Students construct a mockup of a volcano by crumbling up newspapers and piling them into the shape of a volcano. They place a tarp over the newspapers making sure the tarp is large enough to simulate a flat area at the volcano's base....

What occurs following a natural disaster? High schoolers research this question and others as they investigate natural succession after a disaster. First, as they differentiate between primary and secondary succession, they explain...

Middle or high school volcanologists watch the 1997 film, Dante's Peak. They make observations as they watch and then write a movie review, focusing on what was accurately represented. They also point out what facts were stretched by...

Students define what a volcano is. They discover where and why volcanoes occur. They study effects of volcanoes on the Earth system.

Eighth graders visit the Virtual Earthquake Web site and complete activities that demonstrate how geologists locate the epicenters of earthquakes. The site uses actual data from historic earthquakes.

Learners discover the faults throughout the Earth. They describe the different types of faults and how they are related to earthquakes. They build models of the faults.

Learners build a map of the Atlantic Ocean floor and mark the different depths.  For this ocean floor lesson students identify parts of the ocean floor that they created and discuss patterns that they see.

In this volcanoes worksheet, learners click on the links in blue to find the answers to fourteen facts about volcanoes. Students answer each question with a short answer response.

For this time scale worksheet, students create a time scale of Missouri and the earth using adding machine tape. The length of the tape represents the history of Missouri and the history of earth. Students identify the major events in...

Using this activity, learners could review information they have covered about land forms, such as hills, mountains and plateaus. This 17 question activity could be used with upper elementary or ESL students to test or review information...

In this plate tectonics worksheet, student answer 15 multiple choice questions about plate movement, types of boundaries, collision of plates, continental plates, and the lithosphere.

Students explore how volcanoes are formed, list the parts and characteristics of volcanoes, state the differences in various types of lava, and analyze the volume of ejecta from a volcano.

For this crossword worksheet that focuses on natural disasters, students find the vertical word in the colored squares by filling in the right words in ten lines in the horizontal boxes. Answers appear at the bottom of the worksheet.

Students investigate the concept of how natural disasters effect the environment. They conduct research using a variety of resources. They are given a scenario that needs a defensive speech. Students take a position and defend it by...

Tenth graders discuss the techniques and tools scientists use to study about the earth, including techniques used to determine geological time scales. They share their personal experiences of earthquakes and volcanoes.

In this Mt. Saint Helens worksheet, learners read the passage about Mt. Saint Helens and answer true or false questions. Students answer 10 questions. 

Students explore volcanoes, locate them on maps, record general information about volcanoes, and organize information on a fact sheet.

Pupils plot events that happened years ago beginning with volcano activity.  In this investigative lesson plan students are introduced to the different eras and plot them on a map. 

Students use clustering/mind mapping techniques to generate ideas, graphically represent inferences, organize their conclusions and write a report that presents conclusions the writer has reached, and facts substantiating those conclusions.

This lesson plan is designed to teach young children about volcanoes by making a model volcano and having it erupt.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This two-page PDF nonfiction passage entitled "Volcanoes: Magma Rising: Studying Volcanoes" discusses how they study volcanoes to learn how they work. It is part of Paired Texts: "Volcanoes: Magma...

A chronicle of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. Click on Fire and Mud Contents at the bottom of the first page to see the contents of this report.

Discusses work done by scientists looking at the potential health risks from the April 2011 volcanic eruptions in Iceland, which sent clouds of ash across Europe. [May 8, 2011]