Modeling the Unseen

This past week, I had my students working through the Theory of Plate Tectonics.  I have always had difficulty getting students to understand the different plate boundaries and the land features created by the movements.  This year, I decided to try modeling those plate boundaries instead of just showing pictures or animations.

Students were given 6 graham crackers and cake icing.  They spread a thin layer of the icing on a sheet of waxed paper, then placed the crackers on top of the icing.  Depending on the directions of movement, different landforms were created, and students recorded their observations and predictions.  Afterwards, we visited http://www.sepuplhs.org/middle/iaes/students/simulations/SEPUP_Plate_simulation.swf in order to determine if the predictions were correct and discuss some of the reasons for what we saw in the demonstration.

My students and I had a great time with this activity!  I feel like it was as beneficial as it was enjoyable, so there isn't much more I could ask for in a lesson.  That isn't to say that there weren't things I would like to change next time.  Though I did ask questions throughout the lesson, I want to incorporate more opportunities for the students to self-assess.  I think discovery and self-correction are valuable teachers, and I like for my role to be more of a facilitator.  Either way, I think everything went well, and my students are already excited for the next unit.