The Shaping of
the Continents
SUMMARY

The planet Earth today consists of
seven continents separated by the world’s
oceans. Evidence suggests, however, that
hundreds of millions of years ago, the
continents were all connected. This book
explains plate tectonics, the force that moves
continents, and the ways that mountains are
formed.

CAUSE AND EFFECT
SUMMARIZE

READ THE BOOK
SET PURPOSE

Have students set a purpose
for reading The Shaping of the Continents.
Students’ interest in the history of the Earth
and the scientists who study the Earth should
guide this purpose. Suggest that students jot
down notes about their purpose as they read.

STRATEGY SUPPORT: SUMMARIZE

LESSON VOCABULARY

converge

section heads, maps, photographs, and
diagrams. Ask them how they think these
text features complement the text in this
selection.

As students
read, suggest they summarize the main idea
in each section. Remind them to write only
about the most important ideas and leave
out less-important details. Students may later
want to combine their section summaries
and create a comprehensive summary of the
selection.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 4 What is the meaning of Pangaea?
(all lands)
PAGE 5 What is the name for the theory that
explains how the continents shift and move?
(continental drift)
PAGE 6 What made Alfred Wegener believe
that South America and Africa might once
have been connected? (They had matching
coastlines that contained the same plant
and animal fossils and similar rock and land
formations.)
PAGE 7

What caused scientists in the 1950s

landmass moved on the Earth’s surface
until there were seven continents.
3. Possible response: They are opposite. con-:
with, together; di-: two; Can you conceal the
stain? I tried to divert his attention.
4. Responses will vary.
EXTEND UNDERSTANDING

Have students look
at the text and art on page 11 showing
diagrams of convergent and divergent plate
movement. Ask students how the images
convey information in a way that complements
the information in the text. Ask: What do the
diagrams show you about plate movement?

RESPONSE OPTIONS
WRITING

Invite students to write two
paragraphs about causes and effects they
learned about in this selection. They can use
the notes they jotted down as they read the
book. Encourage them to use clue words
such as since, thus, as a result, therefore, and
consequently to show relationships between
what happened and why it happened.

SCIENCE CONNECTION
Students can learn more about

consequently. Explain that the clue words
show relationships between what happened
and why it happened. Make sure they use
the clue words correctly to indicate causeand-effect relationships.
SUMMARIZE Remind students that
summarizing is a strategy that good readers
use to check their understanding of a
selection. When you summarize, you make a
brief statement that gives the main ideas of
an article. Challenge students to summarize
an important cause-and-effect relationship
in each section.

ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION
GRAPHIC SOURCES

Remind students that
graphic sources include charts and tables,
diagrams, maps, pictures with captions,
and timelines. Encourage students to think
about the kinds of information provided by
the graphic sources in this reader. For each
graphic source, ask: What do you learn
from this graphic source that you do not
learn in the text?

The Shaping of the Continents

16924_LRD_TG_104-105 105


6. An ocean floor pushes toward a
land mass.
7. Two landmasses meet.
8. Two plates slide past each other
and get stuck.
9. Inside a volcano, trapped gases
expand as they rise.

The landmasses fold and crumple,
producing mountain ranges.
Molten rock from within the mantle
spews forth, creating new ocean floor.
Very deep trenches occur.
Pangaea broke into two distinct
landmasses.
The ocean floor slides under the land.
We are not likely to see much change in
the Earth during our lifetimes.

10. Tectonic plates move at a very,
very slow rate.

Earth’s one great ocean separated into
smaller oceans.

© Pearson Education 5

The volcano erupts.

106


diverge
magma
subduction
unconventional

Word

Definition
the process of one plate
sliding underneath another
plate
molten rock beneath the
Earth’s surface
to split apart from
not conforming to accepted
rules or standards
remains of plants or animals
that lived in the past,
preserved as rock

© Pearson Education 5

Directions Write a paragraph about The Shaping of the Continents. Use the vocabulary words which
were not used in the chart above.

107
16924_LRD_TG_106-107 107

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