Lyrics

Chorus
Throw your hands up for the layers of the earth
Throw ‘em up for what’s below the surface
Throw your hands up, and let’s discuss
The inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust

Verse I
The layer we’ll discuss first
Is the central inner core, in the center of the earth
A solid ball buried below the dirt
We believe it’s primarily metallic iron

You could never take a trip to the inner core, right?
The heat will burn you up, 9,000º Fahrenheit
4,000 miles below the Earth’s crust
One down three to go y’all.

1,800 miles from the tip top
The outer core is hard at work and it don’t stop.
It’s busy spinning around the inner core, and listen,
This steady movement causes Earth’s magnetism.

Ranging from 4 to 9,000 degrees,
It contributes 1/5 of the heat flowin’ to you and me.
It’s liquid metals that violently flow
So let it settle… and when you’re ready let me know.  Just…

Chorus

Verse II
The mantle layer is the largest of the class.
About half of our planet’s mass.
The mantel is composed of very hot dense rocks,
That move and flow, always on the go, they never lock,

Never stop, and they’re responsible for tectonic shift
Please believe the Earth’s plates are adrift
It’s pretty thick and the heat is awesome
1,600 at the top, 4,000 at the bottom

The continental crust’s surface is where we breathe
A lot of rock up to 25 miles deep.
The oceanic crust is next door
It’s 3-5 miles thick just below the ocean floor.

Earth’s surface: 70% H20.
Where do you get all that water?  Salty sea flow,
fresh water’s in the glaciers, ice caps, and snow.

Resources

Further Reading

A Virtual Journey into the Universe
The Planet Earth
This website provides a detailed summary of the earth’s layers.

Kids.gov
Earth Science
This is a list of suggested government websites for learning more about the science of earth and our land.

Spaceship Earth
Earth’s Structure
This website describes the inside of the earth layer by layer and provides a helpful diagram.

Lesson Plans & Activities

ABCTeach
Layers of Earth
This worksheet has blank spaces next to a diagram of the earth’s layers so that students can fill it in.

Discovery Education
Tales of Terrain
These lesson plans go beyond basic understanding of the earth’s layers, and discusses drifts, volcanoes, landforms, and more. The activities include applying the themes to novels.

Florida Geographic Alliance
Rock to Rock: A Fantasy Journey
This classroom activity teaches students about the different kinds of rocks in each of the earth’s layers and how the rock cycle works.

Mrs. O’Hora’s House
Earth’s Layers Online Activity
This a detailed worksheet that asks students to name and describe the earth’s layers in addition to other questions.

My Science Box
Journey Through Earth
This section of the website is broken into 5 subsections, each with activities and summaries about the layers of the earth.

The New York Times Learning Network
Solid as a Rock: An In-Depth Exploration into the Layers of the Earth
In this lesson, students will learn about and create models of the earth’s layers, and then synthesize their learning by writing short stories about journeys to the center of the earth.

Teaching Today
Layers of the Earth Cupcake
This activity explains how to use cupcake baking as a method for understanding the earth’s layers.

Media

CNN
Layers of the Earth (video)
This is a video detailing the layers of the earth