Pangaea puzzle activity with pre and post activity questions. The theory of continental drift is most associated with the scientist alfred wegener. Wegener said that continents move around on earths surface and that they were once joined together as a single supercontinent. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in the legend and color the areas on the landmasses. Each lesson is designed using the 5e method of instruction to ensure maximum comprehension by the students. Point out that millions of years ago the continents were joined together in one supercontinent called pangaea. Continental drift, largescale horizontal movement of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate tectonics. A plate tectonic puzzle american museum of natural history. Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologist s thought continent s moved over time. This was the time when reptiles and winged insects first appeared.
Next, fill out the evidence foldable with four pieces of evidence mentioned in the reading passage. The continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by alfred wegener. The continental jigsaw puzzle can you reassemble a super. The hypothesis of continental drift led to plate tectonicsa theory that explains many processes in earth.
Starting with pangaea, draw how the continents would look, then as continental drift was in progress, then color in the present day world map. The animation illustrates the movements of the lithospheric plates from 250 million years in the past through to the present, as well as projections of continental movements 30 million years into. The continents then slowly drifted apart over time to their current. Who thought that the continents just floated across the ocean. Pangea breakup and continental drift, physical puzzle.
On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in. Have the students arrange the puzzle pieces using the key to wegeners evidence to support their. The continents, which are made of an insubmersible lightweight crust, passively drift with the movement of the lithospheric plates on which they sit. Theory of continental drift the continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by alfred wegener. Then, students will watch a short video showing an artists conception of how the continents once fit together and how they moved over the course of hundreds of millions of years to end up at their current locations.
Alfred wegener and continental drift it was not until 1912 that the idea of moving continents was seriously considered as a fullblown scientific theory called continental drift introduced in two articles published by a 32yearold german meteorologist named alfred lothar wegener alfred lothar wegener 18801930 earned a. Sep 06, 2016 im going to show you two ways to demonstrate how the continents once belong to one supercontinent pangaea. All about continental drift all about continental drift. Continental drift friday crossword contest wsj puzzles. The theory has caused a revolution in the way we think about the earth. This lesson is about the theory of continental drift and evidence to support the idea. Hands on lesson that helps teach students about continental drift. Jul, 2012 chandra garcia uses continentshaped puzzle pieces to teach her students about continental drift. The first truly detailed and comprehensive theory of continental drift was proposed in 1912 by alfred wegener, a german meteorologist.
While its forerunnerthe theory of continental drifthad its inception as early as the late 16th century, plate tectonics only emerged and. The evidence which gave rise to the theory of continental drift more correctly called plate tectonics includes the following. The more obvious evidence is that it appears the continental borders appear as if they would fit together like a puzzle. How many pieces of evidence did alfred wegener have on the continental drift. A jigsaw puzzle with no mechanism1 continents a jigsaw puzzle with no mechanism hind e b t h e y r s o c t i e s n e c h e t alfred wegener figure 1 early explorers noticed the apparent fit of coastlines. The geography knowledge board include 9 modern regions to play with. A jigsaw puzzle with no mechanism1 continents a jigsaw puzzle with no mechanism hind e b t h e y r s o c t i e s n e c h e t.
Create your own version of pangaea by fitting earths landmasses together like puzzle pieces. At the end of this continental drift theory lesson plan, students will be able to describe the historical developments that support the plate tectonic theory. The continental drift theory in the early twentieth century, german scientist alfred wegener and others observed something peculiar about earths continents. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in the legend and color the areas on the landmasses according to the legend. By examining evidence such as similar rock layers in various places, fossilized desert belts, the distribution of fossils, and the physical shapes of continents, scientists have concluded that the earths. Wegeners idea of moving continents led to the modern theory of plate tectonics. Since the continents floated on the plates, the plate tectonic theory provided the much needed mechanism for wegners continental drift theory.
The theory of continental drift suggests that north and south america were connected with europe and africa and antarctic was attached and closer to the equator. Continental drift theory evidences and limitations. Check out the blog post for step by step instructions with pictures. Since the development of the theory, geologists have had to reexamine almost every aspect of. A teaching companion wegeners puzzling continental drift evidence u.
The coasts of the continents surrounding the atlantic ocean could, if the continents were moved closer, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Discuss with them how europe, africa, south america, and north america might fit together as puzzle pieces. The students will be able to identify the evidence for continental drift and locate them on a map the students will begin exploring movement of plate tectonics and seafloor spreading the students will be able to calculate the rate of continental movement. Dec 19, 2017 continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on earths surface. Continental drift and plate tectonics f you look closely at a world map, you might notice something about the coastlines of south america and africa. Alfred wegeners fossil evidence for continental drift is shown on the cutouts. Continental drift and plate tectonics crossword puzzle. From this he began plotting worldwide distributions of both rock and fossil data that indicated tropic, desert and polar climates. The pdf format allows the web site to know how large a printer page is, and the fonts are scaled to fill the page. While wegener was alive, scientists did not believe that the continents could move.
