Download Template for Lesson Planning (only suggestions

Beth S. Pollak
Spring 2007
Lesson Plan #3
Understanding Fault Lines Part 1:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Content Objective/Goal: Students will understand the concept of the creation of
strike-slip fault lines and ultimately, earthquakes.
Language Goal: Students should be able to describe how strike-slip fault lines can
form and ultimately create earthquakes. By the end of the unit, once students have
learned about other fault lines, students should be able to compare strike-slip faults
with other types of faults.
Scientific Process goal: Students should learn to consider a visual model and draw
inferences from it about a natural phenomenon. They should be able to describe the
model and their inference, both orally and in written form. They should also be able
to draw a diagram that represents the model.
Background Knowledge: Students should have a basic understanding of rocks and
the fact that the earth is composed of layers of rock. They should understand that
earthquakes involve a breakdown of the normal horizontal plane and surface of the
earth.
Materials/Special Preparation:
1.
Prepare overheads with pictures of earthquakes, faults, San
Andreas fault
2.
Prepare visual of Strike-Slip Fault
3.
Prepare Styrofoam pieces for students.
4.
Write definitions of earthquake and fault lines on a piece of
chart paper.
Lesson:
A. Show an overhead/photos of an earthquake if it is available. Ask students: Who
can describe what happens when there is an earthquake? Write students’ answers
on the board.
B. Compare the students’ answers with the textbook definition of earthquake and
discuss.
C. Give brief background on the earth’s plates – show students an overhead of map
of tectonic plates. Explain how plates meet at plate boundaries, where earthquakes
often happen.
D. Explain: as plates push and pull against each other, forces that act on rocks in the
earth’s crust are pushed and pulled hard enough to actually break the ground and
cause further breakage in the area. These areas of breakage are called fault lines.
Show/read textbook definition of fault lines too.
E. Take a whole square/rectangle of Styrofoam. Invite two students to volunteer.
Tell the class to imagine: that this Styrofoam were a piece of land, a giant mass of
rock – and the two students were opposite forces acting upon it. Tell one student
to push one way on the Styrofoam, and another to pull the other. Let the students
push/pull on the Styrofoam until it breaks.
VII.
F. Ask another student: what happened? After a few students responses, explain:
when forces push and pull on a piece of land, a breakage is likely to form. This
type of breakage is called a fault, and different types of faults form all over the
earth.
G. Show overhead of San Andreas Fault. Read and discuss the overhead, pointing
out the photo, making note of cities on the map (San Francisco and Los Angeles)
and discussing how the two plates along the fault move in opposite directions.
Discuss difficult vocabulary (tremors) and introduce the term “transform fault”
(the same as a strike-slip fault).
H. Show overhead of the strike-slip/transform fault and explain the movement taking
place along the fault.
I. Explain that you will now do a hands-on activity with students to better
understand strike-slip faults.
J. Pass out broken pieces of Styrofoam to students. Each student should get two
pieces of Styrofoam, and one piece of construction paper to avoid messiness.
Say: Let’s see what happens if you have two pieces of land moving back and forth
along each other’s edges. Tell students that for the activity, they should put one
hand on each piece of Styrofoam, and imagine that they are giant pieces of land
moving along a fault line. The students should move the pieces back and forth
along their common edge (the fault line); and observe what happens. (demonstrate
for students just to get them started).
K. Pass out science journals. The students need to draw a picture and describe what
happened in their science journal by answering three questions:
1) What did you do with the Styrofoam?
2) What did you observe that happened?
3) What does this tell you about what can happen along some
fault lines? Make an inference.
Circle the classroom and encourage students to label their diagrams and to explain
their observations and inferences in full sentences.
L. Ask students to share their observations about what happened. Ask them: what do
they think this can tell us about how earthquakes form?
M. Explain that what they have done with the Styrofoam is actually demonstrated one
type of fault line: a strike-slip fault.
N. If time allows, look at the word, strike-slip fault. Ask students: why do you think
this type of fault is called a “strike-slip” fault? (if not, make this a homework
question).
Differentiation: Use visuals/overheads as much as possible to make explanations
more clear for visual learners and English Language Learners. Allow students to
share their experiences with earthquakes/fault lines to give them an opportunity to
make the lesson relevant to their lives. As students work with the Styrofoam, circle
the classroom to remind students to think about the pieces of Styrofoam as pieces of
land and rock formations to help them focus on the fact that the model represents
something real, and is not just two pieces of Styrofoam that they are rubbing against
each other. When students are writing about the model, encourage them to draw what
happened as well as to write about it to help reinforce the concept visually as well as
verbally. Suggest ways to start their sentences and answers to the different questions,
and model ways to do this, especially for English language learners. For students who
work faster, encourage them to take a few minutes to write about earthquakes they
have heard of and where they have taken place.
VIII. Assessment: The assessment will be made in the students’ discussion responses and
their answers to the in-class questions. This should demonstrate whether or not the
students are able to visualize the process and formation of a strike-slip fault, and
draw inferences based on a model. Further assessment will be made at the end of the
unit, when they will be asked to compare a strike-slip fault with other types of faults.