Volcano Mania

An Online Database Exploration Lesson
for 5th Grade Geography

Introduction

You are about to enter the explosive world of volcanoes. Before you make your first trip up Mt. Baker, you will need to become an expert in vulcanology and earn your Vulcan Dynamics certification. In order to obtain this certificate, you will have to explore the world of volcanoes, be able to identify and predict what will happen should you find yourself in the middle of increased volcanic activity. Now it's time to enter the world of Volcano Mania.

Acquaint Yourself

Begin by exploring the web site created by students, for students. It's called How Volcanoes Work. This website is an educational resource that describes the science behind volcanoes and volcanic processes. Cooler yet, it was sponsored by NASA! Why would NASA be interested to find out what's inside the earth?

Once you enter the site, take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with navigating the site. Notice on the left you can always find your way out by clicking on the subject area you were in. It's easy to get lost. When you go into other links, be sure to right click to "Open in New Window".

You will be looking for what causes a volcano to erupt. Plate tectonics aren't about stacking some dishes. It's about movement under and on top of the earth's crust. Suppose you wanted to prove that not all volcanoes are the same size and explosiveness. Where would you go? First you would look at the index on the left screen. What is an explosion all about? Erupting and the dynamics of the event. Look at the list, do they vary in size? Sure enough click on the variability section and, Voila! You have your answer.

Try another question ... Where are some of the deadliest volcanoes throughout history located? Deadly would mean having killed more than 100 people in one eruption. Where do you start? Exactly, with the index. Find the HISTORICAL ERUPTIONS section. Here it lists some of the more famous volcanoes ever to have erupted. If you read the opening paragraph carefully, you will be given a link to historical eruptions. There you will find there were 19 deadly eruptions since 1800. Further reading will lead you to Indonesia where the greatest numbers of deadly eruptions have occurred.

Ask for Information

Now it's time to find out about volcanoes. As you explore the website, you will need to keep track of your answers to use in the next section. Be sure to compile your answers in an organized manner. It is best to keep it on a spreadsheet like the example below. If you need an idea of how to organize it, ask for the worksheet in class. This will help organize your thoughts. Remember, you want to be able to identify the different types of volcanoes by their shape and the type of eruption that has occurred in the past. Be sure to follow the Volcano Links for more information on individual volcanoes. Now record earthquake data. On a map. identify where the most recent earthquakes have occurred from the past year. Maps are available from your teacher. Be sure to include a map key. Use the earthquake information from the USGS Earthquake Hazards page.

Questions you are looking to answer include:
What are the three major types of volcanoes?
Identify three examples of each type of volcano.
What do they look like? (Draw a picture of their shape)
Write your own definition of an active, dormant, and extinct volcano.
Identify with words and diagrams the following type of eruptions: Fissure eruptions, Hawaiian eruptions, Strombolian eruptions, Vulcanian eruptions, Plinian eruptions, and Hydrovolcanic eruptions.
Where has most of the major earthquake activity occurred?

All of your answers should be no more than one sentence long. Keep it brief using only the important words.

Arrange the Answers

Now it is time to take your data and arrange it. Look at your information you charted. Take a sheet of paper and arrange it in such a way that you will be able to identify the explosiveness of the eruption from the most explosive to the least explosive based on the height and power of the blast. Next match the type of volcano with the type of explosion it would likely have. In a third column, give an example of the name of a volcano that would match the other two criteria.

Name of Volcano	Location	Type	Massiveness of Explosion	earthquake activity
MT. ST. HELENS	USA	STRATOVOLCANOES	PLINIAN ERUPTION	Intense two days before blast - multiple times per minute

Apply What You've Learned

Now it's time to look at your results. Where did most of the earthquake activity in the past year take place? Where has the most recent volcanic activity take place? Is there a correlation between the results of the data from two charts? Look at your data and speculate on the following questions.
Do only certain types of volcanoes appear in certain areas of the world?
If we were to be in the America's, what type of volcanoes would we likely find? How about if we were in Italy? Hawaii? Japan?
What type of data was recorded just before an eruption? Would this happen before each eruption?
What conclusions can be drawn from your data regarding volcanoes and earthquakes?

Suppose we were to take a trip up Mt. Baker and were to notice an increase in earthquake activity. What does this increase earthquake activity mean for the Mt. Baker area where we live? What do you think would happen? Using your data you have collected, get with a partner and identify the type of volcano Mt. Baker is and the most likely type of eruption that will occur. Go one-step further, using your topographic maps from class, color the areas that will likely be affected by a blast. Will we be affected? If so, how much?

Evaluation

Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Since this is a short and simple lesson, a simple checklist of 2 to 5 items will suffice.

1 = not acceptable 2 = could be better 3 = acceptable 4 = outstanding

	1	2	3	4
The database was adequately searched.
Students were able to identify the type of volcano with the type of explosion.
Students were able to give the correct example of a volcano, its type and explosion type.
Students were able to use information to accurately analyze and identify the type of volcano and type of explosion Mt. Baker would have.

Comments:

Conclusion

You have been great! Now it's time to collect your Vulcan Dynamics certificate. Bring your answers in to class or email them as an attachment. Your hard work has paid off. You can now identify type of volcanoes, what kind of explosions they have, and even give examples of the volcano that matches the shape and explosion. Better yet, you have been able to identify our very own Mt. Baker! Maybe our next field trip should be up that way!

Vulcanology is a fascinating science! You've only begun to learn about the earth's crust. Want to know more? Check out these websites for awesome pictures, videos, and stories about the adventures some people have had around volcanoes.
The Smithsonian Institute offers a page of frequently asked questions and answers.
To find out information about active volcanoes with lots of pictures, stories and video, check with Stromboli online. It has a lot of neat information.
Mount Arenal is located in the Central American country of Costa Rica. This page will give some idea of the volcanic activity found there.
This is VolcanoWorld is set up for kids. Check it out!
Visit our own Mt. Baker or other volcanoes in the Cascade Range.

Credits & References

Many thanks to my students and teachers of the lifeskills class at Lynden High School who helped give me ideas and tested this page for me. Your input was explosively helpful.

The image of Mt. St. Helens was used with permission from The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Other websites for research include the:
Global Volcanism Program, Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History - Room E-421, MRC 0119, PO Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20013-7012
Information about Stromboli, Etna and other volcanoes by Jürg Alean, Roberto Carniel and Marco Fulle. There are great stories, pictures and video clips here.

We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this lesson, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this lesson. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL.

Last updated on October 26, 2004. Based on a template from EDTEC 570