Name: Lesley Martinez-Silva

Grade Level: 3rd

Objective
The learner will explore the concept of tectonic plates and how they play a role in creating
earthquakes. They will develop a basis for what causes other well-known natural phenomena, to
be discussed in future lessons.

TEKS/ELPS
112.14 Science Grade 3
(7) Earth and space. The student knows that Earth consists of natural resources and its surface is
constantly changing. The student is expected to:
(B) investigate rapid changes in Earth's surface such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes,
and landslides

74.4 English Language Proficiency Standards

(5) Cross-curricular second language acquisition/writing
(G) narrate, describe, and explain with increasing specificity and detail to fulfill content
area writing needs as more English is acquired.

CALP Vocabulary
Earthquake
Tectonic Plates
Fault
Convergent Boundary (thrust fault)
Divergent Boundary (rift zone)
Transform Boundary (strike slip)

Background Knowledge Video

What Is an Earthquake? The Dr. Binocs Show from Peekaboo Kidz

Materials
For the students For the teacher
Handout of PowerPoint slide, crackers, Computer, internet access for YouTube
peanut butter, napkins, gloves, paper, video and projecting PowerPoint, crackers,
markers. peanut butter, napkin, gloves.

Procedures/Activities
Introduction/Anticipatory Set (One or two sentences)
I will introduce the lesson by asking if anyone has ever heard the word earthquake, and if
anyone can explain what it is. Then, I’ll ask if anyone has ever experienced an earthquake
before, and if they have a guess as to why an earthquake may occur, as well as introduce some
vocabulary that we’ll expand on later.

Model
 First, I’ll begin with the exploration activity. In the activity, students will be handed
crackers that have peanut butter in between them, like the peanut butter crackers that can be
bought at the store. Then, they’ll be instructed to manipulate the crackers in a specific way, and
then they’ll be free to explore other ways to manipulate them, but they must write down their
observations to remember for a discussion later. Each group of students will be given one way to
manipulate the crackers that illustrates how earthquakes happen: convergence, where two pieces
of broken cracker are pushed up against each other; divergence, where two pieces of broken
cracker are pulled apart from each other; and transformation, where two pieces of broken cracker
slide against each other. I will give the students these vocab words and demonstrate with my own
cracker how it’s done, and then they’ll get a chance to observe what happens to the cracker when
doing the hands-on activity. Once the students have observed what happens with their given
instructions, they can move on to the other crackers they have and manipulate the broken cracker
pieces in different ways. Once I feel like the class has done enough exploration, I’ll gather
everyone back as a class and we’ll discuss what we found.
Once we’re done discussing the exploration activity, I’ll switch over to showing the video
about earthquakes that will introduce the vocabulary. After the video, I’ll connect the vocab to
the activity we did, asking students if they can remember what happened when each type of
manipulation was made, and how that represents either a convergent, divergent, or transform
boundary. I’ll be using the PowerPoint presentation made that has the visual representations of
the vocabulary from the video, so they can be reminded about what they were.

Check for Understanding

During the exploration activity, I will walk around the classroom to check for
participation. When needed, I’ll ask them a question to ensure they understand what we’re
exploring, and to challenge their thinking. After watching the video, I’ll ask questions about the
vocab presented, and ask them to connect it to the explore activity we did at the beginning.

Independent or Group Practice/Elaboration

After I have explained the instructions to the class, they will be released to work on their
exploration activity. The students will be grouped up for the activity but will each have their own
set of crackers and peanut butter. Each group of students will be given one way to manipulate the
crackers to explore how earthquakes happen: convergence, where two pieces of broken cracker
are pushed up against each other; divergence, where two pieces of broken cracker are pulled
apart from each other; and transformation, where two pieces of broken cracker slide against each
other. They will become the experts in whichever tectonic plate collision is given to them, so
they must take notes of what they observe to report back to the class.

Closure
We’ll end the class by answering any questions that students may still have about
earthquakes, tectonic plates, and the different collisions. Then, we’ll have a thinking session
about what other natural formations may be caused by tectonic plate collisions, and during this
time they can eat their crackers if they want. The students will write some ideas down, talk with
their group, and then as a class we’ll write a list. Then I’ll explain that we’ll dive into other
natural landforms caused by tectonic plates in the next class.

Planned Modifications and Differentiation (EL, dyslexia, ADHD, existicn K, etc.)

 One thing that will need to be changed depending on the students in the class is the
spread used under the crackers. Some students may be allergic to peanuts, so I would have to
find something else, such as a nut-free butter or marshmallow spread, something that everyone
could touch and consume at the end. As for the actual lesson, to help ELLs I may need to explain
the vocab with the visuals throughout the lesson to help students further understand what I’m
talking about, in case the cracker activity confuses them, and to present the word written out to
students so they can compare the way it’s spelled to the way it’s pronounced. Repeating certain
parts of the video may also be helpful in visualizing the vocabulary.
For students with other disabilities, giving them an overview of what we’re doing for the
lesson will help them in feeling prepared. Giving out a physical handout of the PowerPoint slides
may help students who have a visual impairment, as well as those who might want to write notes
on it or refer to it throughout the lesson.

Assessment of Student Learning

To assess the students’ understanding for this introductory lesson, I will ask them to turn
in their notes for the lesson (likely written in a science journal). Throughout the lesson I will
instruct them to write things down, such as their observations during the explore activity,
descriptions of the tectonic plate collisions, and what other landforms they think are also created
by tectonic plate collisions. Based on their notes, I will decide whether I will have to reinforce
certain concepts more than others in the next lesson. At the start of the next lesson, I will also ask
them if they remember the vocabulary we learned about from the previous day, and as a group
they’ll have to write it down on a piece of paper and draw or describe what the vocab means.
Neither of these assessments will be for a grade.

Resources
Idea for exploration activity:
Well Planned Gal. (2014, March 19). Oreo Tectonics [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/LDBETNwODQE