Earthquake Lesson Plan
Topic: Earth’s Changing Surface
NSES: SCS D 1.1, 3.1
SOL: 5.7d
Daily Question: How do tectonic plates affect the Earth’s surface?
Date: November 11, 2008
Grade level: 5th
Subject: Earthquakes
Procedures for Learning Experience
Guiding Questions
Materials Needed
Engagement: Ask the children if any of
them have ever been in an earthquake. If
one of them has, ask them to describe what
it felt like. Show the earthquake video to
introduce what it is like to be in an
earthquake and the damage it can cause.
Now ask them to hold their hands up in
front of them. Put your hands together with
the palms facing each other. Push really
hard. Your hands are acting like two plates
pushing together. Keep pushing your hands
together, but now try to move one hand up
and the other down. Did you feel it when
your hands jumped to their new place?
Exploration: First, remind the students of
their discussion of tectonic plates by asking
them to recall the three different types of
faults: convergent, divergent, and
transform. Have them write their own
definition of the faults in their learning log
and then ask some children to share their
Have you ever been in an
earthquake?
Earthquake video
clip from
YouTube
How do you think an
earthquake would feel?
Evaluation
(Assessment)
Participation in
discussion and in
brief
demonstration
Approximate
Time Needed
5-10 minutes
Written
definitions of the
three types of
faults
25 minutes
Did you feel it when your
hands jumped to a new
position?
What are the three types
of faults?
Two wooden
blocks per student
What fault did we
represent with our clay
and wooden blocks?
Section of clay
per student
Wax paper
Written
observations
definitions with the class. Now let's see
what happens when this happens on in the
Earth.
Give each student two wooden blocks, a
section of clay, and a piece of newspaper or
wax paper to work on. Have the students
put the two blocks together with the long
ends touching. Now have them press the
clay down on the paper until it is a sheet
large enough to fit over the two blocks of
wood. Put the clay on the two blocks and
push down until the clay is stuck to the
wood. Use your pencil to draw a road
across where our blocks meet (the fault).
Have the students use their blocks to make a
convergent, divergent, and transform fault.
Write down any observations you have
about the clay surface when each of these
faults occur. Have the class share their
observations with the other students at their
table (groups of 3-4). Collect all supplies
from this activity.
Divide the class into six groups (3-4
students per group). Assign each group a
different activity to test. In one group give
them a slinky and ask one person hold one
end while another person holds the other
end of the slinky while compressing a
portion. Release the compressed end and
write any observations. What happens
when the compressed portion is released?
How does that fault
behave?
Pencil
What observations can
you make about the slinky
and the rope? How do
they act the same?
Different?
Golf ball (at least
2)
How did the golf ball and
ping pong ball act when
dropped in water and
when dropped on the
table? Did they act the
same or different? How?
Slinky
Ping Pong Ball (at
least 2)
Length of Rope
Container of water
(2) – a pan or
storage container
Paper Towels
Goggles
about the fault
they created with
the blocks and
clay
Written
observations of
the primary and
secondary wave
activity
In group two give them a rope and have
someone hold either end. Swing the rope
back and forth and write observations. The
next two groups will either be given a golf
ball or a ping pong ball. Drop the ball into
a container of water and write observations.
Did the ball you used sink or float? Finally
give the next two groups either a golf ball or
a ping pong ball. Drop the ball on a desk
and observe how much and how frequently
it bounces. What observations can you
make? Have the students come back
together as a class and each group share
their observations with the class.
Explanation: When the energy is released
between two plates the plates jump to their
new position, like your hands did, and cause
an earthquake. When the earthquake occurs
there are two types of waves created:
primary and secondary. Explain primary
and secondary waves in terms of the slinky
(primary) and rope (secondary) as well as
golf ball (primary) and ping pong ball
(secondary). Introduce and define the
concepts of epicenter, focus, and
seismograph (how the epicenter is
determined using readings from three
different seismographs.)
What is a primary wave?
How does it act?
What is a secondary
wave? How is it different
from a primary wave?
What is an epicenter,
focus, and seismograph?
What does a seismograph
do and how is it helpful?
