The Sierra Mountains in Nevada and the Tetons in Wyoming originally formed as fault block mountains. In order to visualize these fault blocks, pupils use construction paper to create layers of earth. They cut the paper models and form...

Does increasing the pressure between two moving plates provide a stabilizing force or create more destruction? The hands-on lesson plan encourages exploration of strike-split fault models. The sixth lesson plan in a 20-part series...

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.

Students observe fault movements on model of the Earth's surface, find fault movements associated with different types of plate boundaries, research examples of non-plate boundary faults, and research and report on the types of faults...

Earthquakes are really no one's fault. A thorough lesson explains the different types of earthquakes how they happen. Learners interact with the online lesson to simulate earthquakes and examine their results. The lesson is appropriate...

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...

Have a seismic moment with your class as you show this animated video on earthquakes. Viewers find that quakes occur on faults and are caused by shifting of continental plates. They learn what properties are studied by seismologists and...

See how much your class knows about earthquakes and volcanic activity and how these events shape geologic features. The first lesson in the series of 20 is a pre-test to find out what pupils already know. It includes 10 vocabulary...

The San Andreas fault is one of the longest fault zones in the world. In a series of 20 lessons, the fourth lesson has pupils use a paper model to recreate various types of plate faults. Each is held in position then drawn...

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...

Build and design to rock and roll. Pairs research building design in earthquake areas and use computer simulations to see the effects of earthquakes on buildings,. They then sketch and explain a building design that would withstand...

We can learn from the past to protect the future. Pairs look at two historical earthquakes: San Francisco, Calif., and Kobe, Japan. Pupils compare the two earthquakes and their impacts, then determine how engineers may use the...

The San Andreas Fault moves about two inches a year, approximately the same rate fingernails grow—crazy! The third lesson plan in the series allows for hands-on exploration of various fault formations. Through the use of a Popsicle...

Young scientists learn about plate tectonics and the three different types of faults (normal, reverse, and strike-slip) using foam models. The activity also covers common types of locations where these faults are found.

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...

There are patterns in nearly everything — even earthquakes. Pairs research current earthquakes to see if there are any patterns. They determine the mean, median, and mode of the earthquake data, along with the maximum and...

Learners discuss major causes of earthquakes and identify famous fault lines, access and map information about ten largest earthquakes in world from 1989 to 1998, and theorize about location of these earthquakes as they relate to Earth's...

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,...

Learn about the causes of earthquakes, as well as the value of seismographs, with an informative presentation. From the Richter Scale to the Mecalli Scale, learners discover elements that make an earthquake occur.

Ninth graders build an "Earthquake Machine" (a manipulative model of a fault line) and use it to explore stick-slip behavior of some faults and to develop a more accurate definition of an earthquake and its causes.

Challenge geography classes to locate the major volcanoes and earthquake faults on a world map. In groups, they identify the pattern made and examine the relationship between the locations of the faults and volcanoes and tectonic...

Students study the main methods to measure earthquakes; the Richter Scale and Mercalli Scale. They make a model of a seismograph and investigate which structural designs are most likely to survive an earthquake.

Fifth graders explore the causes of earthquakes and the various types of fault lines through a variety of hands-on demonstrations using prepared cakes. They record their observations in their science journals.

Students watch a classroom demonstration, and experiment to discover the five ways that Earth's crust shifts along a fault.