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Lesson Plans - By Grade Level

Exploring Rates of Earthquake Occurrence

The activity allows the students to select their own region of interest and to interrogate the earthquake catalog to obtain quantitative data on the rate of occurrence of earthquakes of various magnitudes within their chosen region

Modeling Intraplate Earthquakes with Booby Trap

Introduce and explore elastic rebound theory as a mechanism for earthquakes

Exploring Plate Boundaries with Seismic Data

In this exercise, students will learn about the various types of plate boundaries, investigate well-known examples of some of these boundaries, and then apply what you’ve learned to East Africa to determine the most likely cause of seismicity in this area of the world.

Volcano!

Students will understand the following:
1. Volcanic eruptions that take place near populated areas can be disastrous.
2. The level of destruction caused by a volcanic eruption depends on several factors, including the kind of volcano eruption and the speed at which the lava or ash flows.
3. Volcanic eruptions can often be predicted.
4. Measures can be taken to help people cope with the disaster of a volcanic eruption.

What’s Shakin’, Dude?

Students will create their own P- & S-wave travel chart and develop a better
understanding of the relationship between the two wave types, travel times, and travel distances.