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Plate Tectonics
Classroom Activities and Lesson Plans

Plate Tectonics

Below is a list of plate tectonics lesson plans, classroom activities, projects, and demonstrations that might be useful in your classroom. With adaptation, many of them can be used for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university students.

Christy Pratt

Image by Dr. Hobart King

Popular Earth Science Lesson Topics

Main Earth Science Teacher Resource Page
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	Teaching Plate Tectonics A good lesson plan that demonstrates plate tectonics through easy to draw illustrations. This plate tectonics lesson plan can easily be adapted for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university students.

	Mid-Ocean Ridge Spreading Demonstration Model This lesson plan is a project that demonstrates divergent plate boundaries through a classroom activity. This classroom activity can easily be adapted for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university level students.

	Plate Tectonics Map - Plate Boundary Map This resource that can be incorporated into many classroom activities. This interactive map demonstrates divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries with satellite images and maps. The plate boundary map can be a good reference.

	Real Evidence of a Subducting Plate This lesson plan demonstrates subducting plates and provides students with actual data to interpret. This classroom activity is useful for helping elementary, secondary, middle school, and university students.

	The Ring of Fire This lesson plan demonstrates how plate tectonics and the ring of fire are related through a classroom activity. This demonstration is a good way to introduce and expand the topic of plate tectonics for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university level students.

	Plate Tectonics This plate tectonics lesson plan has a collection of many activities for the students to perform. This interactive lesson plan can be used for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university level students.

	Towel Geology This Lesson plan allows students to examine geologic processes through a classroom activity. This demonstration illustrates these concepts so elementary, secondary, middle school, and university students can easily understand the processes.

	Mystery of the Megaplume This lesson plan requires students to use their basic knowledge of plate tectonics to solve greater mysteries. This classroom activity is appropriate for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university level students with minor modifications.

	Plate Tectonics This plate tectonics lesson plan involves a classroom activity to help students understand the processes that move and shape Earth's surface. This lesson plan is useful for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university students.

	Foam Model Plate Tectonics This lesson plan gives students a demonstration to visualize the concept of plate tectonics. This classroom activity can be used to introduce or expand plate tectonics for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university level students.

	Sea-Floor Spreading Made Easy This lesson plan gives students the ability to investigate sea-floor spreading and magnetism direction through a classroom activity. This demonstration can be adapted for elementary, secondary, middle school, and university students.

Popular Earth Science Lesson Topics

Main Earth Science Teacher Resource Page
Astronomy and Space Earthquake Erosion Maps and Geography Plate Tectonics	Rock, Mineral, and Rock Cycle Volcano Water Weather