Author:
Utah Lesson Plans
Subject:
Media and Communications
Material Type:
Lesson
Level:
Middle School, High School
Tags:
  • Lesson Plan
  • Library
  • Media
  • UEN
  • License:
    Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
    Language:
    English
    Media Formats:
    Text/HTML

    Education Standards

    Choosing Research Topics: Plate Tectonics

    Choosing Research Topics: Plate Tectonics

    Overview

    Students will read from selected materials about earthquakes, volcanoes, continental features, ocean floor features, rocks and/or fossils, and develop a question to investigate.

    Summary

    Students will read from selected materials about earthquakes, volcanoes, continental features, ocean floor features, rocks and/or fossils, and develop a question to investigate.

    Materials

    School Library Catalog to pull appropriate library resources

    Background for Teachers

    Teachers should review the listed Curriculum Ties for the Library Media Strand, the Science Strand, and the attached list of articles from Gale Research in Context using Utah's Online Library.

    Student Prior Knowledge

    Students will come prepared with background knowledge on plate tectonics and the structure of the Earth.

    Intended Learning Outcomes

    Read about the optional topics, choose a topic of interest, and develop a research question to investigate.

    Instructional Procedures

    SESSION 1

    1. Introduction: Review Plate Tectonics and introduce six topics:

    • Volcanoes
    • Earthquakes
    • Continental features
    • Ocean floor features
    • Rocks
    • Fossils

    2. Students select a reading on one of the six topics.

    3. Instruction on research process:

    • Citation
    • Read article
    • Summarize
    • Own ideas and questions

    4. Students select another reading and cite and take notes on their own.

    5. Wrap Up

    SESSION 2

    1. Instruction:

    Each student is to select one or more additional readings to cite and take notes. Review process as needed from work turned in from the previous session.

    2. Students work on their own.

    3. Developing research questions: Have students review the questions they formulated as they read to find a question they would like to research.

    4. Wrap Up

    Strategies for Diverse Learners

    Selected materials on every topic will be available on many Lexile® levels and in different formats. Students will choose the topic and sources for their personal research.

    Extensions

    Students with more interest or deeper research questions can access additional materials on their topics.

    Assessment Plan

    Students will turn in their note pages on the topic of interest and the research question that they developed.

    Bibliography

    Reviewed for USBE by Sarah Herron