MelanieYoung

Term3
ScienceLessonPlan
LessonTitle:WhatstheEarthsCrust?!
COREDECISIONSOFLESSONPLAN
What:Mystudentsjustlearnedaboutthetheoryofplatetectonics.Inordertoaddtotheir
knowledgeaboutthelithosphereIwillteachthemmoreabouttheEarthscrust.Thecrustis
about10milesofrockandloosematerials.Inthislessonstudentswillbeintroducedtothe
conceptofanelement.Theywilllearnthattheearthscrustismadeofonly8basicelements.
Theyareoxygen,calcium,potassium,sodium,magnesium,aluminum,silicon,andiron.They
willworkwiththeideathatallthemillionsofsubstancesontheeartharevariouscombinations
ofonly8elements.StudentswillworkwiththePeriodicTableofElementsandsymbolsofthe
elements.Additionally,studentswillpresenttheirdataintheformofacirclegraphs.

How:Firstwewillreviewthelayersoftheearth.Studentswilldrawapictureoftheearths
layersintheirsciencebook.Theywilllabeleachlayer(innercore,outercore,lowermantle,
uppermantle,crust/lithosphere,hydrosphere,atmosphere).Thenwewillreviewtheterminology
forthelithospherevs.hydrosphere.Thenstudentswillsortmarblessothattheyrepresentthe
percentageofthedifferentelementsintheearthscrust.Studentswillthenuseacirclegraphand
abargraphtocomparethevariousquantities.Theclasswillthendiscusseachofthedifferent
elements.Wewillmaketheelementsrelevanttotheirlivedexperiencebycomingupwithcome
upwithexamplesofwheretheycanfindtheseelementsintheirlife.Iwillalsoprovidethemofa
descriptionofeachelement.

Why:Thestudentsinmy6thgradeclassjustfinishedtheirfirstlessonplanonlandforms.I
thoughtalotaboutwhatlessonmightsupplementtheirunderstandingoflandforms.Whileatthe
NSTAconferenceIspentsometimetalkingtotheMineralEducationCoalitiontable.Theygave
outalotoffreesamplesofmineralsandaposterofaperiodictableofelements.Ispentalotof
timeatthistablebecauseIactuallydontknowmuchaboutthewordsmineralresources.
AlthoughIwasprettyeagertofigurehowImightusethesefreeresourcesinmyclassroom,I
stillfeltintimidatedabouttalkingaboutminerals,rocks,andrelatedsubjecttopicsinmy
classroom.Ifeltthatthisterm3assignmentwouldprovidemewiththeperfectopportunitytotry
createalessonplanandteachasciencesubjectthatIfeelalittleinsecureaboutteaching.After
lookingaroundtheMineralEducationCoalitionwebsitesteacherresourcesIsawareally
interestingbeginnerlessononrocksandminerals.Itbeginstalkingabouttheearthscrust.I
thoughtthatthiswasalsorelatedtoandenhancethestudentspreviousknowledgeoflandforms.

LessonPlan
ScienceGoal/Objective:
ScienceGoals:Studentwillbeabletorecognizethe8elementsthatmakeupmostofthe
earthscrust,giveanimpressionofthepercentagesofthese8elements,andtocreatea
circlegraphtorepresentthequantities.
OBJECTIVEStudentswillknowthattheearthscrustismadeupof8elementsthatcan
befoundontheperiodictableofelements.
PAScienceStandards:
Standard3.3.6.A6
ModelsandScales:DescribethescalesinvolvedincharacterizingEarthandits
atmosphere.
CreatemodelsofEarthscommonphysicalfeatures.
AssessmentAnchorS6.A.3Systems,Models,andPatterns
AnchorDescriptorS6.A.3.2Applyknowledgeofmodeltomakepredictions,
drawinferences,orexplaintechnologicalconcepts.
EligibleContentS6.A.3.2.1Describehowscientistusemodelstoexplore
relationshipsandmakepredictionsaboutnaturalsystems.
NGSSStandardMSESS13Analyzeandinterpretdatatodeterminescaleproperties
ofobjectsinthesolarsystem.
ScienceandEngineeringPractices:Analyzeandinterpretdatatodetermine
similaritiesanddifferencesinfindings.(MSESS13)
DisciplinaryCoreIdea:ESS1.C:TheHistoryofPlanetEarthThegeologictime
scaleinterpretedfromrockstrataprovidesawaytoorganizeEarthshistory.Analysesofrock
strataandthefossilrecordprovideonlyrelativedates,notanabsolutescale.(MSESS14)
Crosscuttingconcepts:Scale,Proportion,andQuantityTime,space,andenergy
phenomenacanbeobservedatvariousscalesusingmodelstostudysystemsthataretoolargeor
toosmall.(MSESS13),(MSESS14),SystemsandSystemModelsModelscanbeusedto
representsystemsandtheirinteractions.(MSESS12)

