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Earthquake Teacher Resources
Find teacher approved Earthquake educational resource ideas and activities
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What is a community? Explore the idea of community by investigating countries that have experienced severe damage. Learners discuss the horrible aftermath the 2011 earthquake had on Japan's infrastructure after the tsunami it caused. They discuss ways they could help Japan by fundraising and sharing knowledge of the disaster.
Wow, an earthquake! Elementary learners view a PowerPoint presentation in which a small portion of an earthquake is displayed. They use the images as inspiration for an expository piece describing what they observed. Consider pulling up additional videos on the web to provide more inspiration!
Pupils consider what it is like to experience volcanoes and earthquakes. To get an idea of what it must be like, they listen to a guest speaker discuss the effects of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Note: The Internet has plenty of video clips taken by people during earthquakes and volcanoes. Show some clips prior to having your guest speak to prompt meaningful questions and comments from your class.
What happens during a natural disaster? Science and language arts come together in this resource, which works from three Houghton-Mifflin stories ("Earthquake Terror," "Eye of the Storm: Chasing Storms with Warren Faidley," and "Volcanoes"). ELD pupils will benefit from the differentiated vocabulary lists and sentence frames. The stories and provided questions help them practice sequencing events, expressing fact and opinion, and comparing and contrasting details.
Young scholars gain an overall knowledge of how hot spots within the earth trigger the eruption of volcanoes, and how plate tectonics affect the stability of the earths crust, therefore creating earthquakes. They make connection between the various levels of viscosity and volcanic formation. Upon the conclusion of the experiment, a class discussion will be held to evaluate the various conclusions made by students.
Here is a scientific presentation of earthquakes. The elastic rebound theory is explained, as well as the different types of waves and how they are measured. Just a note: Slide number 15 has a diagram that is upside down. Enable editing and it is easily remedied, making this a useful PowerPoint for your middle to high school earth science curriculum.
Become a natural-hazard mapper! Your young scientists discuss plate tectonics, map regions of the US where earthquakes are likely to occur, and explore a population density map. Do people avoid living in areas where earthquakes are common? This plan includes several inks to additional sources. There's even a site where your learners can create their own tornado! They'll be thrilled to play around with this game!
Young scholars plot earthquakes on a map. In this lesson on earthquakes, students will explore recent earthquake activity in California and Nevada. Young scholars will plot fault lines and earthquake occurrences on a map.
How is the magnitude of an earthquake measured? How is the intensity of an earthquake measured? What is amplitude in relation to an earthquake? In what country was the largest magnitude earthquake? There is a wealth of information about earthquakes and your learners will definitely want to use their calculators to figure out the answer to some of the questions. It might take more than one class period to cover all the material.
Sixth graders create straw structures and experiment to see how they would withstand an earthquake. In this Earthquake lesson, 6th graders use increasing vibrations and record the effects on their straw structures. Students discuss which designs withstood the simulated earthquake the best and why.