Anchor Phenomenon:

There are around 1,500 currently active volcanoes on the planet. The residents of Kathmandu, Rabaul, Auckland, and Yogyakarta all live in the shadow of hills and mountains.

Should they be worried?

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In this lesson, students are introduced to the module and begin to explore what features distinguish volcanoes from mountains and other landforms. They use an interactive to identify patterns in volcano locations and begin to collect evidence to help them determine if a landform is a volcano or not. Then students turn their attention to the rock cycle, exploring the relationship between the rock cycle and volcanic life cycle by creating 2-D and 3-D models. Students observe the rock samples they were introduced to at the start of the lesson, writing scientific explanations about how rock types can help us determine if a landscape is volcanic or not.

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Performance Expectation:

• MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process

• MS-ESS3-2 Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects