Approaching the holidays, i always try to amp up my labs to increase engagement. Plate tectonics graham cracker lab by science station tpt. In your illustrations make sure that you use direction arrows to show how the graham crackers and fruit roll ups are moving. Second grade lesson incredible edible earth changes. They will work in partners, one person will move the model graham crackers and cool whip and the other partner will diagram the events. Draw what your food looks like after you created the convergent continental to oceanic boundary in the space provided label drawing as to what each item represents in terms of earth layers or processes of plate tectonics.
Now lay a quarter of a whole graham cracker and the fruit roll end to end against each other on top of the frosting. Using the knife respread a thick layer of frosting in the center of the wax paper. I feel that in your hand, okay, a fruit roll up is thinner, but its denser. Spread a thick layer of frosting on the last quarter of your plate. What type of crust is represented by the fruit roll up. Neither plate is pushed up or down because the densities are the same. Kimberly miller printed on 12215 edible plate tectonics page 6 converging oceanic or oceanic and continental plates graham cracker and fruit roll up or two fruit roll ups moving toward one another creating a subduction zone. Egg earth tectonics model teacher instructions power point. Open fruit roll up and place in the middle of plate. Place one graham cracker lightly onto the frosting next to the remaining fruit roll up piece. Why did you have to lay the graham cracker lightly on the frosting. This video walks through the gram cracker plate tectonics lab. I use a version similar to this free version of graham cracker tectonics provided by. Converging oceanic or oceanic and continental plates graham cracker and fruit rollup or two fruit rollups.
Push these two plates together and watch which plate rides up over the other. Gently push the continent graham cracker towards the ocean plate fruit roll up until the two overlap and the graham cracker is on top. The fruit roll up represented the oceanic crust and the graham cracker represented the continental crust. The oceanic plate is sub ducted below the continental one. Pull the graham crackers off the plate and set aside. Draw what your food looks like after you created the convergent continental to oceanic boundary in the space provided 4. Jun 14, 2011 for my model i used food to help model plate tectonics. Mar 10, 2018 the fruit roll up represented the oceanic crust and the graham cracker represented the continental crust. Name date class period snack tectonics lab exercise. In this plate tectonics worksheet, students use graham crackers, frosting, water and a paper plate to simulate tectonic processes such as convergent, divergent and transforming plate boundaries. Remove one of the fruit roll ups from the frosting.
This activity uses the following materials to simulate this interaction. Next, instruct the students to remove one of the fruit roll up pieces and place half of the graham cracker piece continental crust next to the fruit roll up oceanic crust. Kimberly miller printed on 101717 edible plate tectonics lab sheet purpose. Dec 17, 2018 approaching the holidays, i always try to amp up my labs to increase engagement. This graham cracker plate tectonics lesson plan is suitable for 7th 10th grade. Snack tectonics fruit roll ups, snacks, plate tectonics. These plates ride on the hot plastic upper mantle called the asthenosphere. Scrape off excess frosting from cracker back to plate. This theory also says that most of these plates are in motion, creating. Lay a whole cracker and the fruit roll up end to end on your desk. Now the students will see what happens when two continents collide. The fruit roll up represents the thin but dense oceanic plate while the graham cracker represents the thicker but less dense continental plate.
Using just your index fingers in the center of each item. Remove the graham cracker from the frosting from part 1. Continental crust graham cracker is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust fruit roll up. Do this lightly so that the graham cracker is floating high on the cream.
Which movement from your plate tectonics boundary graphic organizer would cause volcanoes. Now, have them push the two plates towards each other until the fruit roll up subducts under the graham cracker. Gently push the continental graham cracker towards the ocean plate fruit roll up until the two overlap and the graham cracker is on top. Students will use shaving cream and graham crackers to simulate the three types of plate boundaries transform, divergent, and convergent. Carefully remove the crackers and smooth the frosting. Plates constantly move at different speeds evidence. These plates move on the top of the hot plastic upper mantle known as the asthenosphere. First the students spread out the frosting so it is about 1cm thick. In this lab frosting is the asthenosphere, fruit roll ups are oceanic crust, and graham crackers represented continental crust. The frosting represents the layer of lava, or the mantle, on which earths crust floats. This model we created helped me visualize and understand plate tectonics in a very creative and fun way. Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a mediumsized bowl.
