Title
Layers of the Earth
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to describe the structure of the interior of the Earth, name and identity the layers of the Earth, and
interpret a graph of the approximate thickness of the Earth’s layers.
Background Information for Teacher
The teacher should be familiar with the answers to the worksheet questions. The teacher can use the Earth’s Layers
website to gather information.
Student Prior Knowledge
N/A
Materials:
● Globe
● Computer with internet
● Colored pencils
● Earth's Layers (website)
● Plain paper
Step 2: Teach Lesson
Tell the student that today they will be learning about the Earth’s interior.
Show the student the globe. Ask the student if they know what diameter is. Allow the student time to respond.
Define the term diameter (a straight line passing from side to side through the center of a body or figure, especially a circle
or sphere
).
Tell the student that the Earth’s diameter is about 12,760km or about 7,900 miles. Put this distance in context by
comparing it to a distance the student is familiar with, such as the distance from their town or city to a distant, but familiar
location.
Explore students’ ideas about the inside of the Earth by asking: Do you think the Earth is the same all the way to the
center?
Distribute art supplies and have the student draw what they think the inside of the Earth is like, then write a paragraph
describing the drawing. (This activity will help you to know what background they are bringing to the topic.)
Show the video in Step 1
Discussion: Ask the student what they thought about the Earth’s layers video. Is the inside of the Earth what they
expected? What was different? What was the same?
Distribute the worksheets Inside the Earth and Graphing the Depth (Step 3).
Go over the information given in Inside the Earth worksheet. Make sure the student understands what each word means.
Ask the student to color each of the Earth’s layers accordingly.
Have the student complete the Graphing the Depth worksheet, and answer the questions. The student can use the Earth
Layers website, to help answer the questions in the worksheet.
Go over the questions answered.
Ask the student to discuss what they learned.
Step 3: Complete the worksheet attached below.
Worksheets needed to complete the lesson
Step 4: Review. Start the next lesson with the game or activity attached below for review so the student can demonstrate
understanding of this lesson before moving forward.
Earth Layer Cake and Venn Diagram (offline) activity