Yunjung Hong

Draft Lesson Plan 1

Pangaea/continental drift and introduction to plate tectonics.
Objectives:
-Students will be able to determine how the continents have changed overtime and what general
concept creates these changes.
Standards:
Materials:
-Oreo cookies
-Napkins

Engage (5-10 minutes):

Show this photo to the students:

o
Ask students if they have idea what is shown in this picture. If students are having a
difficult time, then start to give hints. Hints such as its a map of something very familiar
to you
If students still dont have any idea who them this photo:

Yunjung Hong

o
This photo should be much easier to tell because of the lines given. If students still have
no idea then give them more hints. What are those lines? What do the words say
At this point they should have a clue if not move on to the next photo with labeled
continents.

o
By now students should get an idea that this is a world map. With all the continents that
exist on todays map.
Then after they are drawn into the lesson, ask guiding questions :
o Why do you think they are set up this way?
o Does the Earth look this way now?
o What is different about this Earth and todays Earth?

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o Do you think the Earth actually looked like this at one point? If so when?

Explore (10 minutes):

Students will be given these puzzle pieces pre-cut. They will then have to work in pairs or
trios to solve the puzzle using only the information that the puzzle provides.

o
During this time teacher should be walking around and keeping an eye on how the
students approach this task.
o Ask students questions such as:
Why did you put that piece there?
How do you know that belongs there?
What information did you have to know that thats a right fit?
So do you think the fossils are important?

Explain (20 minutes):

Begin explaining basic information to the students. State that the photo of the one large
mass is Pangaea also known as the Supercontinent. This is how the Earth used to be over
200 billion years ago. Explain that the process that happened and is still happening is
continental drift.
Then begin to introduce Plate Tectonics with this PowerPoint.
o www.earth4567.com/talks/plates/plates.ppt
o Make sure to introduce the general information about the types of boundaries.
Show these short videos about continental drift, Pangaea, and plate tectonics for better
understanding.
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvIDxu7twpc
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJiAUvB1vEU

Elaborate (15 minutes):

Yunjung Hong

After discussing and explaining the types of plate boundaries through the powerpoint,
each student will be given an Oreo cookie. In trios, they will be asked to perform three
activities with the cookie (one person each):
o 1. Break cookie apart so crack is on one half. Take cookie and break one half of
cookie in half. Then place back in to place above the cream. Then the two halves
will be pushed together.
o 2. Same process however this time the cookie will be pull apart.
o 3. Same process however slide one half toward you and one half away from you.
o Follow the pictures below.

o One student will perform one of these three tasks with his or her Oreo cookie.
They will then need to describe the type of plate boundary they are creating and
why they think they are correct.

Evaluate (5 minutes):

As an exit card, as students to draw each oreo that they experimented with. They will
have to provide a drawing with arrows of how the boundaries were made. Lable which
boundary represents in the cookie then they will explain briefly what happens at those
boundaries.