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Engaged Learning Project Template
Title of Project: I Feel the Earth Move Under my Feet
Subject(s): Earth Science
Grade Level(s): 6th
Abstract:
Students will be working collaboratively as scientific researchers and digital journalists to create a
digital science magazine. They will gather information from actual film footage of volcanoes and
earthquakes, interactive simulations, and online research in the form of a WebQuest. They will
synthesize historical and real-time data and utilize this information to create various RAFT’s and
together with their team of researchers present their findings to their peers. This inter-disciplinary lesson
will enlist the help and resources of the students’ ELA classroom to collaborate and facilitate this
project.
Learner Description/Context:
Students in this Title 1, 6th grade class represent a very diverse group of learners with mixed socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. Although the students have had a limited exposure to earth
science many of them have real world experiences that augment this deficit. They work in the fields,
garages, kitchens, and homes alongside the adults and have gained real world experience. The students
are encouraged to BYOD but will have 1:1 access to an iPad. They will have a limited exposure to
WebQuests, simulations, and computer based research.
Time Frame: This lesson is designed to take ten 55-minute periods but can be altered as needed.
Standards Assessed:
NGSS
NSES Earth and Space Science – Structure of the Earth System
The solid earth is layered with a lithosphere; hot, convecting mantle; and dense, metallic core.
NSES Earth and Space Science – Structure of the Earth System
Lithospheric plates on the scales of continents and oceans constantly move at rates of centimeters per
year in response to movements in the mantle. Major geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, and mountain building, result from these plate motions.
NSES Earth and Space Science – Structure of the Earth System
Land forms are the result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces. Constructive forces
include crustal deformation, volcanic eruption, and deposition of sediment, while destructive forces
include weathering and erosion.
Georgia Performance Standards
S6E5. Students will investigate the scientific view of how the earth’s surface is formed.
S6CS1 Students will explore the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in science
and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.
S6CS2 Students will use standard safety practices for all classroom laboratory and field investigations.
S6CS3 Students will use computation and estimation skills necessary for analyzing data and following
scientific explanations.
S6CS4 Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating equipment
and materials in scientific activities.
S6CS5 Students will use the ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and
technological matters.
S6CS6 Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.
Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University
Engaged Learning Project Template
S6CS7 Students will question scientific claims and arguments effectively.
S6CS8 Students will investigate the characteristics of scientific knowledge and how it is achieved.
S6CS9 Students will investigate the features of the process of scientific inquiry. NETS- S
NETS-S 1 Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative
products and processes using technology.
NETS-S 3 Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
NETS-S 4 Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve
problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
NETS-S 5 Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice
legal and ethical behavior.
NETS-S 6 Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and
operations.
Learner Objectives:
The activity infuses Core ideas (e.g., the earth is a system of systems, matter cycles, energy flows, The
flow of energy drives the cycling of matter) and Crosscutting concepts. These concepts have application
across all domains of science, and they are a way of linking the different domains of science. They
include: Patterns, similarity, and diversity; Cause and effect; Scale, proportion and quantity; Systems
and system models; Energy and matter; Structure and function; Stability and change. Students will
effectively navigate through simulations, historical and real-time data, locate and plot active tectonic
sites throughout the world, and determine what kind of plate boundary caused the deformation. Students
will look at patterns of earthquakes below Earth's surface and relate earthquakes to plate movement.
This activity includes individual, collaborative and reflective practices so that students are able to make
sense of science phenomena as they develop causal relationships, supported by evidence, of observed
phenomena in defined systems. The crosscutting concepts are then utilized in the process by which
students gather and use evidence to support their claims and create their products. This lesson will
engage students in obtaining and using evidence gained from simulations, investigations and other
sources, developing and using models, constructing explanations and communicating arguments that
support their final projects.
The “hook” or Introduction:
Students will be told they are going to take a fieldtrip…AROUND THE WORLD! They will assume the
role of a scientific researcher, volcanologist, and adventurer! Because in the world of PLATE
TECTONICS, danger lurks behind every boundary!
Process:
Day 1
Begin WebQuest: View video and complete simulation1 “Earthquakes Around the World”.
