Overview

After reading a summary about earthquakes and how they occur, students pose as investigative reporters and create news stories about recent earthquakes. Students then create storyboards to illustrate their stories and present them in a “broadcast” format to the class.

Objectives

Explain the causes of earthquakes.
Describe earthquakes, their aftermath, and explore ways to deal with future ones.
Compare and contrast earthquakes.

Materials

• Computer and modem
• Web-browsing software
• Drawing or painting software (if available)
• Printer
• Volcanoes and Earthquakes Activity worksheet (one copy for each student group)

Steps

1. Share the book summary with students and invite them to talk about earthquakes. Invite students to compare earthquakes to other natural disasters, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, or floods. Ask: How do earthquakes happen? Why are they so destructive? How can an earthquake be predicted? How can we protect ourselves from them?

2. Explain that students are going to be reporters writing about recent earthquakes. Review the worksheet with students. Remind them that a good news story contains information that explains what has happened and why. You may want to review well-written articles on earthquakes or other natural disasters with students. Point out what makes each article interesting and informative.

3. Encourage students to research their quakes by visiting the Yahoo! Web site at http://www.crustal.ucsb.edu/ics/understanding/, or by visiting their local library. Help students organize their research by answering the questions in the chart.

4. Ask the class to summarize what they have learned about earthquakes and to suggest ways that earthquakes can be made less destructive. Help students write their news stories. Review the articles as they progress. Make sure that they have enough detail to explain the causes and results of the quakes.

5. Students should create storyboards to illustrate their news story. If drawing or painting software is available, suggest that students use it to create their illustrations. You might also suggest that they download and use photographs and graphics from their online research.

6. Help students to brainstorm ideas, create props, and arrange classroom furniture to set the tone of the presentations. Have students pretend they are news broadcasters presenting their materials.

Invite students and their families to learn about the deadly 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They can visit the Museum of the City of San Francisco Web site at http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/06.html to read accounts and see photos of the quake. Families can compare the 1906 quake with modern earthquakes to identify similarities and differences.

Extension

Invite students to work in small groups to create earthquake timelines. The timelines should trace famous earthquakes throughout history. Encourage students to include specific locations, the date of each earthquake, Richter scale readings, and the results. Have them locate each earthquake on the world map showing the plates. They can visit the BBC World News: Deadly History of Earthquakes at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/1195164.stm for a helpful outline.

Product Links

Take an Internet Field Trip to learn more about earthquakes. Visit Houghton Mifflin Science DiscoveryWorks and find out about the changing Earth.