California Academy of Science
Earthquakes and Tectonic Plates
Here is a comprehensive package in which middle schoolers learn about types of seismic waves, triangulation, and tectonic plate boundaries. Complete vocabulary, colorful maps, and a worksheet are included via links on the webpage. You...
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Plate Tectonics: Fourth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
The pre-lab portion of the lesson introduces emerging geologists to the various layers that make up Earth. After completing a sheet on the identification of the layers, class members simulate plate boundaries and their...
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Layers of the Earth: Plate Tectonics
Sixth graders participate in a lesson that is about investigating the different layers of the earth and defining how the plates move over the mantle. They engage in a variety of activities and use mathematics to create projects to...
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Deforming Earth's Crust
A short and straightforward slideshow presentation is a great addition to your lesson on plate tectonics. With demonstrative diagrams and helpful facts, the presentation helps to reinforce a concept that can be a little tricky for...
It's About Time
Taking a Ride on a Lithospheric Plate
Assist your pupils and broaden their horizons with several activities that determine the exact positioning of various communities over the globe. Pupils use data from the Global Positioning System to determine the position and rate of...
Curated OER
Continents on the Move
Middle schoolers examine the tectonic plates of the Earth and how the landforms of Earth have changed position over time. In groups, they identify the evidence that the continents are still moving. To end the lesson, they practice...
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Plate Tectonic Cycle
Learners explore the Earth's movements by completing worksheets. In this plate tectonics lesson, students define such natural disasters as volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and mudslides and discuss their connections to plate tectonics....
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Earthquakes: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
What causes earthquakes? Second graders learn about stresses from plate movement with a set of hands-on activities. After tracing fault lines on a map with yarn, class members create a paper plate model of Earth to show its layers and...
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It's Not Your Fault
Young scholars determine how to measure the movement of the plates along the San Andreas Fault. Students calculate the movement of tectonic plates over a period of time and describe the processes involved in the occurrence of earthquakes...
California Academy of Science
Measuring Earthquakes
After a brief discussion on earthquakes, make a makeshift seismograph to record the shaking of the table that it sits upon. While the background information will be useful to you as a teacher, the seismograph does not seem like it would...
Science Matters
Earth Shaking Events
The world's largest measured earthquake happened in 1960 in Chile, reaching a terrifying 9.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale. The second activity in the 20-part series introduces earthquakes and fault lines. Scholars map where previous...
Curated OER
The Earth Moves Under My Feet
Middle schoolers study earthquakes, monitor seismic activity using the Web, and plot real-time activity. They examine movement of the Earth's tectonic plates. They create an earthquake preparedness project.
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Basic Geometry Ideas and Angle Measurement
Seventh graders explore the concept of basic geometry. In this basic geometry lesson, 7th graders identify the correct picture for a given vocabulary word such as midpoint, line, ray, or parallel lines. Students discuss examples of...
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It's Not Your Fault
Students study the San Andreas Fault, calculate its movements, and compare the movements on both sides. In this earthquake lesson students use the Internet to track movement, and calculate movement using a spreadsheet.
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Earth Movements
In this earth science worksheet, students use the sheet for reinforcing vocabulary and core concepts. The answers are found and reviewed for the attainment of new knowledge.
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Musical Plates
Students receive current data on the movement of plates on the earth's crust. These plates shift and the magnitude of their shift over time can be tracked. They track this velocity vector on a global map and determine the speed of the...
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How Creepy!
Students observe and measure a model of slow down slope movement. In this graphing lesson students collect, record, and organize data that apply to models.
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Earthquakes Study Guide
For this earthquakes worksheet, students answer questions about the components of earthquakes, the causes of earthquakes, how they are measured, the types of seismic waves and the types of faults. They also answer questions about the...
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Earthquakes: Fourth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Examine earthquake intensities and ways to measure an earthquake through the comparison of the Mercalli and Richter scales. After completing the pre-lab worksheet, fourth graders compare high and low intensity quakes by testing the...
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Earthquakes: Sixth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Young seismologists learn more about plate tectonics with a set of pre-lab, lab, and post-lab lessons plans on earthquakes. After exploring how waves travel through various materials, sixth graders record their observations and draw...
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All Shook Up
High schoolers measure movements in the Earth's crust due to seismic activity. Students calculate the amount of displacement in horizontal and vertical direction due to an earthquake.
Science Matters
Earthquakes and Volcanoes Post Assessment
The final lesson in the 20-part series is a post assessment covering earthquakes and volcanoes. Twenty-three questions incorporate each of the previous lessons through multiple choice, justified multiple choice, expanded multiple choice,...
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Comparing Roots After Rotation of Ninety Degrees
High schoolers conduct an experiment and use different measurements of a single root to illustrate the mechanism of plant movement.
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Faulty Movement
Students discover the faults throughout the Earth. They describe the different types of faults and how they are related to earthquakes. They build models of the faults.