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Reviewed by: Christine on 4/5/2020 7:04:12 PM
When clicking on "View this Resource", it takes you to a sketchy website, called Texas Revolution.org.
Plate Tectonics is an interactive simulation in which users design scenarios involving plate interactions and observe the results over time. The simulation consists of two screens. In the first, entitled Crust, students can investigate the physical characteristics of temperature and density for either oceanic or continental crusts. In the second screen, entitled Plate Motion, students will select the crusts and plate boundaries for each run. Students can then select either manual or automatic mode. In order to access any of the teacher resources, educators must create a free account. Working with the simulation would take one classroom period of 45 - 60 minutes; the construction of an explanation for the observed phenomenon would take an additional class period. Plate Tectonics runs on a Windows platform and requires the latest version of Java.
MS-ESS2-2 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales. Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how processes change Earth’s surface at time and spatial scales that can be large (such as slow plate motions or the uplift of large mountain ranges) or small (such as rapid landslides or microscopic geochemical reactions), and how many geoscience processes (such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and meteor impacts) usually behave gradually but are punctuated by catastrophic events. Examples of geoscience processes include surface weathering and deposition by the movements of water, ice, and wind. Emphasis is on geoscience processes that shape local geographic features, where appropriate. Assessment Boundary: none
This resource appears to be designed to build towards this performance expectation, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.
Comments about Including the Performance Expectation Plate Tectonics, through its interactive screens, provides students an opportunity to explore and gather the information necessary to construct explanations for how plate interactions have changed Earth’s surface over time. Students can investigate the physical properties of oceanic and continental plates, as well as the results of convergent, divergent and transform plate movements. Since the sole purpose of the simulation is to provide the information necessary to construct explanations, teachers should require students to write detailed accounts, with accompanying illustrations, for each scenario in their lab notebooks. Later, students can use these summaries as supporting evidence in their narratives. In order to achieve the Performance Expectation, teachers will need to create the writing prompts for students to use when they construct their explanations. The use of the simulation is not intuitive; teachers might want to utilize several of the teacher submitted activities as models for classroom lessons. In particular, the lesson by Cesar Duran provides step-by-step instructions for using the simulation. Teachers should note one omission in the simulation. In the continental/continental collision scenario, the simulation begins with the collision of the two continental plates; there is no reference to the seafloor subduction and trench collapse that occurs prior to the collision.
This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this science and engineering practice.
Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice In Plate Tectonics, students create scenarios to investigate plate movements. When using the computer simulation, students select both the types of crust (oceanic and/or continental) and the type of plate movement (divergent, convergent or transform). Should time be a factor in the classroom, teachers may want students to brainstorm the different scenarios and then divide up the work. Once the scenarios are completed, students could share their results with the rest of the class. In this way, individual students would have more information to use in constructing their explanations.
This resource appears to be designed to build towards this science and engineering practice, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.
Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice Through the use of this interactive simulation, students will be able to gather the evidence necessary to explain the science behind plate movements. In order to fully incorporate the practice, teachers will need to design the actual writing prompts for students to use when constructing their explanations. For example, teachers may opt to create an open-ended prompt to challenge students to explain interactions between oceanic and continental crusts or they could choose to adapt the more structured worksheets submitted by other educators, found under Teacher-Submitted Activities. Two resources are particularly useful. The resource contributed by Cesar Duran provides detailed instructions on using the simulation and includes questions that direct student attention to important details in the simulation. Jamie Schoenberger’s lab sheet with fill in charts and questions provides a structure for students to use when organizing their observations.
This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this disciplinary core idea.
Comments about Including the Disciplinary Core Idea Plate Tectonics provides students an opportunity to investigate plate movements on a scale and time frame understandable to middle school students. Please note that the pace of the simulation is deliberate; students should be advised to wait until each scenario is completed in order to gain the most information from each plate interaction.
This resource appears to be designed to build towards this crosscutting concept, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.
Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept The creators of Plate Tectonics have included a Time Elapsed box in the upper right corner of the simulation’s Plate Motion screen. This feature will help students gain an appreciation for the time scale involved in plate movements. Teachers should direct student attention to this box during the simulations, but should caution students that these numbers are approximations and do not apply to any specific plate interaction.