THE THEORY OF

PLATE TECTONICS

CONTENTS
Introduction
Syllabus content
CLIL lesson
preparation

INTRODUCTION
SUBJECT: General Geology
LEVEL: University (intermediate)
MODUL TITLE: Tectonic geology
UNIT: The theory of plate tectonics
CLASS DURATION: 90 min
THE CLASS:
introduction (10 min)
main part (75 min)
the content text: 35 minutes
activities: 40 min
closure (5 min)

SYLLABUS CONTENT
Focus only on what has been covered in language classes up
to the content class in question.
Language items: simple/past, present/continuous tense forms,
word order, comparison of adjectives, articles use, and plural
of nouns. Future Simple Tenses structures would be used as an
introduction to the tense topic itself in the language class.
Other language forms such as perfect tenses, passives,
conditionals are left out.
Clil class content unit: language forms of present/continuous
tense forms, future simple tense forms, adjective comparison,
articles use, and plural of nouns.

CLIL LESSON PREPARATION

CONTENT OBJECTIVES:
Students will revise their prior knowledge about the theory of
continental drift and evidence that support that theory
students will learn about the theory of plate tectonics which
explains the continental drift, they'll learn about plate
boundaries and their types, and they'll learn about what events
these movements can cause.
Students will also learn about the process of convection
currents which causes the plate movement.

CLIL LESSON PREPARATION

LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES:
Students will revise vocabulary from the previous class:
continental drift, Pangaea, Laurasia, Gondwana, litosphere, mantle,
crust, layers, sea-floor spreading, reverse polarity
New vocabulary: rigid, tectonic plates, plate boundary, divergent,
convergent, transform, collide, denser/ less dense, smaller, warmer,
large, largest, mid-ocean ridge, slide, subduction, trench,
convection, convection currents

CLIL LESSON PREPARATION

Language structures: The Present Simple/Continuous Tense
structures:
The theory of plate tectonics states...
The place where two plates meet
There are three types of
The plates are moving
The Future Simple Tense structures:
There will be(earthquakes, volcanoes)
The plates will move (towards east/west)
Comparative structures: large-larger- the largest, smallsmaller-the smallest, larger than, smaller than

CLIL LESSON PREPARATION

STRATEGIES and ACTIVITIES:
KWL or using quiz sheets to revise and connect to prior
knowledge; using pictures, images, videos, and concepts maps
to help students with understanding and acquiring new
vocabulary, the concepts and processes related to tectonic
plates and their movement; using gap-filling activities,
labeling diagrams, and tables to help students acquire new
vocabulary and to practice language structures.
THINKING SKILLS:
recalling, identifying, recognizing, comparing, classifying,
interpreting, hypothesizing, predicting, producing, explaining

INTRODUCTION PART

INTRODUCTION PART
Continental drift quiz (linking to previous knowledge)
Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided.
______ 1. Wegener thought that all the continents were once together in on
large continent called
a. Gondwana.
b. Laurasia.
c. Eurasia.
d. Pangaea.
______ 2. New oceanic lithosphere forms as a result of
a. sea-floor spreading.
b. normal polarity.
c. reverse polarity.
d. continental drift.
______ 3. Evidence for sea-floor spreading has come from
a. fossils in South America and Africa.
b. magnetic minerals on the ocean floor.
c. ancient climatic conditions.
d. the breakup of Pangaea.

INTRODUCTION PART
Match the correct definition with the correct term. Write
the letter in the space provided.

__ 4. hypothesis that states that the continents were once one

large mass that broke apart
__5. process that takes place at mid-ocean ridges

__6. part of molten rock at mid-ocean ridges

__7. process of Earths magnetic poles changing places
__8. items that provide evidence that the continents were once
closer together
a. Sea-floor spreading d. Magnetic minerals
b. Continental drift e. fossils
c. Magnetic reversal

LESSON: MAIN PART

Exploring the content text: reading, explaining and
learning vocabulary and content concepts through
pictures, videos,and concept maps. (35 minutes)
Checking content text comprehension: practicing
vocabulary and language structures through a series
of activities. (40 minutes)

LESSON: MAIN PART

THE THEORY
OF PLATE
TECTONICS

Rigid plates of
rock

LESSON: MAIN PART

earthquakes and
volcanoes occur in
certain locations

LESSON: MAIN PART

LESSON: MAIN PART

PLATE BOUNDARIES
a plate boundary

LESSON: MAIN PART

1. DIVERGENT
PLATE
BOUNDARY
https://
www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v
=2q4Yqctq6nE
divergent boundary

Mid-ocean ridge in the

Atlantic ocean. Eurasian
plate is on the right and
North American plate is
on the left.

