 Grade 8 Unit 3 Earth's Crust Activity 1: The Layers of Our Earth (SI GLEs: 14, 15, 19; ESS GLE: 8)
CC: Students will research dimensions of the Earth's layers to make models to scale. Through a jigsaw activity, each member of the group will serve as the "expert" for one of the four main layers of Earth's structure. Divide students into "home groups" of four. Have students in each home group number themselves from one to four. All the ones will form one "expert group," all the twos will form the second "expert group," all the threes will form the third group, and all the fours will form the last group. Indicate that expert Group 1 will study the inner core, Group 2 the outer core, Group 3 the mantle, and Group 4 the crust. Students should then move to their expert groups and include in their study the answers to the following questions: What is the composition of the layer? What is the density and thickness of the layer? What makes the layer unique? How was information about this layer determined by scientists?
Use Trackstar to research layers. The link below will take you directly to the Trackstar. In the top frame are directions or questions that can be used. The lower frame is the site. The left side is a listing of the sites that can be visited from this track.
Unitedstreaming videos http://unitedstreaming.com/index.cfm What's Inside the Earth?: An Introduction to the Earth's Interior, Crust, and Mineral Resources The Four Layers of the Earth's Interior: Inner Core, Outer Core, Mantle, and Crust (01:16) Geologist's Notebook: Digging Through Earth Digging Through Earth: The Inner Structure of Our Planet (06:57) The Crust: Continental and Ocean Plates and Earth's Inner Heat (02:22) The Mantle: The Asthenosphere, Upper Mantle, and Lower Mantle (02:29) The Core: The Inner and Outer Cores and Earth's Magnetic Field (01:40) |