Volcanoes Lesson

A collection of slides supporting 2 40-minute classes introducing students to the formation of volcanoes and the impacts of volcanic activity. The slides are created using PowerPoint.

The lesson topics are as ordered:

• The definition of a volcano and a description of how a volcano forms, this is accompanied by a labelled diagram of a volcano. This is supported by an appropriate YouTube video which illustrates how a volcano forms.
• A description of the three stages of a volcano’s life cycle; active, dormant, and extinct.
• An analysis of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
• An examination of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
• An analysis of the positive and negatives socio-economic effects of volcanoes. This is supported by a research activity of the Iceland case study of Eyjafjallajökull.

This PowerPoint presentation was created as an introductory lesson into Volcanoes. This lesson can be supported by other topics such as Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, and Fold Mountains. The slides are made to provide visual prompts which support 1 to 2 40-minute lessons. These slides have a variety of activities including independent thinking time, classroom discussions, written work, research prompts, and video analysations.

Differentiation

• Questions prompted in the slides encourage students to develop their ability to think about how world processes operate and impact each other.
• Slides are made using Comic Book Sans.
• Slides are designed with a variety of imagery and vocab.
• Complex ideas are supported with YouTube videos. This varies the ways in which students are learning and helps them visualise large ideas and processes.