Teachers Page
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1. The students will use their powers of observation
and reasoning to learn about Plate tectonics.
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2. The students will be able to use technology to organize
their observations and analyze their data.
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3. The students will be able to use math skills to
find when their coiuntry will disappear
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4. The students will be able to use the Internet as
a resource for gathering data.
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Background
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The theory of continental drift is used to explain
similar rocks, fossils, and mountain ranges and changes in climate on the
continents.
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Sea-floor spreading enable scientists to explain how
continents can move
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The theory of plate tectonics states that the earth's
crust is broken into moving plates. It provides scientists with a way of
explaining many features of the earth's crust.
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Many of the features of the earth's crust are caused
by plates coming into contact with one another.
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Using evidence, scientists are able to plot the past
and future positions of the continents.
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What each scientist should find:
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Paleontologist: identical fossils in continents that
are separated by thousand of kilometers. They should have name and pictures
of them, as well as location. They should also check for weather patterns
(for example, coal in Antartica)
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Geophysicist: lining up of iron mineral grains on sea
floor parallel to the mid-ocean ridge. Check pattern of earthquakes around
the world. Should calculate rate of movement of plates to find when country
will disappear.
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Petrographer: identical rock sequences in 2 different
continents. Check pressure-temperature relationship for location of metamorphic
rocks in plate boundaries.
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Oceanographer: check sea-floor spreading, check thickness
of sediments increasing when going further away from rift zone
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Cartographer: try to match continents to reconstruct
Pangaea. Do not forget to include continental slopes (gives better match)
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Volcanologist: by checking the pattern of volcanoes
location in the world, the volcanologist should be able to determine the
location of plate boundaries
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Do not focus on earthquakes too much. They are a part
of the lesson, not the only object of the lesson.
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Suggested sequence of events:
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1st Period:
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Present the dilemna to all students
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Organize groups of students: identify all paleontologists,
geophysicists...and so on then make sure each country as all the scientists.
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First team meeting: choose facilitator, time keeper,
redactor. Request a report on how they are organizing themselves to work,
and their ideas (before any work/research is done) on what is happening
to Japan.
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Explain to students how to keep a log.
End of 1st Period, 2nd Period:
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Each student works on his own to gather information
from Internet. It should be monitored, if possible. All the links are in
the Resources web page and link directly to sites related to this subject.
The students should write a paragraph on each web site that is related
to their profession and explain how the site can help in their quest.
3rd Period:
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Second team meeting: students should share their findings.
They should start to develop hypotheses. Have them written down and collect
their report.
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Students should go back (individually or in group)
on Internet to check on their hypotheses.
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Students should start to work on their individual and
team project.
4th Period:
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Organize more team meetings if needed.
4th and following periods:
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If students have access to Power Point or a similar
product, encourage them to use it for their presentation.
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Each presentation should last 20 minutes: around 10
minutes for the team work and 2 minutes for each individual work.
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Draw a chart on the board to compare each group's estimate
of the time frame of Japan's destruction. Discuss in a follow-up lesson
the discrepancies.
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