Earth's moving puzzle pieces: 6th to 8th science
Plate tectonics and Earth's history. A free 6th to 8th lesson plan with a hook, practice that links to free activities, and an exit ticket. Copy it and make it yours.
Lesson plan
Goal
- Students work toward: plate tectonics and Earth's history.
Hook (5 min)
- Ask the class: Why do South America and Africa fit like puzzle pieces?
- Take two or three answers and write them where everyone can see them.
Teach (15 min)
- Say the big idea in one plain sentence: earth's moving puzzle pieces.
- Show one example, then one that is not an example, and ask how the two differ.
- Have students tell a partner or a small group the idea in their own words.
Practise (20 min)
- Choose one for the whole class or let groups pick:
- Learn: Moving Plates (https://peabody.kids/world/science/science-moving-plates)
- Visit: Explore: Plates and volcanoes on a globe (https://peabody.kids/planet)
- Read: When Did Dinosaurs Go Extinct? (https://peabody.kids/library/when-did-the-dinosaurs-go-extinct)
Exit ticket (5 min)
- On a slip or aloud: one thing I learned about earth's moving puzzle pieces, and one question I still have.
- Sort the slips into: got it, nearly, not yet. Start tomorrow with the last pile.
Written by Peabody from its own skill pages. Free, no ads, no sign-in. Children can practise this on Peabody. More from teachers: teacher-shared resources.