Benchmark 4C
The Physical Setting: Processes that Shape the Earth
Grades 9-12, page 74

The solid crust of the earth--including both the continents and the ocean basins--consists of separate plates that ride on a denser, hot, gradually deformable layer of the earth. The crust sections move very slowly, pressing against one another in some places, pulling apart in other places. Ocean-floor plates may slide under continental plates, sinking deep into the earth. The surface layers of these plates may fold, forming mountain ranges.
 

NSES Content Standard D  Earth and Space Science: Structure of the Earth system  Grades 5-8, page 159  The solid Earth is layered with a lithosphere; hot, convecting mantle; and dense, metallic core.  NSES Content Standard D  Earth and Space Science: Structure of the Earth system  Grades 5-8, page 160  Lithospheric plates on the scales of continents and oceans constantly move at rates of centimeters per year in response to movements in the mantle. Major geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building, result from these plate motions.