Mountain Building (6-12)
Overview of the box
Concepts and Standards
Lessons:
1 Why do mountains
look the way they do?
2 How to make a mountain
3 Erosion: What goes up
must come down
4 What are you made of:
rock composition & rock cycle
5 Location and Setting:
Plate tectonics & mountains
Activities:
1 Map it!
2 Plate Boundaries &
Mountain Formation
6 Mountain histories:
a culminating activity
Online resources
Student Web Page
Teaching Boxes Home
Lesson 5: Location and Setting: Plate Tectonics and Mountains

Activity 1

Map It!

Materials / Preparation

Each group of students will need:

Grouping

Groups of two

Teaching Tip

During the mapping exercise, make sure the students label the map with the mountain names or number.

Students will need familiarity with latitude and longitude prior to starting this lesson. The Evidence for Plate Tectonics Teaching Box Activites 1 and 2 in Latitude and Longitude provide a good introduction or review.

Procedure

  1. Begin by returning to the Mountain Photo Archive, accessible by students online from the Mountain Building Student Web Page. Explain to the students that up until this point, we have been looking at how mountains form. Now we will begin to apply this information to our specific mountains in preparation for writing the National Geographic Photo Journal in the last lesson, Lesson 6.
  2. First we will need to locate each of these mountains.
    a. Explain to students how to map the mountains by using latitude and longitude.
    b. The latitude and longitude for each mountain can be found in the Mountain Information Table on page 26 in their Mountain Building Journals.
  3. Have students plot these locations onto the Plate Boundaries Map on page 27 in their Journals and to be sure to label each mountain (with name or number) as they place it on the map.
  4. Once all of the mountains have been mapped, have students fill in the Plate Boundary Proximity Data Table on page 28 of their Journals. They should simply choose between near and far.
  5. Explain that in the next activity, they will be taking a closer look at what the location can tell us.

Assessment

The completed map can be used as an assessment piece.

Resources used

Mountain Photo Archive
http://www.teachingboxes.org/mountainBuilding/lessons/mountainSlides/MountainPhotoArchive.pdf

Latitude and Longitude
http://www.teachingboxes.org/jsp/teachingboxes/plateTectonics/prerequisites/index.jsp

Mountain Building Journal
http://www.teachingboxes.org/mountainBuilding/journal/MBJournal.pdf

Mountain Building Journal: Teacher's Guide
http://www.teachingboxes.org/mountainBuilding/lessons/journal/MBJournal_teacherGuide.pdf

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