Using Models

I had a difficult time deciding which lesson to do.  I do several lessons using models, but I wanted to do something new.  I found a model that demonstrates seafloor spreading.  My eighth grade students are currently covering space science, so I asked for volunteers from my seventh grade math class.  I got seven female volunteers.  The lesson went very well.  I think working in a small group allowed the students to express ideas freely.  We looked at animated models and then made our own.  Students really understood the process once they made their own models.  The models made it very clear that crust closest to the mid-ocean ridges is younger than crust farther from the ridges.  Students were so excited about the lesson they said that if there were more opportunities in the future, they would like to participate.  We really did not have any problems with the lesson.  Students did have a suggestion for making the model more efficient.  They suggested using legal size paper for the erupting seafloor so it would be easier to manipulate. 

I hope everyone else had a positive experience with their lesson plans.  Below are two pictures of the models we made.