Application Items for
Novice Geosphere
 
  • On Shaking Ground
    		•
  • Exploding Mountains
    		•
  • The Layered Earth
    		•
    Answer Keys for all Activities
     
    Part 1: On Shaking Ground
    Novice Geosphere activity
    Section 1: Discussion questions - Ask the students to:

    1) Describe what they think an earthquake would feel like.

    2) Describe what they think would happen to their school or their home if an earthquake occurred in their area.

    3) Describe what they should do in case an earthquake strikes their area.

    4) Tell what they would do after the earthquake is over.


    Section 2: Map Activity
     Western United States
    This map will be used for the activity (to see a larger version of the may, click anywhere inside of it).  The activity can be found here and should be printed for class use.

    This activity is designed to help teach basic elementary map skills and counting skills.  The students will first count the number of earthquakes in the states of the western contiguous United States.  Then they will answer some questions concerning their count.

    They will  have to grapple with various ideas concerning map reading.  They will have to learn to recognize boundaries: between states, between countries, and between a state and a body of water.  They should also come to the conclusion that California suffers a majority of the earthquakes in the lower 48 states.  They may even recognize that on this map, California has more earthquakes than the other 10 states combined.

    As an extension activity, you may want to add to the list the state of Alaska. which can have just as many, if not more earthquakes, as California.


    Section 3: Other Extension Exercises

    Activity 1: Epicenter Plotting in the United States.

    Using this map, and various links to current United States earthquakes, have your students plot all of the earthquakes occurring in the contiguous United States for 1 week.  Some links that can be used are the following

    Some suggestions:
    1. You may want to limit this by focusing on earthquakes larger than a certain magnitude (for example, Mag>2).
    2. You may want to just focus on certain areas, such as the western United States, Yellowstone Park, the central United States, or the eastern United States.
    3. You can have the students plot earthquakes on their maps by looking at other maps, or by using the longitude and latitude data available at several of the above links.
    Activity 2: Writing and/or telling a story about an earthquake

    Using various WWW and library resources, have the students research earthquakes and design stories about them, using some of the pictures that can be found on the Web or in books.  To help get students in a writing and imaginative mood, perhaps a story about an earthquake could be read to them. These stories can take several different themes.  Some possibilities include, but should not be limited to, the following:

    For lower-grade students who have yet to learn to read and write, the activity is slightly different.  You could begin the activity by reading them a story or two about earthquakes.  Next, using either library or WWW resources, you could show them pictures of damage caused by earthquakes.  Then, ask them to draw a picture about earthquakes.  They could: Some WWW sources that can be checked:
    Part II - Exploding Mountains
    Novice Geosphere activity

    Section 1: Discussion questions - Ask the students to:

    1) Describe what they think a volcano would look and feel like.

    2) a) Describe what they think would happen to their school or their home if a volcano occurred where they lived.
        b) Discuss the likelihood that a volcano will occur near their school, home, town, or area.

    3) Discuss what they should do if they were in an area when a volcano erupted.

    4) Tell what they would do after the volcano is over.


    Section 2: Map Activity
     
    Recently erupting Volcanoes of the World
    These three maps will be used for the two activities (to see a larger version of any of the maps, click anywhere inside of it).  The activities can be found linked below and should be printed for class use.
    World with some countries named
    Activity 1:
    The first activity will help give the students a basic idea of where volcanoes can be found in the United States.  It helps teach some basic map skills, in addition to giving them some basic work with numbers.  (NOTE: Some of the questions may be too advanced for K-1 grade students.  They could be skipped, or done by the teacher together with the students.)  The students should recognize the fact that most volcanoes are found in one region of the United States, the western region.  Some may recall that most earthquakes also occur in the western United States, which will hopefully lead to the conclusion on their part that earthquakes and volcanoes have some relationship.    NOTE: The information for this activity was gathered from Volcano World at the University of North Dakota at this site.

    Activity 2:
    The second activity will look at some volcano locations around the world.  Students will be asked to use the world volcano map in conjunction with the political world map to determine which countries have currently active volcanoes.  NOTE: the volcano map is from Volcano World; the political map is from CaliforniaCentralCoast.com (a modified version).

