Activity 01
Shake Table Engineering Challenge
In small groups, pupils use materials like spaghetti, marshmallows, and jelly babies to build a structure. They then place their structure on a 'shake table' (a baking tray on top of marbles) to test its resistance to a simulated earthquake.
Explain how the Richter scale is used to describe the magnitude of an earthquake.
Facilitation TipEncourage pupils to think about shapes that are strong, such as triangles, in their designs.
What to look forUse an exit ticket where pupils have to answer a key question on a sticky note, such as 'List two ways a building can be made safer from earthquakes'.
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Activity 02
Emergency Kit Flat-Lay
Pupils work in pairs to decide what essential items should go into a household emergency kit for an earthquake. They can draw the items or use pictures from magazines to create a 'flat-lay' poster, justifying each choice.
Analyse how building designs in countries like Japan help to reduce earthquake damage.
Facilitation TipProvide a budget or size constraint to encourage critical thinking about what is truly essential.
What to look forPupils create a detailed poster or a short presentation about a specific tectonic hazard event. They must include its cause, its effects on people and the environment, and the immediate and long-term responses.
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Activity 03
Richter Scale Rope
Use a long piece of rope or string marked in metres (1 to 10). Explain that each number represents a tenfold increase in power. Have pupils stand at 'Magnitude 4' and then show how much further away 'Magnitude 5' (10 times further) and 'Magnitude 6' (100 times further) would be to visualise the logarithmic scale.
Justify the importance of having an emergency plan for a natural disaster.
Facilitation TipThis is best done in a large space like the school hall or playground to appreciate the scale.
What to look forProvide pupils with a checklist of features for a good emergency plan. They can then review their own plan or a partner's, ticking off the elements they have included and suggesting improvements.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Start with a simple model of the Earth's layers to introduce tectonic plates. Use videos of controlled experiments, like liquefaction in a sand box, to demonstrate complex concepts safely. Case studies are key, so use compelling images and personal stories from places like Japan or Iceland to illustrate how communities prepare for and respond to these events, making the learning relevant and memorable.
By the end of this topic, pupils will be able to explain the science behind earthquakes and volcanoes and analyse how people cleverly adapt to live alongside them.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Earthquakes can happen anywhere at any time with equal likelihood.
The vast majority of earthquakes occur along specific lines where tectonic plates meet, known as plate boundaries. While minor tremors can happen elsewhere, the world's most powerful earthquakes are concentrated in these zones.
The Richter scale is a simple 1-10 scale, where a magnitude 6 is slightly worse than a 5.
The Richter scale is logarithmic. This means that for each whole number you go up on the scale, the ground shaking increases by 10 times. A magnitude 6 earthquake is ten times more powerful than a magnitude 5.
You can stop an earthquake from happening.
Earthquakes are a natural process of the Earth releasing energy, and we cannot prevent them. Instead, people focus on predicting them, preparing for them, and building structures that can withstand them to reduce damage and save lives.
Methods used in this brief