Erupting Volcano Activity

Materials Needed:

• Small plastic bottle (empty and clean)
• Modeling clay or playdough
• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Tray or shallow container (to catch the eruption)
• Red food coloring (optional, for lava color)
• Dish soap (optional, for more foamy lava)

Instructions:

1. Build Your Volcano (5 minutes):

   • Place the plastic bottle in the center of your tray.
   • Use the modeling clay or playdough to build a cone shape around the bottle, making it look like a volcano.
   • Make sure the opening of the bottle is clear at the top, like the volcano's crater!
   • Teacher Tip: Encourage creativity! Students can add trees, animals, or even little towns around their volcanoes.

2. Prepare for Eruption (3 minutes):

   • Carefully put 2-3 spoonfuls of baking soda into the bottle.
   • If you have red food coloring and dish soap, add a few drops of food coloring and a squeeze of dish soap into the bottle with the baking soda. This will make your lava look more realistic and foamy!

3. The Big Eruption! (2 minutes):

   • When your teacher says it's time, slowly pour about 1/4 cup of vinegar into the bottle.
   • Watch what happens! Stand back a little to observe the eruption.
   • What do you see? What do you hear? How does it make you feel?

After the Eruption Discussion Prompts:

• What came out of your volcano? (Connect to lava and ash)
• What did it look like? (Color, foaminess)
• What caused your volcano to erupt? (Explain the baking soda and vinegar reaction as a simple version of pressure building)
• How is this like a real volcano? How is it different?
• Would you want to live near a real volcano? Why or why not?
  
  
  
  
  
  

Volcano Lesson Script

Warm-Up: What Comes to Mind? (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Good morning, super scientists! Today, we are going to talk about something really exciting and powerful that happens on our Earth. Has anyone ever heard the word 'volcano' before? What comes to your mind when you hear 'volcano'? Don't worry, there are no wrong answers! Just tell me what you think of or what you imagine."

(Listen to student responses, write keywords on the board like 'mountain,' 'fire,' 'hot,' 'smoke,' 'lava,' etc. Encourage everyone to share, even if it's just one word.)

Teacher: "Wow, you have some amazing ideas! It sounds like you already know a little bit about these incredible things. Today, we're going to learn even more about volcanoes, what they are, and how they 'burp' out hot rock!"

Introduction to Volcanoes (10 minutes)

Teacher: (Display Volcanoes: Earth's Loud Burps! Slide Deck - Slide 1: "What's a Volcano?")

"Take a look at this picture. This is a volcano! Some of you said it looks like a mountain, and you're right, it often does! But it's a very special kind of mountain. It's a mountain with a big secret deep inside it. What do you think that secret might be?"

(Allow for a few guesses.)

Teacher: (Display Volcanoes: Earth's Loud Burps! Slide Deck - Slide 2: "Magma vs. Lava")

"The secret is magma! Say 'mag-ma' with me. Magma is super-duper hot, melted rock that lives inside the Earth. It's so hot, it's glowing!

"Now, sometimes, that magma gets so excited that it pushes its way out of the volcano. When it comes out, we call it lava! Say 'la-va.' So, magma is inside, and lava is outside. Can you show me with your hands: inside for magma, outside for lava?"

(Guide students to make an 'in' motion for magma and an 'out' motion for lava.)

Teacher: (Display Volcanoes: Earth's Loud Burps! Slide Deck - Slide 3: "Parts of a Volcano")

"Just like we have different parts to our bodies, a volcano has different parts too! At the very top, where the lava comes out, is a big hole called a crater. Imagine a giant bowl at the top of the mountain. That's the crater!

"And the path the lava takes to get out? That's called the vent. It's like the volcano's mouth! And the big, tall part is the volcano mountain itself.

"Can you point to where the crater would be? How about the mountain?"

(Guide students to point to the correct parts on the slide.)

Teacher: (Display Volcanoes: Earth's Loud Burps! Slide Deck - Slide 4: "How Does a Volcano Erupt?")

"So, how does all this hot rock get out? Well, deep inside the Earth, there's a lot of pressure, like when you shake up a soda bottle! All that magma wants to get out. When the pressure gets too big, the magma pushes its way up through the vent, out the crater, and POOF! It erupts! Lava, ash, and gas blast into the air! It's like the Earth taking a really loud, fiery burp!"

"What do you think it would feel like to be near a volcano when it erupts?"

(Allow for a few student responses, focusing on sensory details like heat, rumbling, excitement, etc.)

Erupting Volcano Activity (10 minutes)

Teacher: (Display Volcanoes: Earth's Loud Burps! Slide Deck - Slide 5: "Let's Make Our Own Volcano!")

"Now, for the really fun part! We're going to make our very own volcanoes erupt right here in our classroom! We're going to use some safe ingredients to show you how a volcano 'burps' out its lava. Follow the instructions on your Erupting Volcano Activity Guide."

(Distribute materials and guide students through the activity, emphasizing safety and following the steps on the guide. Circulate and ask guiding questions during the activity.)

Teacher (during activity): "What are you doing to make your volcano look like a mountain? What do you think will happen when we add the vinegar? Do you see the baking soda inside the 'crater'?"

(After eruptions occur.)

Teacher: "Wow! Look at those amazing eruptions! What came out of your volcano? What did it look like? Do you think real lava is the same?"

Cool-Down: My Volcano Thought (5 minutes)

Teacher: "That was an incredible journey into the world of volcanoes! Before we finish, I want everyone to think about one new thing they learned today, or one word that describes how you feel about volcanoes now. You can tell your neighbor, or just think about it quietly."

(Allow time for reflection or quick sharing.)

"Remember, volcanoes are powerful parts of our Earth, showing us how amazing and active our planet truly is! Great job today, scientists!"