ESC 400 Geosphere Lesson Plans

Volcanic Activity and Fossils

Grade Levels: Elementary-Middle School

 

 

Prepared by:

Michael Wolschleger

July 19, 2001

 

 

Prepared for:

Dr. Wayne Kiefer


Lesson 1 (two class periods)

·        Adapted from Science through Children’s Literature: An Integrated Approach and a lesson plan by Mary Ann Kohl.

 

I.      General Objective:

 

Describe natural changes in the earth’s surface (objective 4).

 

II.   Lesson Objective:

 

Describe natural changes in the earth’s surface due to volcanic activity.

 

III. Motivator:

 

Ask the class if they think there is any volcanic activity near Michigan and then reveal to them that there are ice volcanoes near Lake Superior.  To gain more interest, students will visit the following site which contains pictures and literature on the ice volcanoes:  http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/.

 

IV. Activities and Materials Needed:

 

Computers with Internet access will be needed for the motivator and other web instruction.  Colored construction paper, glue, scissors, and markers will be needed by the students to create bulletin board displays.  The following materials will be needed to construct a model volcano:  baking pan, soda bottle, moist soil, tablespoon of baking soda, cup of vinegar, red food coloring, and adequate space where the activity can make a mess.

 

V.    Procedures

 

After the motivator, I will lecture the class on some background information of volcanoes.  Then the class will attempt to create a model volcano from the following instructions:  first, place the baking pan on the ground and set the soda bottle in the middle of the pan.  Mound and shape the moist soil around the bottle to form a mountain.  Bring the soil right up to the top of the bottle’s opening, but don’t get the soil inside the bottle.  Color one cup of vinegar with red food coloring.  Pour the colored vinegar into the bottle.  Stand back and watch red foam spray out of the top and down the mountain like lava from a volcano.  Explain that the baking soda is reacting with the vinegar to produce carbon dioxide gas.  The gas builds up enough pressure to force the foaming liquid out of the top of the bottle.  This is a great analogy for what really happens with volcanoes on earth.

 

For homework, the students will search an almanac/encyclopedia site and list 10-15 major volcanic eruptions of recorded history.   The students will arrange these events in descending order from most destructive to least destructive in terms of number of casualties.  They should also find out when and where the eruptions occurred and if any of the volcanoes were from the United States.

There will be a class discussion to start out the second class in regards to the findings of historical volcanoes.  This will be followed a visit to a web site which covers the distribution of world volcanoes (http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/volcano/index.htm) and another web address (http://magic.geol.ucsb.edu~fisher/) which discusses volcanic forms and volcanic hazards among many other topics.

 

Finally, the students will be divided into groups and will construct bulletin board displays.  They will be assigned to one of the following volcanic forms (shield cone, cinder cone, composite cone, caldera) in order to differentiate between the various types.

 

VI.  Presentation Strategies:

 

Lecture, discussion, demonstration, observation, compare/contrast, investigation/inquiry, cooperative learning, laboratory.

 

VII. Vocabulary:

 

Volcano:  A conical hill or mountain built around a vent that connects with reservoirs of molten magma below the surface of the earth.

 

Magma:  Molten rock below the surface of the earth that rises in volcanic vents.

 

Lava:  Magma after it erupts from a volcano.

 

Fissure:  A long crack in the ground from which the lava flows.

 

Vent:  An opening in the earth’s crust from which volcanic materials pass to the earth’s surface.

 

Shield Cone:  A volcanic mountain with gently sloping sides; built almost entirely of lava flow.

 

Cinder Cone:  A small volcanic mountain with steep sides.

 

Composite Cone:  A volcanic mountain built of alternate layers of lava flows and volcanic cinders and ashes.

 

Caldera:  A large circular depression that forms when a volcanic mountain top collapses into the magma chamber beneath the mountain.

 

VIII. Learning Strategies:

 

Observation/identification, inference, prediction, classification, recording, making maps (illustrations).

 

IX. Assessment:

 

The students will be assessed on their participation in the activities and discussions.  The web research will be graded as a regular homework assignment.  Students will eventually be given a unit test on the vocabulary terms and concepts discussed during lecture.

