STEM for Teachers
Tsunami!
How does the depth of an ocean affect the speed of a tsunami's waves? Use Jell-o, graham crackers, and marshmallows to model the effects of an underwater earthquake and its resulting tsunami. The lesson includes hands-on activities,...
Curated OER
How a Tsunami Forms
This kid knows his stuff. A middle schooler explains the five-step process that occurs as a tsunami forms. He relates his tsunami research to the events that occurred in Japan in 2011. The question he poses can be discussed by you class....
Curated OER
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....
Curated OER
Making Waves: A Study of Earthquakes and Tsunami
Learners examine plate tectonics and the causative effect of earthquakes. In this tectonics lesson students differentiate between the types of energy waves that cause earthquakes and tsunamis and how waves travel at different speeds.
Curated OER
Puzzle of the Plates
Students research tectonic plates and their movement. In this plate lesson, students describe the motion of these plates and the boundaries between them. They look into the San Andreas Fault and explore the earthquakes associated to this...
PBS
Making North America | The Cascadia Subduction Zone
Scientists discovered a rain forest covered in sand and saltwater residue. This led to a collection of core samples and a rather intense prediction for the future of the American Pacific Northwest. Part of a larger series on the story of...
Curated OER
Tsunami! Examining Earth's Most Destructive Waves
Students investigate just what a tsunami is, what causes it, how fast it travels, what it looks like, and its devastating effects upon landfall. They read the experience of a former Peace Corps Volunteer who went to Sri Lanka after it...
Curated OER
Buildings Have Lives, Too: Disasters and Their Effect on People
Students research natural disasters and their lasting effect on both people and the environment. In this environmental science activity, students complete a group project on a natural disaster of their choosing. Students examine multiple...
Curated OER
Earthquake Experiments
Students discuss the effects of earthquakes. In this earth science lesson, students create earthquake models and earthquake-proof buildings. They construct their own seismograph.