EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES
LITERATURE FOCUS UNIT
EDU 315
BY: JOSHUA SMITH
Literature Selection
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Earthquakes and Other Natural Disasters by Harriet Griffey
Earthquakes by Franklyn M. Branley
Earthquakes: All Aboard Science Reader Station Stop 2
Eyewitness Volcano by Susanna van Rose
Forces of Nature: The Awesome Power of Volcanoes, Earthquakes,
and Tornados by Catherine O'Neill Grace
Time for Kids: Earthquakes! by Editors Of Time For Kids
Tsunamis by Chana Stiefel
Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Ken Rubin
Volcanoes and Other Natural Disasters by Harriet Griffey
Volcanoes! by Anne Schreiber
Volcanoes: Mountains That Blow Their Tops by Nicholas Nirgiotis
Voyage to The Volcano (Magic School Bus Chapter Books Series #15)
Theme/ Focus Study
• Students will take part in a thematic unit on
the earthquakes and volcanoes. This unit will
integrate language arts, social studies, science,
mathematics, art, music, and physical
education.
• Students will develop an understanding of
how earthquakes and volcanoes form.
Language Arts: Reading Activities
• Students will read some books from literature
section.
• Teacher will read aloud from Volcanoes and
Earthquakes by Ken Rubin.
• Students will read their earthquake and
volcano poems.
• Students will read entries from their journal
about the effects that earthquakes and
volcanoes have towards people.
Language Arts: Writing Activities
• Students will write and illustrate a story about
a volcano and earthquake.
• Students will write a poem about a volcano or
earthquake.
• Students will write in their journals as they
read their book from the literature section.
• Students will add volcano and earthquakes to
the word wall.
Language Arts: Speaking Activities
• Students will discuss what they like or dislike about
earthquakes.
• Students will be in small groups discussing what they
have learned about earthquakes.
• Students will read their poems aloud to the class.
• Students will share their journals or stories with their
peers.
• Students will join in a grand conversation on what they
like or dislike about volcanoes and earthquakes.
• Students will be a part of a readers theater.
Language Arts: Listening Activities
• Students will listen to their peers during grand
conversations.
• Students will listen to a guest speaker who will
talk about a volcano or earthquake.
• Students will listen to a recording of a story
about an earthquake or volcano.
• Students will listen to the teacher discuss the
aspects of earthquakes.
Language Arts: Viewing Activities
• Students will view short videos about earthquakes.
• Students will view pictures of earthquakes and
volcanoes.
• Students will view volcano or earthquake paintings
from a museum.
• Students will view volcano and earthquake videos.
• Students will view the Reader’s theatre performance.
• Students will view the Volcano and earthquake word
wall.
Language Arts: Visually Representing
Activities
• Students will make a model of a volcano.
• Students will make a Volcano / earthquake
word wall.
• Students will make artwork of volcanoes and
earthquakes.
• Students will display their poems on a poem
wall.
Science Activities
• Students will study what happens to volcanoes and
earthquakes while they are forming.
• Students will make an earthquake and volcano
experiment.
• Students will learn the caused of earthquakes
determined through a model.
• Students will demonstrate lave flow during a volcanic
eruption project.
• Students will use past statics to try to predict an
earthquake.
• Students will recreate a tsunami through a model.
Mathematics Activities
• Students will use past statics to try to predict
an earthquake.
• Students will add/subtract how many
years/months between earthquakes or
volcanoes in certain areas.
• Students will graph the top ten earthquakes.
Social Studies Activities
• Students will identify areas in the world that
receives earthquakes, and volcanoes.
• Students will learn about the earthquake/volcano
drills the different cultures use.
• Students will learn about each culture that lives
in the earthquake/ volcano zones.
• Students will watch a video about Hawaii and
how volcanoes formed the islands.
• Students will learn where the tropic of cancer is
and why it is an important area.
Music and Art Activities
• Students will make a song about earthquakes.
• Students will listen to earthquake/volcano songs.
• Students will make sounds that resemble an
earthquake and earthquake.
• Students will make paper earthquakes
• Students will make a model of a volcano and
earthquake.
• Students will paint a scenery of an active or nonactive volcano.
Physical Education Activities
• Students will have volcano drills. The chasers
can be the volcano and the other students can
run from the chasers.
• Students will move around like they are in an
earthquake.
• Students will display jumping, sliding, and
running skills.
Technology
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake2011/beforeafter.htm
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/en
vironment-natural-disasters/volcanoes/volcano-lava.html
• http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/MrsThonus/science.cf
m?subpage=347541
• http://www.fema.gov/kids/lavamap.htm
• earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/
• Audio tapes of volcano and earthquakes
• www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-earthquake.htm
• www.historyforkids.org/scienceforkids/geology/earthquakes
Language Arts Strategies
• Brainstorming: Students will think of any ideas
related to the topic.
• Identify big ideas: Students pick out the most
important idea.
• Predicting: Students anticipate events.
• Revising: Students make changes or a new
version.
Language Arts Skills
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Print: Divide words into syllables
Reference: Use simple, compound sentences.
Study: Skim, make outlines or references
Language: Students will apply various skills in
their writing activities: stories, poems, and
songs.
• Comprehension: Students will compare and
contrast the different volcanoes and
earthquakes around the world.
Grouping Patterns
• Large groups: Grand conversations, viewing
and hearing video’s, word wall
• Small groups: small group discussions,
identification of different areas of the world
that have earthquakes, and volcanoes
• Individual: writing poems, journals, and
stories
Assessments
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Journal entries with Rubric.
Participation in grand conversations.
6+1 writing traits for poems and stories.
Checklist
Portfolio for art work.
Spelling test for words on the word wall.