Jul 24, 2019 continental drift was a revolutionary scientific theory developed in the years 19081912 by alfred wegener 18801930, a german meteorologist, climatologist, and geophysicist, that put forth the hypothesis that the continents had all originally been a part of one enormous landmass or supercontinent about 240 million years ago before breaking apart and drifting to their current locations. Wegeners puzzling continents although alfred wegener was not the first to suggest that continents have moved about the earth, his presentation of carefully compiled evidence for continental drift inspired decades of scientific debate. They seemed to fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Continental drift and plate tectonics university of iceland. The heat from inside the earth causes the material of the mantle to permanently rise up along the ocean ridges, resulting in the formation of a dense basaltic crust which slowly rolls away from the ridge, much like a rug being rolled up. This crossword puzzle, continental drift and plate tectonics, was created using the crossword hobbyist puzzle maker over 100,000 crosswords created. Introduce students to the concept of continental movement and plate tectonics. Pdf a historical account of how continental drift and plate tectonics. Drag and drop the part of pangaea in their correct places.
Cut out each of the continents along the edge of the continental shelf the outermost dark line. Call on volunteers to tell what they know about plate tectonics. Use those same colors to color each type of fossil or mountain belt according to your legend. Continental drift and plate tectonics worksheet crossword puzzle. There are now buttons on the puzzle so that you can get a clean page, in either html or pdf, that you can use your browsers print button to print. Continental drift the idea that continents move around on earths surface. Create a jigsaw puzzle to represent the supercontinent. Wegener and continental drift i3 continental drift. Continental drift interactive simulations edumedia. Alfred wegeners hypothesis on continental drift and its. Color the legend on the puzzle pieces handout according to the key. Introduction to plate tectonics and the theory of continental drift, including alfred wegener.
You will be piecing together a puzzle of the supercontinent pangea based on fossil and rock evidence on the present day continents. Using teamwork, puzzle pieces and collecting scientific data, teaching continental drift to students becomes a fun, collaborative project. This crossword puzzle, continental drift and plate tectonics, was created using the crossword hobbyist puzzle maker. Wegener noticed that the continents fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The pdf format allows the web site to know how large a printer page is. My friends and i are here to present my theory of continental drift, which i published in the year 1915. Cut out each of the continental land masses along the edge of the continental shelf the outer line. Without the atlantic ocean between them, the eastern edge of the. Use wegeners fossil evidence to place them in the correct positions. Bringing together a large mass of geologic and paleontological data, wegener postulated that throughout most of geologic time there was only one continent, which he called pangea. Nov 29, 2012 a brief introduction to alfred wegeners theory of continental drift, which would lay the groundwork for the development of plate tectonic theory, which essentially explains the geology of the earth. Continental drift germantown municipal school district. This concept was an important precursor to the development of the theory of plate tectonics, which incorporates it. These then drifted apart to form the present arrangement of continents.
Evidence of continental as a meteorologist alfred wegener was well aware of some climatological puzzles, such as the remains of temperate climate trees that can be found under polar ice. Continental drift, sea floor spreading and plate tectonics. This activity allows discussion of continental drift theory, which is now regarded as part of the overarching theory of plate tectonics. After completing their continental puzzle and before moving on to the next activity, the teacher should explain that what they created is a supercontinent called pangaea. Tectonic plates move atop the underlying mantle, a really thick layer of hot flowing rock. Try to logically piece the continents together so that they form a giant supercontinent. A small educational game for desktop computers, laptops and tablets, which may be played in the web browser. In the early 20th century, wegener published a paper explaining. A large super continent pangea split into smaller fragments about 200300 million years ago. You will be piecing together a puzzle of the supercontinent pangaea based on fossil and rock evidence on the presentday continents. Can you reassemble a supercontinent from a jigsaw puzzle. Continental drift and plate tectonics worksheet crossword.
Continental drift theory continental drift is the hypothesis that all the continents had once been joined together in a single landmass. Then, there will be a short guided reading activity used to explain the historical development of the theory of continental drift. Continental drift lesson grades 68 geology unit plan. Set forth in 1912 by alfred wegener, a geophysicist and meteorologist, continental drift also. Plate tectonics in a nutshell the theory of plate tectonics is a relatively new scientific concept. It provides a useful introduction to more technical. In 1915, alfred wegener proposed that all of earths continents were once joined in an ancient supercontinent he called pangaea. At once it was readily accepted by most all geologists. Wegeners evidence, in concert with compelling evidence provided by post world war ii technology, eventually. He was not the first to observe this, but he was the first to gather evidence suggesting that the continents were in.
Continental drift friday crossword contest wsj puzzles wsj. Pangaea online puzzle is a free online knowledge level game, about the ancient continent of pangaea. Animations of continental drift and convection currents. Under each flap of the evidence foldable, explain how that evidence supports continental drift. Browse continental drift puzzle resources on teachers pay teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for.
The use of the jigsaw puzzle analogy as one of the evidences of his theory, too was not taken well. Download pangea puzzle, pdf file for a regular printer 25 mb. Late in the triassic period which lasted from approximately 251 million to 199. The continental puzzle continental drift lesson, pangea activities.
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