Jonathan started his lesson by taking notes on a reading about the tectonic plates. Jonathan made drawings to illustrate his work. He also wrote vocabulary words and their definitions as they were encountered in the reading. Jonathan studied the words core, mantle, and crust. He made a pie-shaped diagram of the layers of the Earth. Jonathan read about the movement of the tectonic plates and learned the concept of the plates colliding in different ways. One way the plates react is by pulling apart. Theses types of formations occur under the ocean. The second way Jonathan learned about the tectonic action was when the plates collide. This type of action causes mountains to form or sometimes volcanos to form when the magma reaches the surface of the Earth through a vent caused by pressure from the molten magma. Jonathan learned about a third type of plate movement which is like slipping or rubbing past each other on the fault lines. This type of action causes earthquakes. Jonathan saw pictures of the San Andreas fault line in California. Jonathan showed me a volcano picture he drew and he labeled parts as the core, lateral vent, and crater. Jonathan watched a lab that will help him work on tectonic plates for more understanding. He will work on some labs next week.