Lesson Plan

6. Assessment: Why do we have volcanoes, mountains and earthquakes?

GEO-42-06

Intent

Lesson Outcomes

  • Understand why we have volcanoes, mountains and earthquakes
  • Explain why we have volcanoes, mountains and earthquakes
  • Describe some features of mountains and some events that take place during earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

National Curriculum

Describe and understand key aspects of: physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle

Resources

Resources: The handouts, pencils and coloured pencils.

Support Handout (1): The handout provides space for the children to draw and label a mountainous area they have learnt about, a recent earthquake and a volcanic eruption.

Core Handout (2): The handout provides a space for the children to write about a mountainous area, an earthquake and a volcanic eruption. A word bank has been provided to support writing. Children can use the support handout to draw their diagrams.

Stretch Handout (3): The handout provides a space for the children to write about a mountainous area, an earthquake and a volcanic eruption. Children can use the support handout to draw their diagrams.

Rocket words

  • earthquake
  • plate boundary
  • mountain range
  • volcano
  • tectonic plates

Implementation

Starter

Ask the children to recap some famous volcanoes and what happened when they erupted. Do they remember the difference between dormant, active and inactive volcanoes? Can the children remember learning about Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna from Year 3?

Main Teaching

Use the presentation slides to recap the key points from the unit. The presentation will remind the children how mountain ranges are formed and their key features. It will then recap the cause and impact of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Mission Assignment

Using the handout, ask the children to describe three areas or events: a mountain range, a location of a recent earthquake and a location of a recent volcanic eruption. In the spaces provided, the children can write about each feature or event. Ask them to explain how it was formed and what events occurred. There is space for the children to draw and label a diagram for each feature or event.

Challenge Task: Encourage the children to use scientific explanations to describe the mountain range, earthquake and volcanic eruption.

Impact & Assessment Opportunities

Plenary

Allow the children to discuss which mountains, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions they chose to include in their table. Use this time to assess the children’s knowledge and understanding of the unit.

Teacher Mastery

Volcanoes are formed when magma from the Earth's mantle rises to the surface, often due to tectonic plate boundaries where plates diverge or converge. At divergent boundaries, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, magma can seep up to create new crust, forming underwater volcanoes and ridges. At convergent boundaries, where one plate is forced beneath another, magma accumulates and leads to explosive eruptions that can create stratovolcanoes.

Mountains are primarily formed through tectonic forces that cause the Earth's crust to fold, fracture and uplift. The collision of continental plates can create mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas, which continue to rise as tectonic activity persists.

Earthquakes occur when stress builds up along fault lines - fractures in the Earth's crust where tectonic plates meet. When the stress exceeds the strength of the rocks, it releases energy in the form of seismic waves, causing the ground to shake. Understanding the mechanics of earthquakes, including the focus (the point within the Earth where the earthquake originates) and the epicenter (the point directly above it on the surface), is crucial for students to comprehend how and why these events happen.