Geography · Year 3

Active learning ideas

Earthquakes and Tsunamis

Active learning helps students grasp the dynamic forces behind earthquakes and tsunamis by making abstract concepts tangible. Moving beyond diagrams and lectures, students build models, simulate events, and discuss real-world consequences, which deepens their understanding of cause and effect in geologic processes.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: Geography - Physical Geography

• 15–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Shake Table Challenge

In small groups, students build towers using marshmallows and cocktail sticks. They place their towers on a tray of jelly (the 'shake table') and gently wobble it. They must then redesign their towers with 'cross-bracing' to see if they can survive a bigger 'quake'.

How can humans design buildings to survive an earthquake?

Facilitation Tip

During The Shake Table Challenge, circulate with a checklist to note which student teams adjust their building designs after initial test results.

What to look for

Provide students with a card asking them to draw a simple diagram showing the difference between an earthquake's epicenter and its focus, and to write one sentence explaining how an underwater earthquake can cause a tsunami.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 30 min · Pairs

Simulation Game: Tsunami Warning!

Students are given a map of the Indian Ocean with an earthquake marked. They are told the speed of a tsunami wave and must calculate how long different coastal cities have to evacuate. They must then write a 30-second 'emergency broadcast' for the radio.

What is the connection between underwater earthquakes and tsunamis?

Facilitation Tip

In Tsunami Warning!, ask student observers to time how long it takes the wave to travel across the tray to reinforce scale and speed concepts.

What to look for

Ask students to work in pairs to list three ways buildings can be made more resistant to earthquakes. Circulate to check for understanding and address misconceptions about materials or design features.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 15 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Why do some buildings fall?

Show photos of two buildings after an earthquake: one standing and one collapsed. Pairs discuss what might be different about them (materials, foundations, age). Share ideas about how humans can use geography and engineering to stay safe.

How do communities recover after a major seismic event?

Facilitation Tip

For Why do some buildings fall?, provide sentence stems like 'The building fell because...' to scaffold explanations during peer discussions.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine your town experienced a major earthquake. What are the first three things emergency services would need to do to help people?' Facilitate a class discussion, guiding students to consider immediate needs like shelter, medical aid, and safety.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with the Shake Table Challenge to build intuition about energy transfer during earthquakes. Follow with the water tray tsunami demo to contrast wave behavior with shaking. Avoid overemphasizing Hollywood-style destruction, as it reinforces misconceptions about ground cracks or surfing waves. Research shows that hands-on modeling, paired with focused discussion, improves conceptual change more than lecture alone.

Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining how tectonic plates interact, designing structures to withstand shaking, and clearly differentiating between seismic waves and tsunami waves. They should use correct terminology and connect their observations to larger safety and preparedness ideas.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Shake Table Challenge, watch for students who describe the earthquake as a crack opening in the ground.

  Pause the activity and have students examine photos of real earthquake damage on their phones or tablets. Ask them to point out what they see—cracked roads, tilted buildings—and relate these to shaking rather than splitting.

• During Tsunami Warning!, listen for students who describe a tsunami as a tall curling wave like in surfing videos.

  Hold up the water tray and tip it slowly to show that the wave is a wide, fast-moving rise in water level. Ask students to compare it to a regular ocean wave and explain why the height isn't the main danger.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Simulation Game
• Think-Pair-Share