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Plate Boundaries

CONCEPTUAL
Science›Volcanoes & Earthquakes|Ages 9—11|ID: mt_-JnOhdei6F

Explain how plate boundaries cause earthquakes and volcanoes: plates pushing together, pulling apart, or sliding past each other create the forces that trigger these events, and mountains form where plates collide

Mastery Evidence

  • Describe three types of plate boundary movement: convergent, divergent, and transform
  • Explain that earthquakes occur when plates grind or collide at boundaries
  • Explain that volcanoes form where plates pull apart or one slides under another, allowing magma to rise

Assessment Prompt

“Can [child] explain why most volcanoes and earthquakes happen at the edges of tectonic plates — where plates push together, pull apart, or slide past each other?”

Prerequisites2

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  • Why Earthquakes Happen hard

    Plate boundaries as earthquake cause builds on simpler causal model

  • Tectonic Plates hard

    Plate boundary mechanisms require knowing what tectonic plates are

    • Ring of Fire hard

      Plate concept explains the patterns of where earthquakes/volcanoes occur

    • Finding patterns in data soft

      Tectonic plates concept benefits from prior map-reading of Earth's features

      • Rock layers and Earth's history soft

        Interpreting maps of Earth surface features is enriched by understanding cross-section views of geological strata and layers

        • 3-D shapes (age 9+) soft

          Interpreting cross-section diagrams of Earth builds on the skill of identifying 3-D shapes from 2-D representations

          • 2-D shapes (age 7+) hard

            Y3 drawing 2D and making 3D shapes is prerequisite to identifying 3D from 2D representations

            • Edges, vertices, and faces hard

              Making/describing 3-D shapes requires knowing their properties (edges, vertices, faces)

              • 3-D shapes hard

                Describing 3-D properties (edges, vertices, faces) requires knowing the shapes first

              • Nets of 3-D Shapes soft

                Counting edges, vertices, and faces is reinforced by analysing nets where each face is visible as a separate 2-D shape

              • 3-D shapes (age 5+) hard

                Formal property description extends informal analysis of shapes

                • 2-D shapes hard

                  Analysing and comparing shapes requires being able to name them first

                • 3-D shapes hard

                  Analysing 3-D shapes requires recognising and naming them

            • 2-D shapes (age 6+) hard

              Drawing 2-D shapes requires knowing their properties

              • Angles in triangles (age 6+) soft

                Understanding defining attributes supports describing shape properties formally

                • 2-D shapes hard

                  Distinguishing defining vs non-defining attributes requires knowing common 2-D shape names first

                • 3-D shapes (age 5+) hard

                  Identifying defining attributes builds on informal analysis and comparison of shapes

                  • 2-D shapes hard

                    Analysing and comparing shapes requires being able to name them first

                  • 3-D shapes hard

                    Analysing 3-D shapes requires recognising and naming them

              • 2-D shapes hard

                Describing properties of 2-D shapes (sides, symmetry) requires knowing the shapes first

              • 3-D shapes (age 5+) hard

                Formal property description extends informal analysis of sides and vertices

                • 2-D shapes hard

                  Analysing and comparing shapes requires being able to name them first

                • 3-D shapes hard

                  Analysing 3-D shapes requires recognising and naming them

            • Nets of 3-D Shapes soft

              Drawing 2-D shapes and making 3-D shapes from materials is supported by being able to sketch and interpret nets

          • Nets of 3-D Shapes hard

            Identifying 3-D shapes from 2-D representations requires understanding the relationship between a net and its solid

      • Types of rocks hard

        Interpreting patterns of Earth's geological features requires rock type and erosion vocabulary

      • Shapes of land and water hard

        Must model landforms and water bodies before analysing map patterns of Earth's features

        • Seasonal changes soft

          Seasonal observation supports understanding land and water features

      • Erosion and weathering soft

        Understanding weathering/erosion helps explain patterns in Earth's features

        • Types of rocks hard

          Measuring weathering and erosion rates requires 'weathering', 'erosion', and 'deposition' vocabulary

        • Preventing Erosion hard

          Must understand erosion prevention before measuring weathering/erosion effects systematically

        • Properties of materials soft

          Rock properties knowledge supports understanding how weathering breaks down different rocks

    • Earth's Layers hard

      Tectonic plates are pieces of the crust (requires knowing Earth has layers)

      • What Is a Volcano hard

        Understanding layers requires knowing what a volcano is (motivation for internal structure)

      • Earth Is Made of Rock hard

        Earth's layers builds on knowing Earth is made of rock

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