Alfred Wegener (1880 - 1930)

Racing to English
Activity 26h / Continental drift / True stories

Look at the two maps. I cut South America out of the first map. I put it next to Africa. Can you see how they fit together? Can you get a map of the world and do the same? Why does South America fit next to Africa?

In 1913 a man called Albert Wegenersaid that that at one time all the continents had been joined together. Then had split apart and they had slowly moved away from each other. He called this continental drift. At the time nobody believed him. They didn't think a continent could move. They thought continents were too big to move.

Now we know that all the continents are moving all the time. They usually move very very slowly, only about 5 cm a year, so we can't see it happening. It took millions and millions of years for South America to move away from Africa.

Sometimes the land moves quicker than 5 cm a year.In 2011, there was a very big earthquake in Japan. More than 15,000 people died and more than 47,000 buildings were destroyed. It was a terrible time for the people living there.

Japan is made of several islands. After the earthquake, scientists found that the island of Honshu had moved more than 2 metres.

Ask your friend these questions:

Whatdo you know about earthquakes?
What do you know about continents moving?

Nowwritetheanswerstothequestionsyourself.

Racing to English
Activity 26h / Continental drift / Worksheet
Look at this passage with some friends. Decide which words fit in each space: / /

Look at the two maps. I cut South America out of the first map. I put it ______1______Africa. Can you see how they ______2______? Can you get a map of the world and do the same? Why does South America ______3______Africa?In 1913 a man called Albert Wegener said that that at one time all the continents had been ______4______. Then had split apart and they ______5______away from each other. He called this continental drift. At the time nobody believed him. They didn't think a continent ______6______. They thought continents were too big ______7______.Now we know that all the continents ______8______all the time. They usually ______9______very very slowly, only about 5 cm a year, so we can't see it happening. It took millions and millions of years for South America to move away from Africa.Sometimes the land ______10______quicker than 5 cm a year. In 2011, there was a very big earthquake in Japan. More than 15,000 people died and more than 47,000 buildings were destroyed. It was a terrible time for the people living there.Japan is made of several islands. After the earthquake, scientists found that the island of Honshu ______11______more than 2 metres.

fit together
fit next to
joined together / are moving
could move
had slowly moved
move / had moved
moves
to move
next to
Racing to English
Activity 26h / Continental drift - map / True stories