See Exploration
Participation in
discussion
Have students
write the
definition of the
different types of
faults, waves,
epicenter, focus,
and seismograph
in their own
words in their
learning log
10 minutes
Extension: Have the students make a
seismograph and test it. See the attached
sheet for how to set it up. Explain the
instructions to the students and have them
get in three groups and each group make a
seismograph. Use a very rough idea of
triangulation to find the epicenter of an
“earthquake” with the use of the
seismographs. How does the epicenter
change depending on the size of the reading
at each seismograph?
How does the epicenter
change when the size of
the reading changes?
Where is the epicenter in
relation to the
seismograph with the
strongest reading?
Books to stack
Creation of the
seismograph
30 minutes
Ruler
Understanding of
Cup
how the
seismograph
String
works and how to
approximate the
Gravel
epicenter based
on three
Pen/Pencil/Marker seismographs
Calculator Tape
Notes: This lesson will be following a discussion of plate tectonics which will be introducing the idea of different faults. Students
should already have an understanding of convergent, divergent, and transform faults before beginning this lesson. Following this
lesson the students will enter a lesson about volcanoes and their relation to plate tectonics as well. In terms of safety notes, it may be
beneficial to have students wear goggles when completing the group activities with the slinky, rope, golf ball, and ping pong ball since
some of those items could be harmful if the proper procedures are not followed.
The video clip from the engagement can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y-62Ti5_6s.
Sources:
Bosak, S. V. (1991). Science is . . . Ontario: Scholastic Canada Ltd.
ProTeacher. (n.d.). Earthquake!. Retrieved November 10, 2008, from http://www.proteacher.com/cgiin/outsidesite.cgi?id=5263&external=http://www.galaxy.net/~k12/geology/index.shtml#exper&title=Rocks,%20Fossils,%20an
d%20the%20Earth&original=http://www.proteacher.com/prosearch/search2.cgi?c%7D%7Dnil%7B%7Bs%7D%7Dearthquake
s%7B%7Bn%7D%7D1.
Scholastic Science Place. (1995). How landforms change: Exploring earth’s crust. New York: Scholastics Inc.
Earthquakes Rubric
Group/Class
Participation
Written Definitions
Written Observations
Seismograph
Beginning Seismologist
Good Seismologist
Excellent Seismologist
Student did not participate
in group and/or class
discussion and/or
activities.
Student did not write all
definitions in their learning
log.
Student did not write
observations.
Students participated very
little in group and/or class
discussion and/or
activities.
Student’s definitions are
incomplete and/or copied
from another source.
Student’s written
observations are not
complete.
Student did not help their
group build the
seismograph and/or help
take readings.
Student helped some with
building the seismograph
and/or taking readings.
Student participated in
group and/or class
discussion and/or
activities.
Student’s definitions are
complete and in their own
words.
Student’s written
observations are complete
and written in their
learning log.
Student helped their group
build the seismograph and
helped take readings.
Group Instructions:
Group 1: Slinky Activity
Group 2: Rope Activity
Have one person hold one end of the slinky.
Have another person hold the other end of the slinky.
A third person will pull back a small portion of the
slinky and then let it go.
Record your observations.
Be sure to do multiple trials.
Have one person hold one end of the rope and someone
else hold the other end.
Now swing the rope back and forth.
Record your observations.
Make sure to do multiple trials.
Group 3: Golf Ball in Water
Group 4: Ping Pong Ball in Water
Be sure the container of water is sitting on top of the
paper towels.
Have one person hold the golf ball about six inches from
the top of the water.
Release the golf ball.
Record your observations.
Be sure to do multiple trials.
Be sure the container of water is sitting on top of the
paper towels.
Have one person hold the ping pong ball about six
inches from the top of the water.
Release the ping pong ball.
Record your observations.
Be sure to do multiple trials.
Group 5: Golf Ball on the desk
Group 6: Ping Pong Ball on the desk
Have one person hold the golf ball about six inches from
the top of the desk.
Release the golf ball.
Record your observations.
Be sure to do multiple trials.
Have one person hold the golf ball about six inches from
the top of the desk.
Release the ping pong ball.
Record your observations.
Be sure to do multiple trials.