8/3/2019 Earthquakes Lesson Plan
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October 2006Naomi J. MartyGK-12 Program
Earthquakes
Concept:Earth Science: Earthquakes & Earthquake-Resistant
Construction
Description of Activity:Activity starts with introduction to
earthquakes and the way seismic waves travel. The
students are then asked to design a building out a certain
number of toothpicks and gumdropsthat will withstand a simulated
earthquake. The students build and test their designs together
asgroups within the classroom.
State Standards:(arkedu.state.ar.us)
ESS.8.6.10Identify the effects of earthquakes on Earths
surface:
tsunamis
floods
changes in natural and man-made structures
ESS.8.6.11Investigate and map patterns of earthquake and
volcanic activity
Locate earthquake belts on Earth:
Mediterranean-Tran-Asiatic
Circum-Pacific (Ring of Fire)
ESS.8.6.13Analyze how earthquake occurrences are recorded
(seismograph) and measured (Richter scale)
ESS.8.6.15Investigate careers, scientists, and historical
breakthroughs related to internal forces that changethe earth
Materials:o Wood Fault Line Models (described below)
o Dry Spaghetti
o Gumdrops
o Toothpicks
o Earthquake Shaker Simulator
o Metal Slinky
Key Questions:o Where do earthquakes happen?
o What kind of properties to you think would be important for a
building to withstand an
earthquake?
Management or Organization Suggestions:
8/3/2019 Earthquakes Lesson Plan
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o Allow the students to pick their partner for the
earthquake-resistant structure activity. Tell
the students that if their building falls over on the
earthquake-simulator it is out of thecontest.
Procedure:
1. Have the students watch a video about earthquakes. Follow
video with discussion ofearthquake material. Discuss recent
earthquakes in the news (Hawaii-very recent).
2. Group the students and have them assemble the strike-slip
fault line model with spaghettiinserted into the slats. Discuss the
idea of pre-shocks and after-shocks associated withan earthquake.
Using a fault line model built of several layers of colored clay
stacked upand sliced at an angle, demonstrate how the foot wall and
hanging wall are moving in anormal fault, reverse fault, and
strike-slip fault.
3. Talk about shock waves and how waves travel using the
slinky.
4. Discuss earthquake measurement and what the Richter scale
is.
5. Talk about earthquake resistant construction.
6. Challenge the students to build the tallest, most earthquake
resistant building they can out of15 gumdrops and 15
toothpicks.
7. The students should, together with a partner, design their
structure and then draw thisstructure in their science journal.
They should then write a 2-3 sentence description oftheir structure
and why they think the structure they chose will withstand the
simulatedearthquake.
8. The students should then be provided with the gumdrops and
toothpicks for building.
9. Test the structures using the earthquake simulator. If a
building falls over easily, it is removedfrom the contest.
Reflection:
1. What worked?I made a model fault line using clay that seemed
to help the students understand how the
reverse and normal faults were different. I think this would
have been a good thing for them tohave done themselves, modeling
the different fault lines, but we didnt have enough time tocomplete
that and use the earthquake simulator. The students were very
excited about using theearthquake simulator and competing with the
other students for some sort of prize (we gave thempencils). The
competition was fierce. Many students built walls around their work
area, so thattheir designs would not be copied. Also the students
came up with some good ideas, in the end,about what kind of things
were important in earthquake-resistant structures.
2. What didnt work?This activity would be more influential if
the students had extra time to redesign their
structures after the first run and then test them again. We did
not have enough time for thesecond part of the activity. However,
perhaps if we used something like clay and plastic rods(coffee
stirrers) instead of gumdrops and toothpicks, the students could
simply disassemble theirprimary structures and rebuild a secondary
one.
3. What would I change for the next time?