MaterialsandPreparation:
ChartshowingthelayersoftheEarth
100marblesdividedintothefollowingcolors
46red(or47){oxygen46.4%}(BlueRaspberry)
4white(or4){calcium4.2%}(Strawberry)
2yellow{potassium2%}(FruitPunch)
2clear(or2){sodium2.4%}(StrawberryLemonade)(oneextraingroup)
2blue(or2){magnesium2.3%}(LemonLime)(oneextraingroup)
8silver(or8){aluminum8.2%}(Grape)
28green(or28){silicon28.2%}(GreenApple)
5black(or6){iron5.6%}(Watermelon)
(1marbleofanothercolorifusingwholemarblesforotherelementstorepresent
allotherminorelements)(CherryLimeade)
Cardsforeachoftheelements
AcopyofthePeriodicTableoftheElements
meterstick

Classroomarrangementandmanagementissues:
Iplantoonlycompletethislessonwith4students,twoboysandtwogirls.These
studentsaregenerallywellbehaved.DependonwhichroomisopenIwilleitherusethelibrary
orthesciencelabnextdoor.EachroomhasadryeraseboardthatIcanusetowriteon.

LessonOutline
:
00:05Mins
Hook:DiscussthatnoonereallyknowswhatisfarbeneaththeEarth'ssurface.
Theseobservationshaveneverbeenmade,butthereisalotofevidencethat
supportstheinferencesthathavebeenmade.Discussthephysicaldepthtowhich
mostholesaredug(worldrecorddepthis2,466metersbelowtheseafloor)Show
themameterstick.
Howmanyofyouhaveeverdugahole?
Howdeepdidyoudig?
Whatdidyoufind?
Sohowdowegetdownthousandsoffeet?
Didyouseeanylayersintheholethatyoudug?
Discussthedifferencebetweentopsoilandbedrock.Explainthatthesearepartof
thecrust,butaredifferentlayers.
ReviewEarthsstructure:Holdupthechartoftheearthslayersandreviewthe
namesofthelayers:
innercore,outercore,mantle,andcrust.

:05:10
Youmightbesurprisedtolearnthattheearthscrustismadeofonly8basic
ingredients?Theingredientsarecalled
elements
.
ShowPeriodicTableoftheElements.
Thisiscalledthe
PeriodicTableoftheElements
.Itshowsalltheelementsthatoccurinand
aroundourplanet.Thereare112elementsonthechart.92oftheseelementsoccurnaturallyin
theair,thewaterorthecrust.Doyouknowanyelementsonthetable?HowaboutH2O?
Copper?Lead?Carbon?Youwilllearnaboutalloftheseelementswhenyoutakechemistryin
highschool.
Buteventhoughthereare92naturalelements,only8elementsmakeupmostoftheearths
crust.
Showthecontainerofmarbles.
Thereare100marblesinthiscontainer.Theyrepresenttheearthscrust.
Doyouseethattherearedifferentcolorsofmarbles?Thedifferentcolorsrepresentthedifferent
elementsthatmakeuptheearthscrust.
Havethestudentsseparatethemarblesintothedifferentcolors.
Whatdoyounoticeaboutthenumbersofmarbles?(Somecolorshavemoremarblesthan
others.)
Thisrepresentsthedifferentamountsofthevariouselements.Theredmarblesrepresentthe
element
Oxygen
.Oxygenmakesupnearlyhalfoftheearthscrust.
ShowtheOxygencard.(inred,tomatch)Discussthenumberofmarblesoutof100.
(46or47)Comparethistothepercentagewrittenonthecard.
Whatcolorhasthemostmarblesaftertheredoxygenmarbles?(Thegreenmarbles.Thereare
28or28andalittlepiece.)
Thegreenmarblesrepresenttheelement
Silicon
.Siliconmakesupmorethanofthe
ingredientsofthecrust.
ShowtheSiliconcard(ingreen,tomatch)Again,discussthenumberofmarblesoutof
100(28or28)andcomparetothepercentageonthecard.

