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California Science
Sixth Grade Lesson Plan
Volcanoes
Sixth Grade Plate Tectonics and Earth’s Structure Standard
1. Plate tectonics accounts for important features of Earth’s surface and major geologic events. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a. Students know evidence of plate tectonics is derived from the fit of the continents; the location of
earthquakes, volcanoes, and midocean ridges; and the distribution of fossils, rock types, and ancient
climatic zones.
d. Students know that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults and that
volcanoes and fissures are locations where magma reaches the surface.
e. Students know major geologic events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain
building, result from plate motions.
Time Needed: Varies depending on how many groups are done. There are five groups available which take
about 20 minutes each. Choose groups with which you are comfortable and can get appropriate supplies. Also
discuss with the teacher which groups they would prefer to do. If you choose three groups, then the students
would be divided into three rotating groups and take an hour. Check with the 6th grade teacher in advance to
make sure the time is available and modify the lessons as necessary if there is not enough time.
Lesson Topic: Exploring volcanoes.
Objectives:
 To see the three major types of rocks and experience how they are formed.
 To see the major types of volcanic landforms and experience how they are formed.
 To model how islands are formed when a tectonic plate moves over a hot spot.
 To discuss divergent and convergent plate boundaries and model a volcano.
 To see where most of Earth’s volcanoes are formed – in the ring of fire.
Resources:
1. When we did these activities, we used the following resources. Modifications could be made.
a. Handouts.
b. Each 6th grade classroom has science textbooks with a chapter or section on volcanoes. It is good
to show the students where this is in their textbook if they want to read more about it.
c. Group 1:
i. Playdoh of at least four different colors.
ii. Various types of rocks identified as sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.
d. Group 2
i. Candles
ii. Paper plates
iii. Matches – different teachers will have different levels of comfort on how many students
will be allowed to hold lit candles at the same time. NEVER give the matches to the
students and allow the teacher to demonstrate this if he or she does not want the students
to participate.
e. Group 3
i. Laminated map of Hawaii with holes punched at each island. Either a map can be
purchased and laminated (schools usually have a laminator) or a map can be drawn on a
piece of blue poster paper. We drew our own map because we wanted to start from
Midway Island and show a longer part of the chain of islands formed over the Hawaiian
hot spot.
ii. Shaving cream.
f. Group 4:
i. Small bowl, vinegar, baking soda, food color, dishsoap.
g. Group 5:
i. Crayons
Procedure:
1.
Plan on about 20 minutes per group rotating groups for an hour if you choose three groups. You could
choose more groups with more time and more volunteers. You need enough volunteers and the teacher
to cover all groups.
2.
Follow the instructions on the worksheet.
3.
Answer the questions on the worksheet.
4.
At the end of the session, suggest the students take their worksheets home to explain to their parents.
Sixth Grade Science: Volcanoes
Name __________________________________________
Date
_______________________________________
Section 1: What are the three main types of rocks?
Objective:
Materials:
Procedure:
To see the three major types of rocks and how they are formed.
Playdoh
Each student needs a piece of playdoh that can be broken into eight smaller pieces.
1. Each student should trade pieces of playdoh with other students until they have four different colors of playdoh
2. Take the eight pieces of playdoh together in one hand and squeeze quickly one time
a. The squeezed ball of different colors of playdoh represents sedimentary rock.
b. Describe the sedimentary rock you made:
__________________________________________________________________________________
c. Compare the rock you made to real sedimentary rocks. Discuss how you can see the bits and pieces of
other rocks in the sedimentary rocks.
3. Take the squeezed playdoh ball one hand and press it down with the other hand.
a. The pressed flat playdoh represents metamorphic rock.
b. Describe the metamorphic rock you made:
__________________________________________________________________________________
c. Compare the rock you made to real metamorphic rocks. Discuss how you can see the smashed parts of
other rocks in metamorphic rocks.
4. Take the playdoh and mix it really well until the colors melt together.
a. The completely mixed playdoh represents igneous rock.
b. Describe the igneous rock you made:
__________________________________________________________________________________
c. Compare the rock you made to real igneous rocks.
Discuss what happens when rocks melt.
Think about it: which of the three types of rocks comes out of a volcano?
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/rock.html
Section 2: What kinds of volcanic landforms are there?
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/VolcanoTypes/volcano_types.html
Objective:
To see the major types of volcanic landforms and how they are formed.
Materials:
Candles, matches, paper plates
Procedure:
1. Look at the pictures of the different shapes of volcanoes and discuss how they were formed.
2. Hold a lit candle at different distances above a plate. (Examples: one student could hold their candle at 2 inches
above, another at 4 inches above, another at 6 inches above.)
3. Let the melted wax fall on the plate and create a shape. Try to create shapes with candle wax that are similar to the
pictures of the different landforms created by volcanoes.
Discuss: Is there any similarity between how volcanoes make landforms with lava and how you made shapes with candle
wax? How would you make each of the shapes of volcanoes?
Section 3: How the Hawaiian Islands Were Formed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hawaii_hotspot.jpg
The islands of Hawaii are part of the Hawaiian-Emperor
seamount chain – underwater mountains that go from the
Aleutian Trench in the far northwest of the Pacific to the big
island of Hawaii.
