Looking for a more RIGOROUS plate tectonics CER activity? Spark some critical thinking with DATA ANALYSIS and CER plate tectonics task cards!
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Includes both paper-based and digital Google Slides options to assign.
HOW IT WORKS: Students visit 16 NO PREP stations. At each, students will:
- READ a brief passage on each station card. The station card describes a real-world, interesting example of a topic related to plate tectonics. Each station card also includes a data table, graph, map, or diagram related to the information.
- Answer the given question to make a CLAIM based on EVIDENCE. Students use the information in the brief text and the data table to make their claim. Students do not have to make a claim “out of nowhere.” They are asked a pointed question that they answer in the CER format.
16 NO PREP Stations Cover the Following Topics:
- Plate boundary types (divergent, convergent, transform)
- Lithosphere composition (crust vs. rigid mantle)
- Boundary characteristics (earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building)
- Continental rifts and rift valleys
- Volcanic activity patterns by boundary type
- Convection in the mantle
- Mountain formation and active plate collisions
- Plate movement rates
- Earthquake patterns by boundary type
- Crustal density and subduction
- Ocean trenches
- Earth’s mantle
- Volcanic arcs
- Hot spots and volcanic island chains
- Ring of Fire distribution
Related Standards:
- MS-ESS2-2: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
- MS-ESS2-3: Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
Teacher Notes:
- Includes an answer key.
- Please note that this plate tectonics CER activity is not editable.
- GO PAPERLESS! Use the included digital Google Slides option to assign!
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