FEMA for Kids: Volcanoes

FEMA for Kids  is a good place for simple information and facts.  The content is appropriate for grades 3-6. This site would be good if you wanted your students to do a little researching about volcanoes before getting into a lesson.  What I don't like about the site is that it is mainly in paragraph form, which makes getting through the information more difficult for the younger kids.  There are also no interactive features.  I do like that they included a section on the Hawaiian Goddess Pele because it could be a great way to incorporate literature into your science unit. 

The Dynamic Earth by the Smithsonian

The Dynamic Earth
This website is a great place to start your volcano adventure.  The first thing that I noticed which I really liked was that it has two options, multimedia and printable. This is a great feature for teachers that may not have access to technology in the classroom.  For those with access, there is a great interactive tool that lets you build your own volcano using the factors of volume, viscosity, and volatiles.  It also has a link the the global volcanism program page. Here students can look at real time data about active volcanoes all over the world. Global Volcanism Program  The Dynamic Earth site has several wonderful videos about American volcanoes, the Hawaiian Islands and Yellowstone National Park.  The website has great visuals, however the images are not able to be copied.

New York State Standards for Volcanoes

Elementary Science Standards

Key Idea 2:
Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and
land. The water cycle, weather, erosion, deposition, and extreme natural events involve interactions among air, water, and land. Students should observe and describe naturally occurring changes in their world involving these phenomena. They can also investigate these phenomena in classroom experiments. Younger students should be engaged in observation of their immediate surroundings with emphasis on recognizing change around them. As students mature, they can begin to recognize cycles and identify the processes and natural events which are causing the changes they are observing.

2.1e Extreme natural events (floods, fires, earthquakes,volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other severe storms) may have positive or negative impacts on living things.

Intermediate Science

Key Idea 2:
Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and
land. Students should develop an understanding of Earth as a set of closely coupled systems. The concept of systems provides a framework in which students can investigate three major interacting components: lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Processes act within and among the three components on a wide range of time scales to bring about continuous change in Earth's crust, oceans, and atmosphere.

2.2 Describe volcano and earthquake patterns, the rock cycle, and weather and climate changes.

Major Understandings:

2.2a The interior of Earth is hot. Heat flow and movement of material within Earth cause sections of Earth's crust to move. This may result in earthquakes, volcanic eruption, and the creation of mountains and ocean basins.

2.2f Plates may collide, move apart, or slide past one another. Most volcanic activity and mountain building occur at the boundaries of these plates, often resulting in earthquakes.

Earth Science

STANDARD 2
Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information, using appropriate technologies.

Key Idea 3:
Information technology can have positive and negative impacts on society, depending
upon how it is used.

For example:  Discuss how early warning systems can protect society and the environment from
natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and volcanoes

Key Idea 2:
Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and
land.

Earth's internal heat engine is powered by heat from the decay of radioactive materials and residual heat from
Earth's formation. Differences in density resulting from heat flow within Earth's interior caused the changes
explained by the theory of plate tectonics: movement of the lithospheric plates; earthquakes; volcanoes; and the deformation and metamorphism of rocks during the formation of young mountains.

2.1l The lithosphere consists of separate plates that ride on the more fluid asthenosphere
and move slowly in relationship to one another, creating convergent, divergent, and transform
plate boundaries. These motions indicate Earth is a dynamic geologic system.
These plate boundaries are the sites of most earthquakes, volcanoes, and young
mountain ranges.
Compared to continental crust, ocean crust is thinner and denser. New ocean crust
continues to form at mid-ocean ridges.
Earthquakes and volcanoes present geologic hazards to humans. Loss of property,
personal injury, and loss of life can be reduced by effective emergency preparedness.
2.1m Many processes of the rock cycle are consequences of plate dynamics. These include the production of magma (and subsequent igneous rock formation and contact metamorphism) at both subduction and rifting regions, regional metamorphism within subduction zones, and the creation of major depositional basins through down-warping of the crust.
2.1n Many of Earth's surface features such as mid-ocean ridges/rifts, trenches/subduction
zones/island arcs, mountain ranges (folded, faulted, and volcanic), hot spots, and the magnetic and age patterns in surface bedrock are a consequence of forces associated with plate motion and interaction.

Volcanoes in the Classroom

Volcanoes are amazing features here on Earth.  They are dynamic and exciting to learn about at any science level.  To assist teachers that may not know where to start, I have collected a variety of internet resources that can be useful in the classroom.