In our lesson, we used our prior knowledge about tectonic plates and began to deepen our thinking around what they could cause. We discussed how the movement of tectonic plates can cause earthquakes. There are three different tectonic plate boundaries where earthquakes occur: convergent, divergent and conservative. We then demonstrated our newfound knowledge in an experiment. We used crackers and cream to show how the tectonic plates move at the different boundaries. At the divergent plate boundary, the tectonic plates move apart. At a convergent plate boundary, the plates move together and the denser oceanic plate subducts under the lighter continental plate. Finally, at a conservative plate boundary, tectonic plates slide past each other. Friction happens and pressure builds up which is released as an earthquake. We showed these using the crackers and cream!

Today, we dived deeper into the layers of the earth and focused on the crust. We discovered that the crust is broken up into smaller pieces called tectonic plates. These tectonic plates are constantly moving but they move very slowly. We discussed how these plates used to be one and this was called Pangea but over around 350 million years it has moved and become what we know today. The 7 major tectonic plates are Pacific Plate, North American Plate, Eurasian Plate, African Plate, Antarctic Plate, Indo-Australian Plate, and South American Plate. 

Today, we used soft clay to show the different layers of the earth. We used the different colours to represent the different layers. The yellow represented the inner core, the orange represented the outer core, the red represented the mantle and the blue and green represented the crust. We were amazed when we cut them in half to see the sections.

We continued our expeditionary learning by exploring soil and the layer it belongs to. We looked at what makes up soil, the different layers of soil, how it is formed and why it is important. We then tested our knowledge in a matching activity where we worked collaboratively in mini crews. Again our exit ticket allowed us to showcase our knowledge. We wrote a paragraph to describe the layers of soil thinking about what they are made up of and important facts that others should know about each layer. Some great work in Crew MT.

Hook week has began in MT where we have become geographers! Today we have learnt about the composition of the earth and have loved every minute! We explored new vocabulary including the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core. There was lots of great reading opportunities in todays lesson where we explored the different layers. We played fastest finger first which we all enjoyed. We then applied our knowledge to our exit ticket creating a paragraph of writing to explain all of the layers of the earth.