This activity has students compare maps of plate tectonics with population density maps and to analyze what these maps imply about the relationship between population and seismic hazards. Students will read about and discuss the theory of plate tectonics, map the regions of the United States that are most susceptible to earthquakes and those that have volcanoes, and list the states that lie on plate ... Full description.

In this activity students discover that earthquakes are among Earth's most spectacular natural phenomena and that in understanding what causes earthquakes we can use earthquake or seismic waves to learn about Earth's interior. Students also learn the other aspects of seismology (the study of earthquakes), which are important parts of any Earth Science program. Students will also learn more about how ... Full description.

This web page provides links to earthquake-related educational activities for kids, teachers and adults in general. Facts about earthquakes, animations of earthquake activity, ideas for science fair projects and lists of recent earthquakes are provided. Materials for use by teachers are arranged by grade level. Extensive links to other web-based resources are provided. The kid's section includes such ... Full description.

Geologic features altered by earthquakes provide striking evidence of the power of seismic events. This video segment explores the research of Dr. Kerry Sieh, a geologist at the California Institute of Technology, who is dating sediment layers broken and offset by earthquakes in the past to determine the rate at which strain is accumulating towards the next event. The segment is three minutes nineteen ... Full description.

This article, entitled Earth: All Stressed Out, dicusses the reasons for crustal movement, the different types of faults and seismic waves, and an explanation of how the damage is caused. The article includes several animations that support the explanations, plus a video taken during a destructive California earthquake. There are also three sidebars that support the article. They are Learning from ... Full description.

The Public Earthquake Resource Center at the University of Memphis provides information about the New Madrid seismic zone and earthquake hazards in general. Students and the general public can learn about earthquakes; examine science fair ideas, a reading list, and earthquake images; or explore a career as an earthquake scientist. For educators there are links to teacher's resources, lesson plans, ... Full description.

This on-line project is part of the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) program. As they complete this series of lessons, students will use 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. Musical Plates has four Core Activities that ... Full description.

This activity is designed to provide a better understanding of earthquake activity, the locations of faults, and earthquake hazards in the San Francisco bay area. Students study a false color satellite photo of the bay area on which earthquake epicenters for a seventeen year period have been plotted. Students use a California highway map or a copy of the California or San Francisco Bay area map from ... Full description.

This site presents photos of some building damage from notable earthquakes and some associated intensity maps. This information will help students recognize the types of damage done to structures by earthquakes. The examples are classified by the dominant mode of failure observed and include soft first story collapse, mid-story building collapse, buildings shifted off of their foundations, freeway ... Full description.

This lesson plan teaches students some of the basics of earthquakes and volcanoes. It also asks them to think about how people living in cities and suburbs must plan ahead by constructing sturdy buildings and preparing their homes and themselves for the possibility of a natural disaster. Students will therefore be introduced to some basic concepts of physical geography, as well as some of the ways ... Full description.