Lesson Plan
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Set Your Table for a Sweet and Sticky Earthquake Shake

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Earthquakes can have different affects depending on their location. This week long exercise asks you to build a model house and a special table to shake it on, and see how different soil types can amplify shaking.
Lesson Plan
University of Wisconsin

Scien Count Ers: Earthquake Proof Buildings

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
This instructional activity looks at how the forces of an earthquake impact on buildings, and different ways to make buildings earthquake-proof. Includes student worksheet and tectonic plates map.
Lesson Plan
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Notable Earthquakes Shake Texas [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
An activity guide where students refer to the Texas Almanac, which is free to download, for information needed to complete assigned tasks. In this activity, they research earthquakes that have taken place in Texas, and the risk of...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Bot Ec: Energy Released in an Earthquake

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A magnitude 8.5 earthquake (such as the 1964 Good Friday earthquake in Alaska) releases about 1x1018 joules of energy. The atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima released about 1.5x1013 joules of energy. How many Hiroshima bombs would one...
Lesson Plan
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

Iris: Earthquake Machine 3 Earthquake Prediction: Adi Style Activity

For Students 9th - 10th
Students work in small groups to use a physical model, the earthquake machine, to examine the occurrence of earthquakes and the inputs and outputs of fault systems.
Lesson Plan
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

Iris: Earthquake Machine 1 Defining an Earthquake

For Students 9th - 10th
In this activity, students work collaboratively in small groups to investigate the earthquake cycle using a mechanical model.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: An Earthquake Lab for Physical Geology

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This article from the Journal of Geological Education describes an activity in which students locate the epicenter of several earthquakes, plot the trends of the two faults involved, and determine the sense of motion along the plane of...
Lesson Plan
National Association of Geoscience Teachers

Nagt.org: A Kinesthetic Demonstration for Locating Earthquake Epicenters

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A kinesthetic activity for learners to understand the technique for locating the epicenter of an earthquake. It is performed indoors and outdoors in three lessons.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Plotting Earthquakes With Near Real Time Data

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson teaches the concept of plate tectonics. Students will access the United States Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center and plot the longitude latitude and depth of earthquakes on a physiographic chart.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating Earthquakes With Arc Explorer Gis

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity allows students to predict future earthquake activity by interpreting the results of geographic information system (GIS) analysis.
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Global Gis Lesson: Exploring North American Earthquakes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this series of lessons, students use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) together with the tools and data from the North America Global GIS CD to investigate earthquakes, volcanoes, and population from a local to global scale....
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquake Formation

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students learn about the structure of the earth and how an earthquake happens. In one activity, students make a model of the earth including all of its layers. In a teacher-led demonstration, students learn about continental drift. In...
Lesson Plan
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology

Iris: Earthquake Magnitude Modeling With Pasta Quake

For Students 9th - 10th
Using only strands of spaghetti, you and your class can explore the amount of energy released for each level of the earthquake magnitude scale.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Seismic Waves: How Earthquakes Move the Earth

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students learn about the types of seismic waves produced by earthquakes and how they move the Earth. The dangers of earthquakes are presented as well as the necessity for engineers to design structures for earthquake-prone areas that are...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: The 2004 Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using real seismic recordings from a number of seismic stations, students find the location of the epicenter of the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. They next determine the path of the tsunami triggered by it, and calculate how much lead time...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Global Earthquakes Activity and Seafloor Features

For Students 3rd - 5th
Students will examine patterns between volcanic activity and seafloor features. NASA tracked volcanic activity for 15 years and created an animated map from their data. Compare this map to a map of seafloor features to reveal interesting...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs News Hour Extra: Preparing for the Ongoing Impact of Tsunamis and Earthquakes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using geologist's tools and the lessons from the historic Japan earthquake of 2011, students predict when a disaster will hit and the need for disaster preparedness in communities.
Lesson Plan
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Build an Earthquake Resistant House

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this project, students will build model earthquake-resistant buildings and measure their movement during a simulated earthquake using a mobile phone and a sensor app.
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Building an Earthquake Resistant Structure

For Teachers 4th
How can you use the engineering design process to build a structure that can stand up to an earthquake?
Lesson Plan
Ruth Patrick Science Education Center

Ruth Patrick Science Education Center: Shaking It Up With Earthquake Engineering

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students will learn basic information about earthquakes and their impact. They then follow the engineering design process as they construct earthquake-resistant buildings using toothpicks and marshmallows. The buildings are tested using...
Lesson Plan
Scientific American

Scientific American: Earthquake Proof Engineering for Skyscrapers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students construct a shake table, then build towers of different heights using Lego blocks, and test their stability on this platform. Next, they test towers with different sized bases, and towers made using different materials.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquakes Rock!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners learn the two main methods to measure earthquakes, the Richter Scale and the Mercalli Scale. They make a model of a seismograph - a measuring device that records an earthquake on a seismogram. Students also investigate which...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: 2004 Asian Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Project

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students are employees of a unit of the United Nations responsible for coordinating disaster relief after a major disaster (the 2004 Asian Earthquake and Tsunami) occurs. The agency needs to understand the situation in each country so...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Musical Plates: A Study of Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Four part lab activity involves students using real-time data to solve a problem, study the correlation between earthquakes and tectonic plates, and determine whether or not there is a relationship between volcanoes and plate boundaries.

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