This resource is a PowerPoint presentation lesson which includes everything you need to teach children in KS2 and KS3 about the composition of Earth, plate tectonics and how we know what is beneath our feet.

This lesson will teach students to name, identify and describe each of the layers of Earth (crust, mantle, outer core and inner core) as well as explain how plate tectonics create different land forms and natural phenomena (mountains, volcanoes, earthquakes, trenches etc.). It covers the different types of crust (continental and oceanic), tectonic plate boundaries (convergent, divergent and transform) and it also delves into how we know what the inside of Earth is like.

This lesson is a PowerPoint presentation complete with:
√ Learning objective
√ Success criteria
√ Starter and plenary activities
√ Assessment of relevant prior learning
√ Teaching input/ information slides
√ A variety of consolidation tasks (differentiated)
√ Application and extension activities
√ All answer slides

Learning Objective:
LO: To describe the structure of Earth and explain how plate tectonics create natural phenomena and land forms

Success Criteria:
I can describe the different layers that make up the Earth.
I can distinguish between two types of crust.
I can name and identify different types of plate boundaries.
I can explain how activity at plate boundaries causes certain phenomena and land forms e.g. earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mountains, trenches etc.)

Vocabulary: crust, mantle, outer core, inner core, plate tectonics, convergent plate boundary, divergent plate boundary, transform plate boundary, magma, earthquake, continental crust, oceanic crust, volcano, mountain, trench, lava, lithosphere, sphere, solid, liquid, pressure, density, temperature, magnetic field, iron, nickel, convection currents, eruption, subducted, Himalayas mountain range, Mariana Trench, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, East African Ridge, valley, molten, gravity, oxygen, viscous, Coriolis, atmosphere, cosmic radiation, electric currents, solidifying, minerals, seismic waves, Sir Isaac Newton, meteorites

Consolidation tasks: sorting tasks, labeling tasks, match ups, question and answer tasks, fill in the blanks, word selects, true or false tasks, multiple choice questions, sentence builder activities, writing tasks, speaking and listening activities etc.

This lesson is also suitable for being delivered remotely through online learning with some slight adaptations. It could combine very well with platforms such as Pear Deck.