Oreo Plate Tectonics (with CKLA)

We have just begun the Geology unit in CKLA.  One of the first things the students learn about it Pangea, the idea of continental drift, and plate tectonics.   Super heavy for a 4th grader!  Though they really do seem to be into learning about geological theory, it is a bit hard for them to conceptualize.  To make it a bit more engaging and real for the students, I thought I would bring in a bit of food into the mix.

While reading about the three types of plate boundaries, and the geologic formations that appear because of them, I gave the students three Oreo cookies.  For each cookie, I had them twist the two halves apart.  The top part represented the crust.  The creme and bottom cookie represented the magma inside the Earth.  Then I had them carefully break the top crust in half.

As we read the information in the book, we used the Oreos to demonstrate each of the three boundaries.  Here is what we did for each boundary:

Divergent -- while the "crust" sat on top of the "magma", students pulled the two halves of the cookie slowly apart.  This revealed the creme magma below to show how it easily could then come through to make new land.

Convergent -- while the "crust" sat on top of the "magma", student pushed the two halves of the cookie together.  This created new breaks in the top cookies.  Some parts went under the others, showing subduction.  Some pushed up together, creating mountains.  

Transform -- while the "crust" sat on top of the "magma", students slid the two halves of the cookie past each other.  This caused crumbling and showed how earthquakes and faults occurred.  Kids could feel the pressure required to have the two halves slide.

As they were doing this, they used this sheet to diagram the cookies, write about the movement taking place, and the resulting geological feature.

Then, when all was said and done, they got to eat their plate tectonic boundaries.  It was a fun way to bring a little engagement to an otherwise dry textbook.