This chain of mountains was formed by a hot spot – a place
where a volcano stays at the same spot while the tectonic plate
on top of it moves.
Objective:
Materials:
To see how islands are formed when a tectonic
plate moves over a hot spot.
Laminated map of Hawaii with 1 cm holes cut
for islands, shaving cream.
Procedure:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/hawaii/
2.
Move two small tables together, leaving a gap of at least 5 cm between them.
3.
Lay the map over the tables so the hole at the furthest northwest is centered over the gap.
4.
From under the map, have one student spray shaving cream through the hole to create a small mound.
5.
Move the map to the next hole and pass the spray can to another student in the group. Repeat for each hole and
each student.
Data/Observations:
1.
What do the holes and the shaving cream represent?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
Which of the Hawaiian islands are most likely to still have active volcanos?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Assume that the Hawaiian hot spot is still active and the plate is still moving in the same direction. Is it possible for a
new volcano to form another Hawaiian island?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Where would a new island be?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Section 4:
What are Volcanoes?
Vulcan was the name of the god of fire in Roman mythology. The Romans named an island in the Mediterranean Vulcano
because they thought the volcanic activity on the island showed that it was Vulcan’s workshop. The English word for
volcano comes from the name of that island. Volcanology is the study of volcanoes and a volcanologist is a scientist who
studies volcanoes.
Volcanoes can be formed at divergent plate boundaries, convergent plate boundaries and at hot spots. We will talk about
hot spots in a different group. Here we are talking about divergent and convergent plate boundaries.
Divergent Plate Boundaries
When two tectonic plates move away from each other, hot
molten rock comes up from the Earth’s mantle and forms
new crust. Usually this happens at the bottom of the
ocean (which we will be studying in a few weeks), but
sometimes it happens above sea level. The island of
Iceland is a volcanic island that was created at a divergent
plate boundary.
http://dl.ccc.cccd.edu/classes/internet/geology100/IntroLecture1.htm
Convergent Plate Boundary
When two tectonic plates move toward each other and
collide, one of them has to go under the other. This is called
subduction. When the water from the ocean goes down
under a tectonic plate, it helps lower the melting temperature
of the rocks in the mantle. This melted rock is called magma.
If the magma comes to the surface, we call it lava. Lava
coming out of the ground is called a volcano. It can build
islands. Many of the islands in the world (but not all) were
made by volcanoes.
http://sio.ucsd.edu/volcano/about/subduction.html
Practice with the words:
1. Divergent means that things move away from each other. Tell the students to diverge and see how quickly they can
move apart.
2. Convergent means that things move toward each other. Tell the students to converge and see how quickly they can
move together. Go back and forth several times quickly between diverging and converging. Can they keep up?
3. Discuss subduction, magma and lava. Discuss the difference between lava and magma.
Model a Volcano (In the Last Two Minutes of the Group)
Simulate a volcanic eruption with a small bowl, vinegar, baking soda, food color, dishsoap.
Procedure:
1. Place one teaspoon of baking soda in the “crater” of the model volcano (a very small bowl or other small
container).
2. Pour a tablespoon of vinegar mixed with dishsoap and food coloring into the crater.
3. The strength of the volcanic reaction will depend on how fast you mix the vinegar and baking soda.
Section 5:
The Ring of Fire
The Pacific Plate is surrounded by volcanoes. As you will learn in another group, this is because volcanoes often form
where tectonic plates meet. In this group, you will learn about the volcanoes surrounding the Pacific Plate which are called
the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire has more than three-fourths of the world’s volcanoes. Each dot on the map below
represents a volcano.
1. Find the Nazca plate which is west of South America. The collision between the Nazca plate and the South
American plate created the Andes mountains which have the world’s highest volcanoes. Color the Nazca plate
yellow and the South American plate brown.
2. Find the Cocos plate which is west of Central America. The volcanoes in Mexico were caused by the impact of the
Cocos plate into the North American plate. Color the Cocos plate purple.
3. The Juan de Fuca and Gorda plates aren’t labeled on this map, but they are the small plates between the North
American plate and the Pacific plate that pushed up the Cascade Range. The Cascade Range includes the
volcanoes in Northern California, Oregon and Washington. If you can find the Juan de Fuca plate (it is just a tiny
square on this map in the ocean close to the Cascade range), color it black and color the North American plate
green.
4. The Pacific plate is moving northwest and when it hits and goes under the North American plate near Alaska, it
causes the volcanoes that became the Aleutian Islands. The subduction of the Pacific plate under the North
American plate created the deep Aleutian Trench which goes down to more than 25,000 feet under the surface of
the ocean. Color the Pacific plate blue.
5. The subduction of the Pacific plate under the Eurasian plate forced up the volcanoes in Kamchatka and Japan.
Color the Eurasian plate orange.
6. The Indo-Australian plate subducts under the Pacific plate. The volcanoes in New Guinea and Micronesia were
created by this plate movement. Color the Indo-Australian plate red.
7. Those are the plates that form the Ring of Fire. If you would like to color the other plates, choose your own colors.
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Imgs/Gif/PlateTectonics/Maps/map_plate_tectonics_world_bw.gif