Geography · Year 7

Active learning ideas

Earthquakes: Causes and Measurement

Earthquakes involve complex spatial and temporal processes that can overwhelm students when taught only through lecture. Active learning lets students model plate movements, manipulate seismic data, and collaborate to solve real-world problems, building durable understanding of cause-effect relationships in seismic events.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS3: Geography - Physical Processes: Geological Processes

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 35 min · Small Groups

Modelling: Fault Formation with Jelly

Prepare trays with layered jelly over golden syrup to represent crust and mantle. In small groups, students apply sideways, pulling, or upward forces to simulate plate boundaries and trigger 'earthquakes'. Sprinkle cocoa on top to visualise surface waves, then measure and sketch fault types. Conclude with a class share-out linking to real plate margins.

Explain how tectonic plate movement generates earthquakes.

Facilitation Tip

During Fault Formation with Jelly, remind students to push slowly at first to build visible stress before the 'quake' so they see how energy accumulates before release.

What to look for

Provide students with a simplified seismogram showing P and S wave arrival times from three different locations. Ask them to: 1. Identify which wave arrived first at each station. 2. Explain how they would use this information to locate the epicenter.

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

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 45 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Types of Seismic Waves

Divide class into three expert groups: one for P waves, one for S waves, one for surface waves. Each researches speed, effects, and detection using provided diagrams and videos. Experts then teach their wave type to new home groups, who create comparison tables. Finish with a whole-class wave speed sorting activity.

Compare the different scales used to measure earthquake intensity and magnitude.

Facilitation Tip

For the Jigsaw on seismic waves, give each expert group a colored card matching their wave type so they can teach peers without repeating information.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If we could perfectly predict when and where an earthquake will happen, what are the top three actions a city should take to prepare?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to justify their choices based on the effectiveness and feasibility of different preparedness strategies.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 40 min · Pairs

Stations Rotation: Magnitude vs Intensity

Set up three stations with historical earthquake data cards: one for plotting Richter magnitudes, one for Mercalli intensity maps, one for damage photos. Pairs rotate, recording differences and patterns. Groups present one key comparison to the class, using a shared whiteboard for visuals.

Assess the effectiveness of current earthquake prediction and preparedness strategies.

Facilitation Tip

At the Stations: Magnitude vs Intensity, position seismogram printouts next to intensity photos so students physically link numbers to observed effects.

What to look for

Present students with two earthquake scenarios: one describing the damage and shaking felt (intensity) and another stating the energy released (magnitude). Ask students to identify which description corresponds to magnitude and which to intensity, and to briefly explain why.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Simulation Game
• 30 min · Individual

Triangulation: Locating Epicentres

Provide printed seismograms from three stations. Individually, students measure P-S wave arrival differences to calculate distances, then plot circles on a map to triangulate the epicentre. Pairs check and discuss accuracy before a whole-class reveal with real event overlay.

Explain how tectonic plate movement generates earthquakes.

Facilitation Tip

During Triangulation, have students mark wave arrival times on a wall map in real time to build urgency and spatial reasoning.

What to look for

Provide students with a simplified seismogram showing P and S wave arrival times from three different locations. Ask them to: 1. Identify which wave arrived first at each station. 2. Explain how they would use this information to locate the epicenter.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach earthquakes by balancing concrete models with data-driven inquiry. Start with tactile models to anchor abstract concepts, then transition to real datasets so students confront misconceptions directly. Avoid spending too much time on prediction myths; instead, emphasize preparedness and evidence. Research shows that students grasp logarithmic scales better when they compare magnitudes side-by-side rather than memorizing definitions.

By the end of the activities, students will explain how plate tectonics generates earthquakes, compare seismic wave types, distinguish magnitude from intensity, and use triangulation to locate epicenters. Clear evidence will appear in their models, data tables, and reasoned claims during discussions.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Fault Formation with Jelly, watch for students who believe earthquakes can happen anywhere randomly.

  Have groups plot their jelly-fault quakes on a world map and notice the clustering near plate edges. Ask each group to present one pattern they see, guiding them to conclude that stress builds only where plates interact.

• During Stations: Magnitude vs Intensity, watch for students who think Richter scale measures shaking damage.

  Ask students to match magnitude values to photos of damage and intensity descriptions to numbers, then hold a gallery walk where they explain why a magnitude 7 in a city causes more damage than the same quake in a desert.

• During Jigsaw: Types of Seismic Waves, watch for students who accept animal predictions as reliable.

  Provide a case study table with animal behavior claims versus recorded foreshocks and seismometer data. Ask pairs to fill a T-chart with evidence for and against prediction, then lead a class vote on whether evidence supports animals over machines.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Jigsaw
• Stations Rotation