Students will be introduced to the WebQuest and guided through the different tasks and processes. The
WebQuest will be displayed on the interactive white board in order to facilitate the navigation to and
through the website.
Days 2 - 3 Continue WebQuest: complete simulation 2 “Plate Boundaries” and begin Mapping Activity.
Printed maps and related materials will be made available for student use. Teacher will be available for
assistance and direct instruction when and as needed.
Day 4
Complete Mapping Activity and begin researching location for RAFT 1 Activity. Students
will use Word and/or paper mock-ups for their rough drafts. Teacher will be available for technology
facilitation, assistance and direct instruction when and as needed.
Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University
Engaged Learning Project Template
Days 5 - 6 Complete RAFT 1 and transfer to Glossi.com and add media as needed/desired. Teacher will
be available for technology facilitation, assistance and direct instruction when and as needed.
Days 7 - 8 Complete RAFT 2 and transfer to Glossi.com and add media as needed/desired. Teacher will
be available for technology facilitation, assistance and direct instruction when and as needed
Day 9
Conduct Peer and Self-Assessments. Teacher will facilitate and tabulate data.
Day 10
Round Robin Review and Celebration. Teacher will participate as a co-learner.
Product:
Students will work collaboratively and individually to complete a digital magazine using the RAFTing
technique. Each student will perform the role of journalist and complete an informative news article or
interview of an expert or event survivor. Their second RAFT will be of their choice from the following:
Word Smith*, Rapper*, Media Mogul*, Illustrator*, or Explorer*. Each of these roles and products
highlights a different intellectual strength or talent and is differentiated by product/format. Roles and
formats of RAFT 2 are negotiable provided the participant provides a compelling argument and product
is in a digital format and elicits a higher order thinking skill and provides an authentic experience.
Technology Use:
Students will use a variety of technologies in differing formats. Cooperative learning, classroom
computers, iPads, and BYOD’s will be used for research, online simulations, word processing,
collaboration, presentation and posting of their findings and assessments. Students will be asked to
publish their data to a class Wikipage for peer and collaborative evaluation.
References and Supporting Material:
I feel the Earth Move Under My Feet WebQuest URLhttp://createwebquest.com/node/14032
Earthquakes Around the World. (2011, August 24). Retrieved 2014, July 16, from The Concord
Consortium: http://concord.org/stem-resources/earthquakes-around-world
Earthquakes Around the World. (2011, August 24). Retrieved 2014, July 16, from The Concord
Consortium: http://concord.org/stem-resources/earthquakes-around-world
Investigating Plate Boundaries, (2011, August 24). ). Retrieved 2014, July 16, from The Concord
Consortium http://itsi.portal.concord.org/activities/4649
Earth's Active Volcanoes (2014). Retrieved July 6, 2014 from Michigan Tech University WebSite:
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/world.html
Plate Tectonics – A Documentary. What If Productions. Isaac Frame. Web. 13 Jul. 2014.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-HwPR_4mP4/>.
Plate Tectonics (2014). Retrieved Retrieved July 6, 2014 from United States Geological Survey
WebSite: http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/pltec/
Plate Tectonics (2005). Retrieved July 6, 2014 from Wheeling Jesuit University/ NASA-supported
Classroom of the Future WebSite: http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/plates1.html
Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University
Engaged Learning Project Template
Tectonic Plate Boundaries (2007). Retrieved July 6, 2014 from Science Learning Hub:
http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/var/sciencelearn/storage/images/contexts/earthquakes/sci_media/tectoni
c_plate_boundaries/8318-7-eng-NZ/tectonic_plate_boundaries_full_size_landscape.jpg
Virtual Times: Recent Earthquakes and Volcanoes (1997). Retrieved July 6, 2014 from The Virtual
Times WebSite: http://www.hsv.com/scitech/earthsci/quake.html
World maps (2014). Retrieved July 6, 2014 from Geology and Earth Sciences WebSite:
http://geology.com/world/world-map.gif
* Roles are explained in the WebQuest or can be changed based on need or preference.
Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University