Shake, Rattle, and Quake!

Have you ever felt the floor below you shake? The ground we walk on seems solid — until an earthquake strikes. Suddenly the earth heaves and slides. Things topple off shelves. Deep cracks open in the ground where none were before. In the past few years, people everywhere have witnessed these events as major earthquakes struck their countries. The activity below will help you better understand how earthquakes affect people around the world.

1. Choose a partner. Imagine that you are both investigative reporters. You have been asked to write a news story about the major earthquakes that took place in Taiwan and Turkey in 1999. Your news story must give your audience enough information to understand how earthquakes work and to visualize the destruction earthquakes cause. Remember that your story should also answer who, what, where, when, why and how.

2. Research the earthquakes that happened in Taiwan and Turkey. Use newspaper and magazine articles, and visit the Yahoo! Web site at http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Yahooligans/Earthquakes to learn more about these events.

3. Answer the questions below to help organize your information.

   Earthquake Information Chart
   When did the earthquakes take place?
   Where did the earthquakes happen? Describe the places, the people who live there, and the types of buildings that are found there. What happened to the places during the earthquake?
   Why did the earthquakes happen? Describe the type of land formations in the area. Could the two earthquakes be related?
   Describe the recovery efforts, and how people are preparing for possible future earthquakes.

4. Use your answers to help you write your story. Then review what you have written. Make sure your work includes enough detailed information to explain what happened during these events.

5. Create storyboards to illustrate your news story. Choose the most interesting parts of the story and create pictures to highlight these parts. If available, use a drawing or painting program to create your storyboards.

6. Present your news story and storyboards to your classmates as if you were broadcasting your story on the evening news. Make sure you pay close attention to your classmates' stories as they may help you present your own.

Home Connection

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake is the most famous American earthquake. Visit the Museum of the City of San Francisco Web site at http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/06.html to learn more about this deadly quake. Read eyewitness accounts, see photos of the quake and its aftermath, and read newspaper articles. Then, with your family, compare the 1906 earthquake to a modern quake. How are the two similar? How are they different?