Get TWO SETS OF PLATE TECTONIC NOTES to cover plate tectonics, continental drift, and seafloor spreading. Each presentation comes in BOTH PPT and Google Slides versions, plus a corresponding Cloze worksheet for students to complete as they view the presentation.
⭐ Get this activity at a discount in my complete Plate Tectonics Unit! ⭐
Topics Covered in the PLATE TECTONICS NOTES Include:
- Tectonic plates – Earth’s crust is broken into moving pieces
- Why they move – Convection currents in the mantle push them
- Three boundary types – Convergent (collide), divergent (pull apart), transform (slide past)
- What they create – Mountains, volcanoes, earthquakes, valleys
- Faults – Cracks in the crust from plate stress
Topics Covered in the CONTINENTAL DRIFT NOTES Include:
- Continental drift – Theory that a supercontinent (Pangea) broke apart and the continents are still moving
- Evidence for continental drift – Matching fossils, coastlines, rock types, mountain ranges, and past climates across continents
- Seafloor spreading – Ocean floor spreads apart at mid-ocean ridges, pushing continents
- What it creates – Mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys
- Evidence for seafloor spreading – Ocean floor is youngest at ridges, older toward continents; volcanic rocks from cooled magma
Included with This Purchase:
- PowerPoint version of each presentation
- Google Slides version of each presentation
- Cloze notes worksheet with fill-in-the-blanks (Word Doc) for each presentation
Teacher Notes:
- These plate tectonics notes are designed for the middle school level.
- Everything included is fully editable.
- Answer key included.
- The plate tectonics presentation has 14 slides. The continental drift and seafloor spreading presentation has 11 slides.
- FREE BONUS: Also includes a very brief presentation and Cloze worksheet to cover forces that shape Earth’s surface.
- You can also shop my TPT store!
- Check out my money-saving Plate Tectonics Unit!
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.
