Tsunamis: Waves of Destruction
Introduction
In the last century, more than 50,000 people were killed by tsunamis and millions of dollars in property
lost. These killer waves devastated unaware coastal populations. Even with the ability to warn
residents, technology does not guarantee safety. Even in areas with early warning systems, the ocean's
power can be unleashed so quickly that there is simply no time to escape.
Tsunamis are the most powerful and destructive waves generated by earthquakes beneath the ocean.
They can wipe an entire village from the face of the Earth.
Once you have studied these destructive forces, you must share what you've learned and to warn others
of the possible dangers.
Task
With the most recent tsunami that hit southeast Asia in December of 2004, many are worried about
another tsunami striking a coastal city and killing its residents. Many are asking, "how can we protect
ourselves?" In this webquest, you will learn about the awesome power of tsunamis and their cost in
human life, property, and how to protect yourself if you find yourself in a natural disaster such as this.
You will investigate how scientists worldwide work to alert and educate people about the destrictive
nature of a tsunami event. Using the Internet for research, you will answer questions to demonstrate
your understanding of what causes tsunamis and how coastal residents are affected by them.
Based on what you learn, you and a partner will write a 5 parragraph essay that will be presented to
these residents. The purpose of this research paper is to educate coastal residents about the causes and
characteristics of tsunamis, their potential destruction to human life and property, and what individual
can do to stay alive if a killer wave strikes in their area.
And finally, you and your partner will create a PowerPoint presentation that will be used to present to
residents information on tsunamis, including disaster preparedness, as part of your overall project.
Special requirements for your research paper and PowerPoint presentation are outlined in the Process
page. You will be responsible for completing this project based on these special requirements and the
Internet research.
Process
I. Determine Your Partner: First, you need to determine who your partner will be.
2. Initial Research: You and your partner will need to first find general information about tsunamis. You
will need to find out how tsunamis form and how they become so destructive when they approach land.
Be sure to take lots of notes.
3. Detailed Information on Tsunamis: Using the Internet again, find out as much information as possible
on tsunamis, specifically how often they ocurred in the last 100 years, how many human lives were lost
for each as well as property damage worth. Find out what are some early warning systems and what
other safety procedures are required for residents to exercsie when disaster strikes.
4. Written Report: When you have completed your Internet research, you must prepare a written
report to the residents of coastal communities. This will be written in the form of a 5-paragraph essay.
You must present all information you have found in your research, explaining the nature of tsunamis,
history and disaster preparedness. As always, you will need to plan your essay from an outline.
5. PowerPoint Presentation: In addition to your written report, you must prepare a PowerPoint
presentation to be given to the communities that are near the coast. Your presentation must have a
minimum of five (6) slides which includes a Title slide and a Conclusion slide. You may record your voice
as part of the presentation as well as have animation, music and interesting slide transitions.
Remember, you are presenting this for the coastal communities around the world. So, your
presentation must look absolutely professional with no mistakes.
Specific Project Requirements:
1. Written Report:
a. Must be 5 paragraphs
b. Created from an outline first (Planning)--typed
c. Must be typed using MS Word
2. PowerPoint Presentation:
a. Minimum 6 slides
b. Non-Linear (Must use hyperlinks)
c. Your voice recorded
d. Animated graphics and text
e. One (1) movie clip
f. Graph of # of volcanic eruptions worldwide over the last century
g. Music (optional)
3. References: 3 minimum--must include web address, date website was created, and author
4. Peer Grading:
a. Presentation to class with one person grading OR
b. Your choice of grader (not a friend).
Resources
The following are suggested websites that will help you with your research and presentation. Please be
sure to keep track of all websites that you use. These websites will be listed in your reference section of
your project.
1. The Discovery Channel has many videos in its gallery.
2. Seagrant.uaf.edu explains what causes tsunamis.
3. CBS News has in-depth information about tsunamis.
4. US Geological Survey provides lessons learned.
These are just a few websites that you can use for your research. Of course, you may find more on your
own. Just be sure to write down the web address if you use information from that site.
Evaluation
The written assignment and presentation will be graded using the rubrics below. The main goal is to
ensure that your group worked efficiently and stayed within the requirements of this project. This
includes how well your essay and presentation was organized and presented.
Each group will be evaluated or graded by another group using the rubric for this project. To grade
another group, you must click on the link below and print it out.
Once graded, you will get your rubric back and review your grade and the area in which you did not do
so well. Then, you must adjust your project so that you can better your grade. That second grade will
be your final grade for this project.
Writing Rubric
Presentation Rubric