Lesson guide · Ages 10–16

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Jules Verne

Professor Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel and their guide Hans climb into a volcano in Iceland, follow tunnels to an underground sea, and are thrown out of a volcano in Italy. A great book for asking what is inside the Earth, and what Verne got right and wrong in 1864.

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Learning goals

• Geography. Locate Iceland, Snæfellsjökull, the Atlantic and Stromboli, and describe the route (3,829 km in a straight line) on a map.
• Science vs fiction. Compare Verne's underground sea with what we know: crust, mantle and core, rising temperature with depth, how volcanoes erupt.
• Reading. Follow a plot through places: use the timeline to retell the story in order and explain how the setting creates danger.

45-minute lesson outline

1. 5 min
   Hook. Project the world on its first scene (the note in runes). Ask: if you wanted to reach the centre of the Earth, where would you go in?
2. 10 min
   Whole-class tour. Play the timeline on the board. Stop at the crater (Scartaris' shadow), the Lidenbrock Sea and Stromboli. Switch to the flat Map view (3D | Map, or the m key) to show the whole cut-away.
3. 15 min
   Explore and find (pairs). Pairs do the three tasks on the worksheet on their own devices, using the links below.
4. 10 min
   Science or fiction?. Discuss two or three of the questions. Sort scenes into 'could happen', 'could not happen' and 'not sure'.
5. 5 min
   Exit ticket. Students take the 'Where was this?' quiz and write their score on the worksheet.

Discussion questions

1. At roughly 140 km down the travellers find a sea with clouds, wind and tides. What do scientists think is really there at that depth?
2. They go in through a volcano in Iceland and come out of one in Italy. Why do you think Verne chose volcanoes as the doors?
3. Hans finds water by listening to the rock. Which of the three travellers would you most want with you, and why?
4. Axel gets lost alone in total darkness. How does the place make that scene frightening?
5. They see sea reptiles from the age of the dinosaurs, a field of bones and a herd of mastodons. Why might Verne fill the underground with life from the past?
6. After the storm the compass was wrong and they landed back on the shore they started from. How can you find your way when you can't see the sky?
7. Verne wrote this in 1864. What did people then not yet know about the inside of the Earth?

Explore and find

Each link opens the world at one scene. Students read the card, look around the map, and answer.

1. The shadow of Scartaris: The crater has three chimneys. How do the travellers know which one to take, and on what day can they finally tell?
   Answer

   The one Scartaris' shadow touches before the kalends of July; the sun comes out on 28 June and the shadow falls on the central chimney.
2. Lost: How deep are they on 7 August? Give it in leagues and in kilometres. What happens to Axel?
   Answer

   Thirty leagues, about 120 km. He loses the stream and the others, his lamp gives out, and he is alone in the dark.
3. Stromboli: Where do they come out? Find it on a real map. How far is it from where they went in?
   Answer

   Stromboli, off Sicily (Italy); 3,829 km in a straight line from Snæfells.

Exit ticket: the quiz

8 scenes; students place each one on the map and write their score on the worksheet. Open the quiz →

Where this simplifies

• Depths are partly estimates. The book gives thirty leagues (about 120 km) on 7 August; the ~140 km for the sea and ~20 km under the Atlantic are the map maker's reckoning.
• The route underground is drawn as one cut-away section. The book gives directions (south-east) and distances, not an exact path.
• The real Earth has no hollow seas: 140 km down you would be in hot mantle rock. The map shows the book's world, not real geology.

Worksheet

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