My lesson included students making a model on the Earths' plate boundaries. Students colored in and analyzed a simple map with the continents, oceans and plate boundaries. Then students completed a map that they colored, cut apart, and glued to a tennis ball. Then students were required to construct sentences that they shared out using the globe to guide them. Next, as a class, we completed some of a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the difference between the flat map and the three dimensional globe map. Students then finished the Venn diagram in partners. To wrap up the lesson and access student learning students completed a 3-2-1, three things they learned, two questions they have, and one connection. They also completed a 4 question multiple choice assessment.
Students were engaged and loved coloring, cutting, gluing, and constructing their tennis ball globes. This three dimensional globe gave my English Learners a concrete visual representation of the Earth science concept, plate boundaries.
The hardest part of the lesson for students was when they had to apply the concept of ocean and continents to the map. At first students were not able to differentiate between which part to color blue for the oceans and which part to color for the land. Another difficult part of the lesson was when students worked in partners to finish the Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the flat map to the sphere map.
