Have the children sit in a neat circle, leaving room on the outside of it for a person to walk around. The teacher chooses one child to start the game.The child goes around the circle, gently patting classmates on the top of their heads while saying, "dormant." When he touches a student's head and says "active volcano," the chosen student must stand up and name a part or function of the volcano before the other child sits down in his original spot in the circle. If he names an accurate part of the volcano, the child who first started the game must repeat the process of walking around the circle; if not, it is the new student's turn.
Separate the class into groups. Have each group create an illustration of all the volcano parts placed correctly, including the cone, throat, base, vent, magma reservoir, country rock, conduit, ash, summit, flank, sill, lava and the ash cloud of an eruption, for example. Make the activity last for a few days, reserving class time for the groups to work on their drawings every day, or give them a set time to try to finish their drawing first.
Create a diagram of the life cycle of a volcano on the board while students come up with the significant details. Have them decide the age of the imaginary volcano and determine whether the it is active or dormant. Ask them to choose what type of volcano it is, whether shield, composite, cinder cone or stratovolcano. Discuss how the volcano formed, moving tectonic plates and cooled magma which burst from the ground as a result. After coming up with the major details of their volcano, have students copy details from the board into their notebooks.
Mix six cups of flour, two cups salt, four tablespoons cooking oil and two cups of warm water; kneed the dough until smooth and firm. Stand an empty soda bottle up in a baking pan with enough room around it to keep the lava from spilling on the floor. Leave the cap off and mold the dough around the bottle, making a volcano cone shape. Fill 3/4 of the bottle up with warm water and add three or four drops of red food color. Drop in six drops of liquid detergent and two tablespoons of baking soda. Very slowly pour in white vinegar; stop pouring shortly after the volcano starts to ooze the red lava.