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...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquakes Living Lab: Geology and Earthquakes in Japan

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using the online resources provided through the Earthquakes Living Lab, students investigate reasons why large earthquakes occur in Japan, drawing conclusions from tectonic plate structures and the locations of fault lines.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquakes Living Lab: Locating Earthquakes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students use U.S. Geological Survey real-time, real-world, seismic data from around the planet to identify where earthquakes occur and look for trends in earthquake activity.
Interactive
Concord Consortium

Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Buildings and Earthquakes

For Students 9th - 10th
Do you think you can build a house that can withstand the shaking from an earthquake? In this activity, students design and construct model building that will be tested on a shake table with a force sensor. Activity includes questions...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquakes Living Lab: P Waves, S Waves and More

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students learn what causes earthquakes, how we measure and locate them, and their effects and consequences.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquakes Living Lab: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine the effects of geology on earthquake magnitudes and how engineers anticipate and prepare for these effects. They look in-depth at the historical 1906 San Francisco earthquake and compare it to the Kobe, Japan earthquake,...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquakes Living Lab: Epicenters and Magnitudes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students learn how engineers characterize earthquakes through seismic data. Acting as engineers, they use real-world seismograph data to locate earthquake epicenters via triangulation and determine earthquake magnitudes.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquakes Living Lab: Designing for Disaster

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students learn about factors that engineers take into consideration when designing buildings for earthquake-prone regions.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Earthquakes Living Lab: The Theory of Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Working in pairs, students think like engineers and connect what they understand about the theory of plate tectonics to the design of structures for earthquake-resistance.
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.
Lesson Plan
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)

Smile: Earthquake Waves and Their Destructions

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Looking for the epicenter of an earthquake and measuring the magnitude of waves are goals for students in this lesson plan for intermediate to middle school students. Students get to analyze the P and S waves.