Discovering Plate Boundaries is based on 5 world maps containing earthquake, volcano, topography, satellite gravity, and seafloor age data. The novel aspect of the exercise is the "jigsaw" manner in which student groups access the maps and use them to discover, classify, and describe plate boundary types. The exercise is based only on observation and description, which makes it useful at a wide variety ... Full description.

This site is a joint effort of NOAA Research and the College of Education at the University of South Alabama. The goal of the site is to provide middle school science students and teachers with research and investigation experiences using on-line resources. In this unit students explore what El Nino is, where it is located, how it is created, and weather changes that El Nino causes. Students analyze ... Full description.

This lesson plan is part of the DiscoverySchool.com lesson plan library for grades 6-8. It focuses on how landslides occur and how scientists predict them. Students design and perform their own experiments using homemade stream tables. Using these tables they test landslide types and draw conclusions about water flow, timing, and other factors that determine how landslides occur. It includes objectives, ... Full description.

This website integrates video footage and information with lesson plans and activities to teach students about the rock cycle and rock types. Storytelling is used to help students understand the changes a rock undergoes as it passes through the rock cycle. These activities are intended to be used at the end of a unit on rocks and minerals. There are lesson plans for the activities with materials, ... Full description.

In this activity, students plot earthquake hypocenters along a cross-section in an attempt to create an image of a fault deep beneath the surface. The hypocenters they will be using come from the aftershock sequence of the magnitude 5.6 North Palm Springs earthquake that occurred in 1986. The students will learn that accurate positioning of earthquake hypocenters can produce a rough image of a fault, ... Full description.

This site contains information about discoveries made after World War II when ocean-going geologists adapted sensitive magnetometers developed for antisubmarine warfare for use in seafloor research. This modern technology gave geologists their greatest boost in more than a century of field work and led to the idea of sea floor spreading. This site has animations showing sea-floor spreading and a magnetometer ... Full description.

This report describes how measurements of earthquake magnitude, as quantified by the Richter Scale, have gradually replaced measurements of intensity, as characterized by the Modified Mercalli scale. Topics include the advantages of the Richter Scale, such as open-endedness, its purely instrumental measure which doesn't require observers' reports, and its usefulness for measuring earthquakes located ... Full description.

This portal features an alphabetical listing of links to standard and three-dimensional (3D) images of geological and natural history-related subjects in the National Parks of the United States. The 3D images are anaglyphs and require red and cyan 3D viewing glasses. These full-size images may be slow to download. Users can click on a national park to start an image tour, use a subject index, location ... Full description.

This resource explores earthquakes and seismic hazards, using the San Francisco area as an example. Materials include histories of San Francisco's earthquakes, including the 1906 'Great Earthquake' and the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. A section on quake basics addresses the relationship between earthquakes and plate tectonics, fault movements, seismic waves, and how earthquakes are measured. For educators, ... Full description.

This educational module enables students (5-12) to experience ongoing research of University of California paleontologists studying about life in Montana 60-70 million years ago. It gives students the opportunity to experience the scientific process using real research questions and data. The teacher guide provides background information, standards, a lesson plan, discussion question, handouts, assessment ... Full description.