 

X.    Extensions:

 

I think it would be a good time to move on to other plate tectonic events like earthquakes following this lesson.  It might be a good idea to compare and contrast volcanoes with earthquakes to start things out.

 

XI. Resources:

 

1.     Butzow, Carol; Butzow, John (2000).  Science through Children’s Literature: An

Integrated Approach, Second Edition.  Englewood, Colorado: Teacher Ideas Press.

 

2.     http:www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-335.html?for_printing=1 (Mary Ann Kohl)

 

3.     http://magic.geol.ucsb.edu/~fisher/

 

4.     http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/

 

5.     http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/volcano/index.htm

Lesson 2 (one class periods)

·        Adapted from Science through Children’s Literature: An Integrated Approach and Concepts and Challenges in Earth Science, Third Edition.

 

I.  General Objective:

 

Explain how fossils are used to understand the history of the earth (objective 3).

 

II.   Lesson Objective:

 

Classify various fossil forms, and determine the age of fossils and extinct animals.

 

III. Motivator:

 

Ask the students what a fossil is and if there are any fossils in the local area.  Bring  in a local fossil and discuss what it tells us about the past environment to give an understanding about what life once was like in Michigan.

 

IV.  Activities and Materials Needed:

 

A local fossil will be needed for the motivator.  The activity will need several large paper cups (depending on how many students will create fossils), clay, small objects such as keys, coins, or shells, plaster, and petroleum jelly.  Internet access will be needed to visit the instructional web site.  Handouts of the geologic time scale and fossil record will also be distributed.

 

V.    Procedures:

 

After the motivator, I will lecture on concepts and terms of fossils.  The students will be given handouts of the geologic time scale and fossil records.  To give the students a hands-on experience of fossils, they will participate in an activity where they will make individual fossils.  They can break up into small groups if necessary.  Instructions are as follows:

 

·        Press some clay into each of two paper cups so that the clay is 2-3 cm high in each cup.  Do not tear the cups.

·        Push a small object down into the clay of one cup.  Then carefully remove the object.

·        Coat the object with petroleum jelly.  Very lightly press the object into the clay of the second cup. 

·        Prepare plaster according to directions.

·        Pour some of the plaster into each cup.  Let the cups stand overnight.  After the plaster hardens, tear away the cups.  Remove the clay from the plaster.

 

Once completed, have the students describe the two fossils and explain how the fossils are alike and different.  The class should also be able to differentiate which fossil is in the mold and which is in the cast.

 

I will then show the class a thorough web site on fossils.  Students will take notes on all key terms and concepts.  We will discuss the information to how it relates to our current unit.

 

VI. Presentation Strategies:

 

Lecture, discussion, demonstration, observation, comparison/contrast, investigation/inquiry, cooperative learning, laboratory.

 

VII. Vocabulary:

 

Fossil:  Skeletal remains or impressions of previously living life forms in rock.

 

Index Fossil:  A guide fossil that geologists can use to determine the age of rock layers relative to other rock layers.

 

Cast:  Mold that has been filled with sediments.

 

Mold:  Cavity, or opening, in a rock that has the shape of an extinct organism.

 

VIII. Learning Strategies:

 

Observation/identification, inference, prediction, classification.

 

IX. Assessment:

 

The students will be evaluated on their participation in the motivator and activity.  They will be eventually assessed on their knowledge of the key terms and concepts taken from the lecture, handouts, activity, and web site.

 

X.  Extensions:

 

This lesson will lead into rock layers and relative/absolute dating of rocks. 

 

XI. Resources:

 

1. Butzow, Carol; Butzow, John (2000).  Science through Children’s Literature: An

Integrated Approach, Second Edition.  Englewood, Colorado: Teacher Ideas Press.

 

 

2.     Bernstein, Leonard; Schacter, Martin; Winkles, Alan; Wolfe, Stanley (1991).

            Concepts and Challenges in Earth Science, Third Edition.  Englewood Cliffs, New

            Jersey: Globe Book Company.  (geologic time scale handout)

 

3.     Namowitz, Samuel; Spaulding, Nancy (1994).  Earth Science.  Lexington,   

            Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company.  (fossil record handout)

 

4.  http://encarta.msn.com/find/concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=761564197