This week long unit includes all worksheets and teacher notes necessary for a mini unit on Plate Tectonics and how the earth has changed over millions of years. Students are engaged by first deciding if they believe
-mountains can be under the ocean
-oceans can shrink
-an island can form by lava piling up
-mountains can form by land masses colliding into one another
-over time, cities can switch places geographically
Of course, because of the shifting of the earth's plates, underwater volcanoes, fissures in the earth, and faults, all of these are true through their research, students will learn specific examples that show how the ideas above are true.
The mini unit flows from an anticipation guide, to students researching one of the facts, to groups planning a poster, to a sharing day where students tell the rest of the class what they have learned (like a jigsaw). I have also included an extra vocabulary worksheet in case you decide to extend the unit.