To introduce, model, and demonstrate how earths plates move. Graham cracker plate tectonics lab just a little info the theory of plate tectonics states that the crust of the earth is composed of seven major plates and numerous smaller plates. Place one dry cracker on the frosting, divide the fruit roll up into four pieces and then place one piece of fruit rollup on the frosting next to the side of the cracker. Plate boundaries edible lab by lisa marszalek teachers pay. Edible plate tectonics page 6 converging oceanic or oceanic and continental plates graham cracker and fruit roll up or two fruit roll ups moving toward one another creating a subduction zone. Graham cracker plate tectonics lesson plan for 7th 10th.
These plates float on top of the upper part of the earths mantle. Gently push the graham cracker towards the ocean plate fruit roll up. What happened to the oceanic plate fruit roll up step 4. Gently push the continent graham cracker towards the ocean plate fruit roll up until the two overlap and the graham cracker is. Graham cracker plate tectonics this quick and tasty kids science activity gives little scientists a hands on way to explore plate tectonics the movement of the earths crust that leads to the formation of volcanoes, mountains, and oceanic trenches. Stepbystep powerpoint for both you and your students total of 7 steps, pictures of student expectations is included.
Gently push graham cracker towards the ocean plate fruit roll up until the two overlap. First they will follow a given set of directions to explore the idea of plate tectonics. Approximately1 foot by 1 foot square of wax paper knife frosting glob approximately 14 cup or 1 heaping glob full graham cracker fruit roll up dixie or 23 oz cup with water napkin, paper towel, or baby wipes procedure. The graham cracker represents the thicker but less dense continental plate, while the fruit roll represents the thin but dense oceanic plate. Graham cracker fruit roll up experiment fruit roll ups, plate. On the bed of whipped cream, place one fruit roll up and one graham cracker. Jul 06, 2017 this video walks through the gram cracker plate tectonics lab.
Label drawing as to what each item represents in terms of earth layers or processes of plate tectonics. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well. The graham cracker represents continental crust, which is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust fruit roll up. What type of boundary and landform does this model represent. Place one piece of graham cracker on the opposite side of fruit roll up about 2cm away.
What physical layer of the earth does the frosting represent. Take two graham cracker pieces and lay the two pieces side by side on top of the frosting so they are touching. Describe what happened when you slid the 2 graham crackers past each other. Graham cracker plate tectonics lab stepbystep photo. Snack tectonics for my model i used food to help model plate tectonics. Aug 14, 2014 for my model i used food to help model plate tectonics. To identify and demonstrate the forces that shape the features of the earth. The oceanic plate is subducted below the continental one. This theory also says that most of these plates are in. Remember to write a description of what happened below each picture label your diagram. It floats high on the asthenosphere so dont push it down. Push the graham cracker towards the fruit roll up until the graham cracker is on top. Reflection questions illustrate what you saw happening during this part of the lab in the space provided below and add arrows to indicate movement.
Remove both the cracker and fruit roll up from the frosting. On the actual surface of the earth, the lower plate is subducted. Give each pair of students one long graham cracker broken in half. Place a spoonful of frosting on the wax paper for each pair of students. The graham cracker slides over the fruit roll up and this models. Then they place the fruit roll ups next to each other, push down sl. Mar 04, 2010 this represent divergent plate boundaries.
Gently push the graham cracker towards the ocean plate fruit roll up until the two overlap. If two oceanic crusts are pushed away from one another, what happens. After that we placed a graham cracker onto the frosting right next to the fruit roll up and slid it towards the fruit roll up and had the two overlap so that the graham cracker was on top. Put the two plate models slowly toward each other and observe which plate rides up over the other. Print out sets of these stepbystep photo instructions to help your students successfully model plate tectonic activity using graham crackers, cake icing and fruit rollups. This plate tectonics unit will get your kids involved in the learning, and asking great questions about how the world works. Questionanswer slides after steps to check for student understanding. Schaefer the theory of plate tectonics states that the crust of the earth is composed of 7 major plates and numerous smaller plates. Describe what happened when you slid the 2 graham crackers. Place one hand on each of the graham cracker pieces and push them together by applying steady, moderate pressure. Describe what happened when you slid the graham cracker into the fruit roll up. Gently push the continent graham cracker towards the ocean plate fruit roll up until the two overlap and graham cracker is on top.