Lesson Overview:
Students will use creative dramatization to demonstrate understanding of the three ways a mountain can be formed. Students will also explore the effects of elevation on plant and animal life and on weather in the regions on both sides of a mountain, and how mountains are formed.
Length of Lesson:
Four 45-minute class periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 3-4.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- learn about mountains and geological time, and the variety of plant and animal life habitats.
- demonstrate understanding of connections between fact-based text and fictional sources.
- use a variety of Web and print resources to conduct research.
- demonstrate understanding of research through completion of K-W-L chart and class discussions.
- work collaboratively with others to produce creative dramatization.
Supplies:
- Foam core
- Props and costumes for the play
- Pictures of the Rocky or Appalachian Mountains (optional)
- Swamp Angel; by Anne Isaacs and Paul O. Zelinsky; Dutton Children’s Book, 1994.
Instructional Plan:
Warm Up
To begin the lesson, have students read the story Swamp Angel by Anne Issacs. Have them listen for the mountain range named in the story. Ask students whether they think the story is a true account or a tall tale. Have them support their answers with examples from the text.
Tell students that if Swamp Angel and Thundering Tarnation (a giant girl and a giant bear, respectively) had formed the Great Smoky Mountains, they would have pushed the land toward each other. Hold up three or four layers of different colors of foam core (or another material that bends easily). Demonstrate the folded formation of mountains.
Introductory and Developmental Activities
Use the three or four colored layers of foam core to demonstrate plate movement. Explain that the earth’s crust is riding on several plates of land. The crust breaks into giant blocks that collide into each other. Some blocks move upwards and some blocks move downwards. (The foam is very pliable and will demonstrate this well.) This kind of mountain formation is called a block formation. The Rocky and Appalachian Mountains are the result of this type of formation. You may wish to share pictures or rocks of the Appalachian or Rocky Mountains can be passed around for hands-on examination.
Guided Practice and Research
Have students create a K-W-L chart about volcanoes, filling in the "K" and "W" sections. Discuss how a volcano forms a dome. Have students spend remainder of class conducting research on plate tectonics and mountains. You may wish to use the following Web resources:
When students have completed their Internet research, have them complete the "L" section of their K-W-L charts.
Independent Activities
Divide the class into groups of four. Assign roles to students in each group: a playwright (who writes or takes notes about mountains); a
director (has the final say, the leader); an actor (moves body, tells the story); and a designer (makes props, costumes, scenery). All group members may act, and more than one group may act out the same piece.
Assign groups one of the following to dramatize:
- folded formation
- volcano formation
- block formation
- how elevation affects plants on mountains
- how elevation affects animals on mountains
- how elevation affects weather on both sides of a mountain
Give students a time limit of fifteen minutes to present the pieces. Allow groups an additional five minutes to prepare, if they need the extra time. Have students present their final dramatic pieces. Encourage feedback from the glass after each group has presented, but remind students that their feedback should be positive and constructive.
As a final, fun activity, have students explore the interactive Web site The Big Myth, which contains exciting multimedia presentations of creation myths from cultures around the world.
Assessment:
Use the Assessment Rubric to evaluate students' progress and learning.
Sources:
Print:
- Armento, Beverly J.; Klora de Alva, J. Jorge; Nash, Gary B.; Salter, Christopher L.; Wilson, Louis E.;and Wixson, Karen K. From Sea to Shining Sea. Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
- Issacs, Anne and Zelinksky, Paul O.Swamp Angel. Dutton Children’s Book, 1994.
- Disaster; Invitations to Literacy series. Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
Web:
Authors:
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Mary Beth Bauernschub, Teacher
Kingsford Elementary School
Mitchellville, MD
