Most kids are fascinated with volcanoes. When teaching about them, it is important to let kids make a volcano, have good pictures of real volcanoes, and if possible, a video, since most students are not able to take a field trip to actually see one. If you are fortunate to be on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, then you can hike up to the top of Diamond Head, an extinct volcano. We did this, and it was quite impressive. Or you can visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii, which we also did, and you might get to see an actual lava flow. We didn’t get close enough to see a lava flow, but we did walk through the Thurston Lava Tube which was very interesting.
Here is a book we own that has many great pictures of volcanoes:
- Hawaii Volcanoes: The Story Behind the Scenery by Glen Kaye
MAKE YOUR OWN VOLCANO:
- Use a large pan, 9 x 13. Place an empty 16 ounce bottle in the middle of it with the top off.
- Using either papier mache, modeling clay, or salt play dough, make a mountain with vertical ridges around the bottle. Do not cover the top of the bottle. Paint brown and let dry.
- Mix 1 tablespoon liquid dishwashing soap and 1 tablespoon baking soda in a cup and carefully pour into the bottle in the middle of the mountain. (If you’re brave, you can add a few drops of red or orange food coloring in with the soap and baking soda.)
- Place the pan with the mountain outside. Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to the bottle and stand back. Your volcano will erupt!
- For ESL students, be sure and label everything.
- For Gifted students, ask higher level questions. If you want the chemical reaction, this is it: NaHCO3 + CH3COOH –> Na+ + H2O + CO2 + CH3COO-. When the baking soda and vinegar are mixed, it produces a carbon dioxide gas (a chemical reaction) which is the same gas that a real volcano produces.
VOLCANO KITS:
- Kit: Volcano Island – Discovery Extreme Light and Sound Rumbling Volcano by Poof Slinky
- Our Amazing Volcanoes / Earth Science Kit by Poof Slinky
- Volcano Kit by Schylling
CHILDREN’S VIDEOS:
- Earth Science for Children: All About Volcanoes
- Magic School Bus Volcano Adventure
CHILDREN’S BOOKS:
- Volcanoes (The Wonders of Our World) by Anne Schreiber. Good for all ages. Excellent Teaching Tool!
- Dk Readers: Eruption–The Story of Volcanoes (Level 2) by Anita Ganeri
- National Geographic Readers Volcanoes! by Anne Schreiber
- The Best Book of Volcanoes by Simon Adams
- The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top: A Book About Volcanoes by Gail Herman and Bob Ostrom. Good for PreK-1. Not your typical Magic School Bus book.
- Time for Kids: Volcanoes! by Editors Of Time For Kids
- Volcanoes by Jacques Durieux and Philippe Bourseiller. Spectacular photos!
- Volcanoes (All Aboard Science Reader) by Nicholas Nirgiotis. Go0d for K-2. Pictures look like clay.
- Volcanoes (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Franklyn Mansfield Branley and Megan Lloyd. Good for PreK-2 and older.
- Volcanoes! Mountains of Fire (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4) by Eric Arnold. Good for 4th grade.
