Teaching Strategies
This unit covers science that deals with the nature of Solar System volcanoes and the forces that drive them. Since my students are taught in homes, one-on-one, there is no opportunity for group work. I do e-mail when possible to link ideas and projects to give the students a feel of being connected to other peers. At the beginning of this unit, I will assess student's knowledge about volcanoes and volcanism and the geological processes involved. Vocabulary will be introduced at the onset of the unit and will be developed through-out the three-week period. When possible, pictures, sketches and drawings of the words will be illustrated to convey their meanings and usages. A vocabulary bibliography will be maintained in the science notebook. The science notebook will be divided into sections corresponding to the topics of the unit: The Solar System, Volcanoes on Earth, and Volcanoes in Space, Activities, Vocabulary, Bibliography and the Appendix.
The section on Volcanoes and Earth will begin with a discussion on Pangaea and its relation to plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is paramount in understanding volcanoes. A brief discussion of Pangaea will help explain the formation of plates involved in the process of tectonics. Plate tectonics is well illustrated in most of the videos and CDs in the Bibliography.I will select several of the videos and CDs for the students to view and discuss. After students have learned the science of plate tectonics, they will use the concept to model plate tectonics that causes the Earth to move, creating earthquakes and volcanoes.
After studying plate tectonics, the three basic volcanic landforms (shield, cinder cone, composite cone) will be introduced. I will show slides of each type of volcano and discuss how they were formed. Students will keep new terms in the Vocabulary Section of their notebooks. I will have students compare and contrast examples of these types of volcanoes. Students will complete a matching activity on volcanic sizes, locations, and types, which will serve as a quick assessment of volcanic landforms. I will design a matching card game or use one of the exercises from The Starry Night CD for the assessment. Distribution maps will be used to identify active volcanoes. I will have students locate interactive- activities involving maps of volcanoes on web sites or the CD mentioned previously. Using such maps, students will be able to identify the volcanoes that are a part of the 'Ring of Fire' and Iceland's 'Born of Fire' volcanic chains.We will discuss the origin of these groups of volcanoes. The students will build a model of a volcano for the culminating assessment.
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