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What Is Continental Drift

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Format: Interactive (Online), Printable (PDF)
Grades: 5678
Subjects: scienceela
Standards: MS-ESS2-2
Languages: English, Spanish

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Reading passage

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Comprehension quiz

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Vocabulary practice

Differentiated version

Adapted for varied levels

Spanish translation

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About this reader

This 450-word informational science reading passage introduces middle school students (grades 6-8) to the concept of continental drift, aligned with NGSS standard MS-ESS2-2 and Disciplinary Core Idea MS-ESS2.B. Students explore Alfred Wegener's revolutionary hypothesis that continents were once joined and have drifted apart over millions of years. The passage examines evidence including matching coastlines, identical fossils found on separate continents, and aligned rock layers and mountain ranges. Students learn why the scientific community initially rejected Wegener's idea due to his inability to explain the mechanism behind continental movement. This lesson provides foundational understanding of how rejected hypotheses can become cornerstones of modern geology. The passage includes audio integration, vocabulary glossary, comprehension activities, and differentiated versions for diverse learners. Keywords: continental drift, Alfred Wegener, plate tectonics, fossils, pangaea, geology, earth science, NGSS MS-ESS2-2, middle school science curriculum.

Written by Workybooks TeamPublished by Workybooks

Sample passage and quiz content

CONTENT PREVIEW

continental-drift-1 — Artist's representation of continental drift, the idea that Earth's continents were once joined together as a single landmass and have slowly drifted apart over millions of years.

Continental drift is the idea that Earth's continents were once joined together and have slowly moved apart over millions of years. In the early 1900s, a German scientist named Alfred Wegener proposed this bold hypothesis. He noticed something remarkable when looking at world maps. The continents seemed to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The bulge of South America matched the curve of Africa almost perfectly. Wegener wondered if these landmasses had once been connected.

Wegener gathered several types of evidence to support his idea. First, he studied the coastlines of continents separated by vast oceans. The shapes matched too well to be coincidence. Second, scientists had discovered identical fossils of ancient plants and animals on continents now thousands of miles apart. For example, fossils of a reptile called Mesosaurus appeared in both South America and Africa. This creature could not have swum across the Atlantic Ocean. Third, Wegener found that rock layers and mountain ranges lined up across oceans. The Appalachian Mountains in North America matched mountain ranges in Scotland and Scandinavia in age and rock type.

Wegener proposed that all continents had once formed a single giant landmass he called Pangaea, meaning "all Earth." According to his hypothesis, Pangaea began breaking apart about 200 million years ago. The continents then drifted to their current positions. Evidence showed that this movement happened very slowly, only a few centimeters per year. Despite the strong evidence, most scientists rejected Wegener's idea. The main problem was that he could not explain what force could move massive continents through solid ocean floor.

The scientific community remained skeptical of continental drift for decades after Wegener's death in 1930. Scientists needed to understand the mechanism behind the movement. Without explaining how continents could move, the hypothesis seemed impossible. However, Wegener's careful observations and evidence collection laid important groundwork. His rejected idea eventually became the foundation of plate tectonics, the modern theory that explains how Earth's surface moves and changes. Today, scientists recognize continental drift as a key concept in understanding our planet's history.

Interesting Fact: If you could travel back 200 million years, you could walk from Africa to South America without crossing any ocean because they were connected as part of Pangaea!

What is continental drift?

The idea that continents were once joined and have moved apart over millions of yearsThe theory that continents move up and down in the oceanThe process of mountains forming on continentsThe movement of ocean water around continents

Who proposed the continental drift hypothesis?

Charles DarwinAlfred WegenerIsaac NewtonMarie Curie

What does the word 'hypothesis' mean in the passage?

A proven scientific lawA type of fossilA proposed explanation that can be testedA measurement tool

What does 'Pangaea' mean?

Ancient oceanMoving platesAll EarthPuzzle pieces

Which piece of evidence did Wegener use to support his hypothesis?

Identical fossils found on continents now separated by oceansDifferent weather patterns on each continentThe depth of the ocean floorThe color of rocks on different continents

Why did most scientists initially reject Wegener's idea?

He did not have any evidenceHe could not explain what force could move continentsThe continents did not fit togetherNo fossils were found on different continents

Based on the passage, what can you infer about scientific progress?

Scientists always accept new ideas immediatelyRejected ideas can never become accepted laterGood ideas may be rejected until scientists understand the mechanism behind themEvidence is not important in science

If you found identical fossils of a land animal on two continents separated by an ocean, what would this suggest?

The animal learned to swim across the oceanThe continents might have been connected in the pastThe fossils were placed there by scientistsThe animal could fly between continents

True or False: Wegener's continental drift hypothesis became the foundation of modern plate tectonics theory.

TrueFalse

True or False: Continents move several miles per year according to Wegener's evidence.

TrueFalse