:10:20
Letsseeifyoucanmatchtheothermarbleswiththeirnamecards.
Studentsshouldbeabletomatchthese,ifonlybycolor.Checkbycountingand
comparingthepercentages.
Oncethematerialsarematchedtalkabouteachelement.

:20:30
Doesanyoneknowwhereanyoftheseelementsarepresentinyourownlife?

ElementName

Inourlives

Oxygen(O8)

Webreathinoxygen!Inourwater!

Calcium(Ca20)

Givesstrengthtoourbonesandteeth.Chalk
andshells,milk

Potassium(K19)

Bananas

Sodium(Na11)

Salt(whencombinedwithchlorine),paper(is
usedtohelpmakepaper)

Magnesium(Mg12)

Inplants(Magnesiumisneededtomake
somethingcalledchlorophyll.Chlorophyll
makesplantsgreen)

Aluminum(Al13)

Utensils,Aluminumfoil,cans

Silicon(Si14)

Sand,ceramics,glass
,computerchips
(SiliconValley)

Iron(26)

Steel,magnets.Theearthscoreisbelievedto
bemolteniron.

:30:40
Continuewiththelessonplanbyshowingtheblankcirclegraph.(orgiveablankgraph
toeachstudent)

Doesanyoneknowthenameofthistypeofgraph.(Thisisa
circlegraph)
.Doesanyoneknow
whypeopleusecirclegraphs?(Circlegraphsaregoodforcomparingquantitiesthatmakeupa
whole.)Sinceourmarblesrepresentalltheelementsthatmakeuptheearthscrust,wecanusea
circlegraphtomakeapicturethatcomparesthevariousquantities.
WhichsectiondoyouthinkrepresentsOxygen?(thelargestsection)Thissectioncanbecolored
redtomatchtheredmarblesthatrepresentOxygen.
PointouttheKeyinthebottomcornerofthegraphpage.ReviewthepartsoftheKey
anditspurposeasfollows:

Doyouseetheboxinthebottomcornerofthepage?ItiscalledaKey.Itdefinesthemeaningof
thedifferentcolorsweareusingtorepresentthedifferentelements.Colorintheboxnexttothe
wordOxygenthesamecolorasthepartofthegraphthatrepresentsOxygen.(red)
Doyouthinkyoucouldmatchthesectionsofthegraphtothedifferentquantities?Whatcolordo
youthinkthissectionshouldbe?
Pointtothenextlargestsection.(Thisrepresentssiliconsoshouldbecoloredgreen.)
Continuetosupportthestudentstomatchthesectionsandcolorinboththegraphandthe
key.
Atthispointinthelessonplanyoucouldmoveawayfromthestudentsastheyfinishthis
workindependentlyor
Thisisagoodopportunityforkidstoworktogethertoconfirm
thattheyareusingtherightcolorsfortherightsectionofthegraph.
.Beforeyoumove
away,helpthestudentsbrainstormanappropriatetitleforthegraph.

:40:45
Givethestudentsanexitslip.(Seebelow)

Assessmentofthegoals/objectiveslistedabove:

StudentName

Studentwasable
todrawa
diagramofthe
EarthsLayers

Student
recognizesthe8
elementsofthe
Earthscrust

Studentisable
todrawacircle
graphofthe8
elementsofthe
Earthscrust

Othernoteson
student.
(strengths/errors
)

Alsotalknoteonquestionsthatstudentsaskandcommonerrorsmistakesthatstudentsmake.

Accommodations:
Iwillnotneedanyaccommodationsforthislesson.Ibelievemystudentswillbeableto
completetheactivitywithoutspecialaccommodations.

ExitSlip

Question1:Properlylabeleachpartofthisdiagram:

Question2:Whichofthefollowingisnotoneofthetopabundantelementsoftheearthscrust.
1. Oxygen
2. Silicon
3. Sodium
4. Copper
5. Calcium

Question3:Chooseoneofthe8elementsthataremakeuptheEarthscrustandgiveone
exampleforhowitisusedineverydaylife.

Question4:Ms.Youngownsalotofshoes.25%of
hershoesarered.50%areblack,20%arebrown,
and5%aregray.Below,drawacirclegraph
representingthecolorofshoesthatMs.Youngowns.