    Section 3: Other Extension Exercises:

    Activity 1: Tracking a currently erupting volcano

    Volcanoes that are currently or have been recently erupting can be found at this link at Volcano World.  By clicking on the name of the volcano more information, pictures of the volcano, and other links containing information can be found.  Different activities can be pursued based on this information:

    1. Students can record the information found at these sites for comparisons of different volcanoes.  For example, they could record what the volcano erupted (ash, lava, etc.), the duration(s) of the eruption(s), the land and water area that was affected by these eruptions.  These volcanoes could be plotted on a world map, so students would know their exact location, and the affected area could also be noted on a map.
    2. Younger students could view the pictures of the erupting volcanoes, and draw a picture of their own volcano erupting.
    3. Mt Raupehu in New Zealand has a "volcano cam", a camera focused on the active volcano.  There is a volcano cam focused on Mount St. Helens, as well as several other volcanoes around the world.  The Hawaii Volcano Observatory and the Hawaii Center for Volcanology make routine updates on Mount Kilauea.  Students could also study any of these fairly active volcanoes.
    4. Volcano World also has a feature called the Volcano of the Week.  Students could record the information given from this site each week:
    Activity 2: Writing and/or telling the story of a volcano

    Using various WWW and library resources, have the students research volcanoes and design stories about them, using some of the pictures that can be found on the Web or in books.  To help get students in a writing and imaginative mood, perhaps a story about a volcano could be read to them. These stories can take several different themes.  Some possibilities include, but should not be limited to, the following:

    For lower-grade students who have yet to learn to read and write, the activity is slightly different.  You could begin the activity by reading them a story or two about volcanoes.  Next, using either library or WWW resources, you could show them pictures of damage caused by volcanoes.  Then, ask them to draw a picture about volcanoes.  They could: Some WWW sources that can be checked: Some famous volcanoes, past and present: Activity 3:

    Ask a Volcanologist - Visit Volcano World's "Ask a Volcanologist" site. You can read all about questions other people have asked, and ask questions of your own.

    Part III - The Layered Earth
     Novice Geosphere activity

    Section 1: Discussion questions: Ask the students

    1) Why do you think earthquakes and volcanoes occur in the same places (mostly)?

    2) Do you think that volcanoes can sometimes cause earthquakes?  Why (or How)?

    3) Do you think that earthquakes can sometimes cause volcanoes?  Why (or How)?

    4) What do you rather experience, and earthquake or a volcano?  Why?


    Section 2: Map Activity
     
    Earth's Interior The first map activity uses the map to the left.  (for a larger image, click on the map).  Students will identify the major parts of the Earth's interior, and answer a few basic questions about it.  The activity can be found here, and should be printed out for class use.

    Advanced Map Activity:
     
    World map of tectonic plates
    Zones of Active Volcanoes
    World wide earthquakes for two weeks
    		 These three maps will be used for the second activity (to see a larger version of any of the maps, click anywhere inside of it).  The activity can be found linked below and should be printed for class use.  The top left map (modified) is from the Heinemann Atlas (p. 134), and is published by Heinemann Education Australia, the top right map (also modified) is from USGS, and the bottom left map is from the Saint Louis University Earthquake Center. 
    The activity will further help students gain map reading strength and also allow them to develop the basic concept that earthquakes, volcanoes, and plate borders are all related.  This activity can be broken into separate activities (one using the plate map and the volcano map; another using the plate map and the earthquake map; a third using the volcano map and the earthquake map) or done as one unified activity; the choice is up to you. For lower grades (K-1), it may be best to break up into separate activies; for upper grades the activity can probably be done as a unified one.  To print a full-sized copy of these maps, click on the maps in the activity.  Each will go to a printable version of the maps.

    Section 3: Other Extension Exercises:

    Activity 1: Understanding the Richter Scale

    Have your students review the Richter Scale and Modified Mercalli Scale.  Discuss what it means to have an earthquake of different magnitudes.  Ask the students if they would feel an earthquake at a certain magnitude, what damage (if any) it could cause, etc.  Then, look at the some of the earthquakes that have occurred recently.  In particular:

    1. Find the location of the earthquakes on a world map (using longitude and latitude)
    2. Look at the Richter Scale value.  Ask the students:
      1. what they think the various earthquakes felt like for people at that location.
      2. what type(if any) damage was caused to houses, schools, and other buildings.  You can ask them questions in a hierachical fashion, such as:
     Activity 2: The Moving Plates

    Have your students view the unmodified version of the tectonic plates of the world map created by Heinemann Atlas.  (it could also be printed out for better viewing.)  Ask them to speculate as to what the arrows stand for.  Once they have done this, explain the ideas behing the moving plates.  Then, ask what this movement is doing in various regions of the world.  Places to focus on could include:


    Student worksheets and Answer keys

    Student Worksheets:
    Geosphere Quick Quizzes Earthquake Map activity
    Volcano Map activity #1 Volcano Map activity #2
    Plate Tectonics Map activity Advanced Plate Tectonics Map activity 
     

    Answer Keys:
    Geosphere Quick Quizzes Earthquake Map activity
    Volcano Map activity #1 -
    Plate Tectonics Map activity Advanced Plate Tectonics Map activity