native to China, a country on the continent of Asia.
Great Wall of China Giant Panda
Australia and Oceania- Smallest continent in the world.
- Home to 36 million people, making it the sixth most populated continent.
- Made up of 14 different countries.
- The native people of Australia were called Aborigines.
- Australia is home to many unique animals, including kangaroos, koalas, and platypuses.
- Surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
- Australia is home to the Great Barrier Reef and Ayers Rock.
- Oceania is located in the southern hemisphere. This means that its winter is during June, July, and August and its summer is during the months of December, January, and February.
- Australia was first settled by Europeans as a prison colony.
- English is the official language for most countries in Oceania.
Great Barrier Reef Koala
Antarctica- 5th largest continent.
- Is 98% covered in ice.
- Has a population of 0 (only visitors come to see it). While humans don’t permanently reside in Antarctica, several thousand people live and work at various research facilities found on the continent.
- Is the windiest and coldest place on earth.
- Has no countries on it.
- Surrounded by the Southern Ocean.
- Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth.
- The South Pole is found in Antarctica.
- Most of Antarctica is covered in ice over 1 mile thick.
- Because it experiences such little rain, Antarctica is considered a desert.
