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Choosing Research Topics: Plate Tectonics

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Main Core Tie

Secondary Library Media (6-12)
Strand 2: Standard 1:

Time Frame

2 class periods of 45 minutes each

Group Size

Large Groups

Life Skills

Thinking & Reasoning

Authors

Christina Bates
SARAH HERRON
MARGARET MUMFORD
ANN RIDING

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

Websites

  • Newsla: Non-fiction Literacy and Current Events
    Current news articles available in text sets in various Lexile® levels.
  • Utah's Online Library
    Utah's Online Library is a collection of electronic resources. It provides statewide access to newspaper articles, magazines, professional journals, encyclopedias, video, photographs, maps, charts, and graphics.

School Library Catalog to pull appropriate library resources


Background for Teachers

Attachments

Websites

  • Utah's Online Library
    Teachers will look at specific sources on earthquakes, volcanoes, continental drift, ocean floor rifts, fossil evidence and rock evidence.

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


Created: 09/08/2016
Updated: 02/05/2018
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