Plate boundaries
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe what happens at plate boundaries, including the tectonic hazards that occur.
Key learning points
- There are four main types of plate boundary: conservative, constructive, collision and destructive.
- At a conservative plate boundary, the tectonic plates move past each other, causing earthquakes.
- At a constructive plate boundary, the tectonic plates move apart, causing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
- At collision plate boundaries, plates move together, causing earthquakes.
- At destructive plate boundaries, plates move together, causing volcanoes and earthquakes.
Keywords
Tectonic plate - the huge pieces that Earth’s crust is broken into are known as tectonic plates
Plate boundary - where two tectonic plates meet is known as a plate boundary
Dense - a lot of mass packed into a small space
Common misconception
The oceanic plate subducts at a destructive plate margin and melts to form magma.
The water in the oceanic plate lowers the melting point, helping mantle rocks above to melt and form magma, not the subducting plate itself.
Teacher tip
Focusing on the root words helps students to differentiate between the plate boundaries: conservative (land conserved), constructive (land constructed), collision (plates collide) and destructive (oceanic plate lost as it is subducted into mantle).
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is Earth's outermost layer called?
Q2.What causes an earthquake?
Q3.What is a volcano?
Q4.What is lava?
Q5.What is the point on Earth’s surface directly above the origin of an earthquake called?
Q6.Put the layers of Earth in the correct order, starting from the surface to the centre.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What are tectonic plates?
Q2.Which plate boundary forms new crust as plates move apart?
Q3.Does the oceanic plate fully melt into magma when it subducts?
Q4.Why does the oceanic plate sink at a destructive plate boundary?
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Plate boundaries, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Plate boundaries, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 geography lessons from the Tectonic hazards: Why is Earth restless? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.