Lesson Plan 1

Volcanoes
What is a volcano and
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where are New Zealand’s volcanoes?
Introduction
Learning Intentions
Discuss in pairs, groups or as a class • recognise that the surface of the
earth changes over time
Features they know on the surface of the Earth
Islands, continents, hills, mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, caves, oceans, beaches… • learn that some mountains
and hills are volcanoes but not all
Do these features change over time and what causes the changes?
volcanoes look like mountains
All parts of the Earth’s surface change over time. Changes caused by volcanoes,
earthquakes and landslides can be fast, noisy, unpredictable, dramatic and • understand that volcanoes have
dangerous. Changes are caused by forces on the Earth’s surface such as weathering been built up by eruptions.
and erosion due to climate, or forces below the surface such as the movement of
• realise that volcanoes can be
hot rock.
extinct, dormant or active.
Activity
Success Criteria
Assess existing knowledge by asking each student to draw a volcano, encourage
Students can
students to show what is inside the volcano. Share drawings and discuss ideas.
• Identify, locate and name some
Discuss active NZ volcanoes.
How do volcanoes change the landscape? • Show an understanding of
The material produced in volcanic eruptions can create a volcanic cone and can also how volcanoes are created and
spread over a wide area of the surrounding landscape. A more violent explosion can destroyed over time.
collapse the surrounding area and leave a crater, which may fill with water such as
Lakes Taupo and Rotorua. The interaction between volcanoes and water can lead • Use correct vocabulary to label
to landscape features such as hot springs and geysers. Some volcanic rocks break the main features of a volcano.
down to form fertile soil.
What can volcanoes produce and where does this material come from?
Volcanoes can produce ash, lava, rocks of many sizes, steam and gases. Volcanic Resources
ash is not the burnt remains of a fire, it is rock that has been fragmented into smaller • 7 Poster Series
parts.
Magma is a very hot mixture of melted rock, dissolved gases, and solid crystals • NZ Wall Map or individual maps
or rock fragments suspended in the liquid. Different combinations of magma & coloured pins
components cause different types of eruptions, but magma is not always ejected in • Volcano diagram activity sheet
an eruption. Some eruptions such as the small Ruapehu eruption in 2007, involve
only magmatic gases and crater lake contents.
Where are NZ’s active volcanoes, do they all look the same?
NZ’s active volcanoes are all in the North Island. The three main areas are the Taupo
Vocabulary
volcano, eruption, extinct,
Volcanic Zone (TVZ) which extends from Ruapehu to White Island, the Auckland
dormant, active, cone, vent,
Volcanic Field and Taranaki.. All volcanoes look different because the processes
crater, magma, lava, layer,
creating them vary. The size, type and frequency of eruptions varies, they are
eruption plume
different ages and they are also affected by external forces such as erosion caused
by water, ice and wind.
Does NZ have undersea volcanoes?
There are at least 30 submarine volcanic centres in the Kermadec Arc which extends
from White Island to Tonga. Many of these volcanoes are active and they are formed
by the same process that creates the Taupo Volcanic Zone.

Activity Instructions
• Print out, view and discuss the posters of NZ volcanoes.
• Mark the location of these volcanoes on a NZ map either as a class or on individual
maps
--Use red pins/markers for active volcanoes and a different colour for extinct
volcanoes such as Dunedin and Banks Peninsula.
--Label the Taupo Volcanic Zone, the Auckland Volcanic Field and Taranaki
• Discuss the shapes of the different volcanoes and possible ideas on why they are
that shape.
• Discuss the vocabulary necessary for the volcano diagram and complete the
activity sheet.
Teacher Notes 1

Volcanoes
What is a volcano and
www.gns.cri.nz
where are New Zealand’s volcanoes?
Most children understand that the Earth moves around the Sun and the moon moves
around the Earth, however many do not realise that the surface of the Earth is also Curriculum Links
slowly moving and changing over time.
Planet Earth and Beyond
The size and permanence of the landforms they see each day encourages them to
believe that what they see has always been there and will continue unchanged.
Science NOS
An understanding of volcanoes will enable children to see the connection between Concept
visible features on the surface of the Earth and the invisible processes happening
Earth Systems Investigating in
under the surface. Then the concept of the Earth’s surface changing over time
L1/2 –explore Science-extend
becomes easier to grasp. Put simply a volcano marks the point where molten rock
and describe their personal
from deep within the Earth has reached the surface.
natural features explanations of
and resources the natural world.
New Zealand has a unique place on the Earth’s surface. The forces which have
created our dramatic and beautiful landscapes also make New Zealand extremely Interacting Communicating
prone to natural hazards such as volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunami, floods and Systems in Science-build
landslides. Our volcanoes are world beaters, both in frequency of eruptions and L1/2-describe language.
volumes of material ejected. how natural
features are
Most New Zealand children will already have heard of or experienced at least one changed and
natural hazard and may have some idea of how to prepare for natural disasters. resources
They are probably not so aware of the role NZ scientists play in investigating these affected by
natural processes in order to better predict future events and limit damage to people, natural events
property and the economy.

