For the implementation of the model lesson plan I used two activities. The first activity was the making of a model of the layers of the Earth. The students created a piece of pie shaped Earth that had the six layers labeled: inner core, outer core, mantle, asthenosphere, lithosphere, and crust. The students then colored the layers white for the core and the hottest layer, yellow for the outer core which is a little cooler, orange for the mantle, red for the asthenosphere and lithosphere, and brown for the crust to finish off the ensemble.This was a scale model representing a 1:10 million scale which meant the the layers where done in centimeters and millimeters for the average depth of each layer. Herein lies the problem when working with fifth grade students. While they know what the metric system is many have trouble using a meter stick to make accurate measurements and many have to be retaught everything while the lesson is going on, which made for a long lesson. We also needed to use a new tool, which was used to make the arc that would create the sphere when we put together all the pieces. We used a piece of string for a compass because the first measurement was from the center or core out to the crust, which at this scale was 63.7 cm. Needless to say that many of the arcs were not very pretty. It took a lot of help to get many of them to a usable point.
The second part of this lesson had to do with plate tectonics. Using a demonstration that incorporated vegetable oil in a glass baking dish set up on ceramic mugs and using two Sterno canisters to heat the oil. The heated oil had thyme leaves to show the convection currents that were being created in one dish and cutouts of the continents in another dish to show how the currents inside the mantle layer would move the crustal plates causing them to separate or run into one another. The use of this model made a big impression on the students and seemed to help them understand how the convection current provides a force that would move the crust. This activity went well but the safety issues of hot oil and Sterno canisters makes t one that you need to think out before attempting in your classroom.
