Plate tectonic was the content that my instruction plan explored. There were several goals in the lesson such as: the students will learn various plate tectonic activities, plate settings and the biodiversities and ecosystems as an effect of these settings, along with plates shift and the influence on landforms and ecosystems. I chose to use modeling so that student could recognize patterns in the location of the mountain ranges on the different continents. Kenyon, Schwarz, and Hug (2008, October) define a scientific model as “a representation of a system that includes important parts of that system (along with rules and relationships of those parts) to help us think about and test ideas of the phenomena.”(p.41). There were aspect of the lesson that were successful and some that I would alter if taught again.
I really feel that my goals were met as the students conducted their research on the internet. The students were successful in researching news articles and information describing the causes and effects of the events caused by natural disasters. I was able to direct the students’ attentions towards geological disasters and they brainstormed a list of adjectives that can be used to describe the events. By the end of the lesson the students gain a greater understanding of plate tectonics through an online tutorial from the PBS Savage Earth website, Hell's Crust: Our Ever changing Planet. The students were able to draw, label and describe each type of tectonic settings described in the Hot Zones animation section of the tutorial. My students were also able to explain that the shifts in plates on Earth's surface are responsible a great deal of land formations, such as volcanoes, mountains, and valleys.
Researching was most effective in this lesson. Guided Inquiry which is when the students investigate teacher-presented questions using student designed/selected procedures as discussed by Banchi, and Bell (2008). During the inquiry portion of the lesson, the students were very interested and excited about their discoveries which encouraged them to inquire more. Actually seeing and cutting out the different plates in the model was successful in helping them understand how the plates fit together to make the crust a whole. The students were visual, verbally, logically, and kinesthetically stimulated which is supportive for different types of learners. I would like to teach the origin of the continents in a previous lesson. Learning about Pangaea and the continental drift would help the students understand that the plates have always moved and will continue to do so causing alterations to the land. If the students were able to create the plate and actual simulate the different types of plate tectonic settings they would have more concrete knowledge on how the plates move and influence landforms. The students would be able to test, evaluate and revise the model or use it to predict and explain a phenomenon according to Kenyon, Schwarz, and Hug, (2008, October). This also would add depth to the concept of plate tectonics and could be taught in a unit study. More time was definitely needed to complete the model portion of the lesson. Students took longer than the time allotted to complete the model. Next time this lesson should be instructed over a three day span, if taught during my 45 minute planning time.
I really feel that my goals were met as the students conducted their research on the internet. The students were successful in researching news articles and information describing the causes and effects of the events caused by natural disasters. I was able to direct the students’ attentions towards geological disasters and they brainstormed a list of adjectives that can be used to describe the events. By the end of the lesson the students gain a greater understanding of plate tectonics through an online tutorial from the PBS Savage Earth website, Hell's Crust: Our Ever changing Planet. The students were able to draw, label and describe each type of tectonic settings described in the Hot Zones animation section of the tutorial. My students were also able to explain that the shifts in plates on Earth's surface are responsible a great deal of land formations, such as volcanoes, mountains, and valleys.
Researching was most effective in this lesson. Guided Inquiry which is when the students investigate teacher-presented questions using student designed/selected procedures as discussed by Banchi, and Bell (2008). During the inquiry portion of the lesson, the students were very interested and excited about their discoveries which encouraged them to inquire more. Actually seeing and cutting out the different plates in the model was successful in helping them understand how the plates fit together to make the crust a whole. The students were visual, verbally, logically, and kinesthetically stimulated which is supportive for different types of learners. I would like to teach the origin of the continents in a previous lesson. Learning about Pangaea and the continental drift would help the students understand that the plates have always moved and will continue to do so causing alterations to the land. If the students were able to create the plate and actual simulate the different types of plate tectonic settings they would have more concrete knowledge on how the plates move and influence landforms. The students would be able to test, evaluate and revise the model or use it to predict and explain a phenomenon according to Kenyon, Schwarz, and Hug, (2008, October). This also would add depth to the concept of plate tectonics and could be taught in a unit study. More time was definitely needed to complete the model portion of the lesson. Students took longer than the time allotted to complete the model. Next time this lesson should be instructed over a three day span, if taught during my 45 minute planning time.
Overall the lesson went as expected. A small group of my 6th grade students were pulled from their exploratory class, my planning period, for this lesson. This was somewhat a challenge to teach since this our district is in a TCAP prep mode. Everything must be centered on our state test that will be administered the week of April 11th. The students really enjoyed learning about plate tectonics for this content in not in the 6th grade curriculum. I have deepened their background knowledge for when they explore it in 7th grade. Models and visual aid make any lesson more interesting, hands-on and memorable.
References
Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science & Children, 46(2), 26–29.
Kenyon, L., Schwarz, C., & Hug, B. (2008, October). The benefits of scientific modeling.
Science & Children, 46(2), 40–44.