Many NZ volcanoes such as Taranaki and Ngauruhoe have the classic cone shape
children expect but other active volcanoes are harder to identify by shape. Tarawera Assessment
appears to be a collection of hills with flat tops rather than a volcano that ‘blew its
top’. One of the most active and violent volcanoes in the world is concealed beneath Formative assessment of existing
one of our major tourist attractions, Lake Taupo. knowledge by
• Drawing and labelling a volcano
Drawing a volcano and discussing the volcano photos will allow students to share
what they already know and provide useful formative assessment. Identifying • Contributions to discussions
their locations will show that our active volcanoes are not randomly spread around
the country. Although the South Island now has no volcanic activity, South Island
students should not feel deprived when they see the remains of ancient volcanoes in
the landscapes of Dunedin and Banks Peninsula.
The huge time scales involved in changes to the Earth’s surface are difficult to
understand but children can see that some NZ volcanoes are ‘young and active’
while others are extinct and slowly disappearing.
A simple diagram can be used to show that a cone volcano is built up layer by layer
through repeated eruptions. What is built up can also be eroded down or altered
by further eruptions. Many children imagine the heat source is within the cone of
a volcano rather than deep underground. Lesson 2 explains this heat source by
examining the structure of the Earth.
FAQs and links for further inquiry 1

Volcanoes
What is a volcano and
www.gns.cri.nz
where are New Zealand’s volcanoes?
Which New Zealand volcanoes are active? What’s the biggest active volcano in the world?
All of New Zealand’s active volcanoes are in the North Island Mauna Loa covers half the island of Hawaii and is the Earth’s
but the remains of extinct South Island volcanoes are easy to largest (but not tallest) volcano. It rises 4km above sea level
spot in places such as Dunedin and Banks Peninsula. and it is another 5km from sea level down to the sea floor.
Because it is so large it pushes the sea floor down by another
White Island in the Bay of Plenty is New Zealand’s most 8km. This makes the volcano’s summit 17km above its base! It
continuously active volcano. When it is not erupting there is has erupted over 30 times in the last 150 years.
a constant plume of steam from fumaroles on the crater floor.
Fumaroles are vents that emit steam and other gases. Are New Zealand eruptions as big as other countries?
Yes, the Taupo eruption 1800 years ago is the second largest
The Taupo Volcanic Zone contains many active volcanoes of and most violent eruption anywhere in the world in the last
different types, some are cones such as Ruapehu, Tongariro, 5000 years.
and Ngauruhoe. Others are calderas-large basin shaped
depressions caused by the collapse of a volcano after a Could a volcanic eruption reach me?
violent explosion. Two calderas are currently active, Taupo Yes, even areas a long way from active volcanoes can
and Okataina. Mt Tarawera is part of the Okataina caldera and be affected by fall out of volcanic dust and ash from the
produced New Zealand’s deadliest eruption since European atmosphere.
settlement in 1886.
Can you tell when a volcano is going to erupt?
Egmont Volcano in Taranaki has been created by the same Scientists cannot predict exactly when a volcanic eruption is
processes as the cone volcanoes of the Taupo Volcanic Zone going to occur but they can look for warning signs such as
and is still considered active. earthquakes, changes in gases coming from the volcano and
Auckland city is built on a field of about 50 small, young, changes in the shape of the land. Using these signs they may
volcanic cones. The most recent eruptions formed Rangitoto forecast the possibility of an eruption. However volcanoes are
Island about 600 years ago. Future eruptions in the Auckland unpredictable, a small Ruapehu eruption in 2007 was a” blue
area are likely to be at new sites rather than from existing sky event”, there were no warning signs.
cones because of the particular type of volcanism involved.
Could new volcanoes pop up in places where there are no
A line of active undersea volcanoes called the Kermadec Arc volcanoes now?
extends over 1000km north east from the Bay of Plenty coast. Yes, scientists think Wanganui is a likely spot but probably not
It includes both cone and caldera volcano types. any time soon! In Auckland more volcanoes will be produced
at new spots within the volcanic field.
For the current state of NZ’s active volcanoes see
www.geonet.org.nz For a comprehensive site with many sections useful for the
following lessons and simple clear animations see

What’s the difference between active,dormant and extinct? http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/k-6/pt/index.

If a volcano has erupted in about the last 100,000 years, html
scientists consider it to be active. It is difficult to decide when
For further information on the Taupo Volcanic Zone see:
a volcano is extinct (dead) because volcanoes can be dormant
(sleeping) for tens of thousands of years. Dunedin Volcano last http://csl.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/national-parks/
erupted 10 million years ago and is extinct. Taupo last erupted tongariro/features/central-north-island-volcanoes/
over 1800 years ago but is not extinct because it is of a type
http://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano/our-volcanoes/index.html
that can have thousands of years between eruptions.

Why does NZ have so many volcanoes and why are all the
active ones in the North Island?
It’s all to do with the structure of the Earth and plate tectonics-
see Lessons 2&3

When are we going to make a volcano?

See Lesson 9

Are there volcanoes on other planets?

Mars, Venus and Jupiter’s moons have many volcanoes. So
does Earth’s moon.
The largest volcano in our solar system is Olympus Mons on
Mars. The most volcanically active part of the solar system is
Io, one of Jupiter’s moons.

For more information on solar system volcanoes see

www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/
Activity sheet 1 Name:

Volcanoes
What is a volcano and
where are New Zealand’s volcanoes?

What is a volcano?
1. Put the following labels in the
correct boxes on the diagram.
magma pipe, magma chamber,
cone, vent, eruption plume
2. Add a small lava flow to your
diagram and label it.
3. If the main magma pipe
became blocked, mark with
an X where another vent might
develop.
4. Why is the cone of the volcano
Cone
made up of layers?
Volcano

USGS

What shapes can volcanoes be?

1. Use the following labels
to name each volcano type. lava flow pyroclastic
material
cone volcano, caldera volcano,
pyroclastic
volcanic field lava material
2. Name a New Zealand volcano dome

of each type.

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