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PROGRAM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT * 1 HOUR * LEVEL 2

Incorporating STEM in School Age Program Planning
Science Lesson Plan Example

Page 7
Let’s Make a Mountain…and then eat it!
Age Group: School-age
* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with Preschool children.
Materials:
  • 2 graham crackers per team
  • Paper plates
  • Whipped cream (similar to Cool-Whip, not the whipped cream in an aerosol can)
  • Bowl of water
Objectives: 
  • Students will be able to explain how mountains are made via plate tectonics
Washington State Common Core Standard:
•    EALR 2 Inquiry
Big Idea: Inquiry 
Core Content: Making Observations
Grades K-1: Answer questions by explaining observations of the natural world
Procedure:
  1. Divide students into teams of two after all students have washed their hands.
  2. Spread an even layer of whipped cream on each paper plate.
  3. Dip each graham cracker in water for a brief second or two and then lay two crackers side by side on top of the whipped cream.
  4. Instruct students to push each graham cracker toward the middle of the plate to push against each other to create a mountain.
  5. Explain to the children that there are 8 major tectonic plates and tons of smaller plates that cover the surface of the earth. These plates are always moving, little by little, pushing against each other. Over millions and millions of years mountains are formed by the plates (graham crackers) pushing against each other and moving upwards to create a mountain.
  6. Eat the mountains!
Assessment:
Record student ability to explain how mountains are formed when asked
Resource for further information: 
Geography4Kids, Earth Tectonics
For Future Reference
When this training is over, it's going to be hard to remember all these lesson plans! We want you to get the most from this training, and continue to use this information in your classroom.  We have put the lesson plans in this course, that are produced by Successful Solutions, on our resource website, www.Lessons4Learners.com, where you can continue to access them after your training expires. 

Be sure to bookmark the direct link to the page where this lesson plan is for easy access at:  
http://www.lessons4learners.com/lets-make-a-mountain.html