Powerful Volcanoes

Title Powerful Volcanoes

Subject Science, History, Mathematics, Language Arts
Author Adriana Bonetti
Grade level 3-5
Time duration 3 weeks
Objective Through a variety of print and digital media, students will gain knowledge
on volcanoes and discover more about one history’s most destructive and
impressive volcanic eruptions of Pompeii.
Standards Next Generation Science Standards: Earth’s Materials and Systems: 4
Plate Tectonics: ESS2-2, ESS2.B
Natural Hazards: ESS 3.B
Engineering Design ETS1
Mathematics: Model with Mathematics: MP.4
Know Relatives Sizes of Measurement: 4MDA1
ELA/Literacy: Writing, Product and Distribution and Research: W 4.1-2,
4.4-9

Materials KidsDiscover Magazines: Pompeii and Volcanoes (one for each student)
and Teacher’s Guide.
www.Teachables.Scholastic.com: Volcanoes: Learn New Words About a
New Subject
Scholastic: Volcanoes: Super Science STEM Activites
Fictional Books: Magic Tree House: Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pop
Osborne; I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii 79 A.D. by Lauren Tarshis; I
Survived the Eruption of Mt. St. Helens, 1980 by Lauren Tarshis.
Informational Text: Bodies from the Ash by James M. Deem; You Wouldn’t
Want to Live in Pompeii by John Malalm; Pompeii Lost and Found by Mary
Pope Osborne; Volcanoes by Judith Baur Stamper; Volcanoes by Seymour
Simon; Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Patricia Lauber; Seymour Simon’s Top 50
Questions Reader: Wild Earth by Seymour Simon; A True Book-Earth
Science:Volcanoes by Elaine Landau.
Activities and procedures Science Skills/Mathematics: The student will read and apply critical
thinking skills to explain events, including what happened and why;
construct explanations that specify variables that describe and predict
phenomena; make observations to produce data to explain phenomena;
reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Social Study/History Skills/Language Arts: The student will read and
understand about another culture; refer to details in a text, ask and answer
questions to demonstrate understanding of the text; gather information
from provided resources to answer a question; integrate information from
several texts and write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

Anticipatory Set (Lead In)

Show students video clip: Night at the Museum Funny Pompeii Scene,
2:24, https://youtu.be/0pZZlj3KVrk

Discuss the events leading up to the destruction of a city, it’s people,

culture due to a natural disaster. List recent natural disasters.
Ask: what natural disasters can they recall on the news that affected
people’s lives?
Explain to students that you will be focusing on volcanoes, what causes
them, active volcanoes around the world that are still potentially
threatening communities, famous volcanoes, locate volcanoes and ring of
fire on the map, and learn tools used to detect volcanic activity.

Lead students to the learning centers and invite them to explore: zones of
learning: fiction books, nonfiction books, computers set with DKFindOut
–an interactive website that students can freely explore units on Volcanoes
and Pompeii. To assist students in reading comprehension, set out two
piles of vocabulary words flashcards, provided by KidsDiscover Power
Vocabulary Pompeii and KidsDiscover Power Vocabulary Volcanoes.

Collaborative Learning and Assessment:

As a class, read KidsDiscover Magazine Volcanoes. Support information
with visuals and experiments. Complete reading guide as a class.
Ask: How are volcanoes beneficial or helpful for the environment?
Visual can be presented alongside readings via smartboard. Explore
volcanoes on YouTube with NatGeo Kids! Nat Geo Kids Volcano Playlist
(12 videos). https://youtu.be/WgktM2luLok

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Experiments guides for the following two experiments are provided by
Volcanoes: Super Science STEM Activities,
www.teachables.scholastic.com
1. Creeping Crust: Activity on how tectonic plates move. Ask:
which of the boundaries demonstrated would be best at
creating volcanoes?
2. Shake Detector: Activity on designing tools to measure
earthquake activity. Students will test ideas, collect data, discuss
findings. Gather data sheets to assess for understanding.
***Perform this activity after watching Mt St Helen’s video,
mentioned below after Ask.
3. Optional: Make a Volcano: Every kid expects this classic!

Once completed, hand out students with KidsDiscover Magazine

Pompeii. Complete reading guide as a class.
Introduce another city, closer to home, that faced massive
destruction: Mt St Helen’s. Watch following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM4LUO3oNmc

***Ask: What tools helped volcanologists survey the activity of Mt St

Helen’s? Would the people of Pompeii have been saved if they had
these tools? What warnings or signs do we get before a volcano
erupts? Introduce students to the Shake Detector experiment.

Two possible activities to follow collaboratively, in groups (choose

one):
1. Broadcast Reporting: Aid students in creating a breaking news
report set on August 24th, A.D. 79. Refer to Creating a Broadcast
News Package, retrieved from www.schooljournalism.org. Students
can also try the free and easy to use Telestory app.
2. 3D Digital Storytelling: Aid students in creating a lively retelling
of the events that led up to and during Vesuvius’ eruption over
Pompeii. Refer to Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age by Mark Gura
OR refer to https://elearningindustry.com/18-free-digital-
storytelling-tools-for-teachers-and-students for digital storytelling
tools.

Independent Learning:
1. Students will research 3 volcanic eruptions. They will prepare a
table that includes data about the location and size of each
volcano as well as the date and details of its eruption.

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 2. Have students imagine that they experienced the eruption at
Pompeii, but escaped death in the catastrophe. Have students
write a journal entry describing what they witness and
experienced.
3. Assess students’ individual learning with short, 10 question online
quiz, provided on KidsDiscover Online.
4. Assess knowledge of new vocabulary with reproducible Sentences
worksheet provided on KidsDiscover Power Vocabulary.

Adaptations:
 KidsDiscover Online provides adapted versions of text for
students with difficulty reading/different literacy levels.
 Rather than write a data sheet about 3 volcanic eruptions,
draw and label volcano with key terms: lava, crater, ash
cloud, main vent, crust, secondary vent, magma, pyroclastic
material.
 Draw a scene, as you would imagine, if you were escaping
Pompeii.
 Create a before and after diorama of Mt St Helen’s, showing
how the volcanic eruption changed the surrounding
landscape.

Conclusions The class will watch each other’s broadcast or digital story and discuss
their likes and dislikes and assess their peers’ project based on presentation
and information.
Create a Kahoot! Game on www.kahoot.com
Divide class in half, two teams, to compete each other and test their
knowledge on the lessons. This should be for fun and could have a prize
or incentive at the end for the winning team.