LESSON: MAIN PART

a rift valley forms at

divergent plate boundary

Alfagj rift valley in Iceland

Thingvelir, National Park, Iceland

LESSON: MAIN PART

2. TRANSFORM PLATE
BOUNDARY
https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v
=1oLeKTvSIzQ
Earthquakes

LESSON: MAIN PART

San Andreas
fault zone

LESSON: MAIN PART

LESSON: MAIN PART

3. CONVERGENT PLATE
BOUNDARY
https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=
KDrDLAzYhGo
convergent boundary
two plates collide
The collision of two plates
deep ocean trench
The Ring of Fire

LESSON: MAIN PART

3. CONVERGENT
PLATE BOUNDARY
the plate that is denseR
the process of subduction

LESSON: MAIN PART

Island arc

Islands of the Four Mountains, part

of Aleutian Island Arc created by the
collision of the Pacific plate
with North American plate.

LESSON: MAIN PART

The colission of
Eurasian and Indian
plate resulted in
creation of Himalayas.

LESSON: MAIN PART

PLATE MOVEMENT
https://
www.youtube.com/watch?
v
=ryrXAGY1dmE
The process of convection

Convection currents

LESSON: MAIN PART

LESSON: MAIN PART

LESSON: MAIN PART

The words in the right column match with the words in the left
column. Find the word that doesnt match.
RIGID

plates of rock, rules, coffee, discipline, body, procedure

DIVERGENT

boundaries, thinking, groups, views, results, eyes

DENSE

plates, forest, clouds picture, atmosphere, fog

CONVERGENT

boundaries, evidence, validity, thinking, skills, juice

LESSON: MAIN PART (75 MINUTES)

ACTIVITIES (35 MINUTES)
A Match the words with pictures
1.

a) transform boundary

e) convection currents

2.

b) convergent boundary

f) mid-ocean ridge

3.

c) divergent boundary

g) oceanic trench

LESSON: MAIN PART

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

B Match the words with the definitions:

ocean trench, divergent, rigid, subduction, convection currents
That separates or goes in different directions
The movements of hot mantle rock that drive tectonic plates in the
process of convection.
A long, narrow valley under the sea formed by convergent boundary
plate movement.
Hard, not flexible
A process in which one plate slides under the other.

LESSON: MAIN PART

2 Look at the text and find suitable words to fill in the gaps in the
sentences below:
1. The theory of plate tectonics states that Earths surface is divided into
rigid plates of rock.
2. The tectonic plates
are pieces of crust and the upper part of the mantle.
3. The tectonic plates of the lithosphere
move because they rest on the fluidlike astenosphere.
4. There
are seven major tectonic plates.
5. The Pacific plate
is the largest.
6. Earths mantle
moves in the process of convection.
7. The plates
are moving
slowly.
8. The North American plate
is moving
to the west-southwest.
9. Hot material near the Earth's core rises

and colder mantle rock

10. Convection currents in the mantle

are

the result.

sinks

LESSON: MAIN PART

3 Fill in the gaps and then write the suitable words in the table below:

African plate is large.

Eurasian plate is

African plate is larger than Arabian.

The Pacific plate is the largest.
Eurasian plate is . than Cocos.

Caribbean plate is small.

Caribbean plate is smaller than African.

Galapagos plate is the smallest.

Cocos plate is ..

Cocos plate is than Pacific.

LESSON: MAIN PART

the largest
smaller
warmer
dense
colder

LESSON: MAIN PART

Use the following
structures:
There will be
The plates will move
The Earth will look like
this
The Earth will not look
like
I think that the plates
will movebecause

CLOSURE

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION