Tectonic plates are the name given to the different sections of the Earth’s crust.

You can think of the earth like an egg, and the earth’s crust like the egg shell - a thin, rigid outer layer.

The crust is made of hard rock, however the layer underneath (the mantle) is made of melted, or molten rock. This molten rock under the earth’s crust is constantly moving due to a process called convection... more

The crust and the mantle of the earth are made up of rocks called tectonic plates. They usually fit together like a jigsaw. They are always moving a little which over a long period of time makes continents shift. This is called continental drift. Things like earthquakes happen when plate tectonics shake due to build up of pressure in the earth's crust. Hope that helps.