Volcanic landforms and geothermal activity

General

Students will continue with this volcano unit by learning about different volcanic landforms and how they are formed, including calderas, craters, and volcanic plateaus. They will also learn about geothermal features: hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud pools. This lesson is filled with great visuals, an engaging video, and ends with a fun and competitive review game.

Standards

4-ESS1-1
4-ESS2-2

Learning Objective

Students will be able to describe volcanic landforms and geothermal features and explain how they are each formed.

Introduction

The lesson begins with a review of prior knowledge about magma and volcanoes. Next, students watch a quick video and then work with a partner to discuss a few questions related to the video.

Instruction

Students learn about different volcanic landforms while viewing different images of real-life examples like Quilotoa Lake and Diamond Head Crater in Hawaii. Next, they go over the different geothermal features displayed and labeled on a diagram. With a partner, students will compare any of the two geothermal features they learned about.

Quiz

There are some true or false questions followed by multiple-choice questions on the descriptions/definitions of different landforms and geothermal features.

Closing

The lesson ends with a review game. Students are allowed to use their notes. They make their way across the board, defining different terms like, “magma,” “caldera,” and “fumarole.”

Teaching tips

When comparing geothermal features, have your students create a T-chart or venn diagram. Graphic organizers like this can be very effective and helpful for students to organize their thoughts.