Did You Feel It?

Jennifer Witter, Alaska Pacific University and Anchorage School District

This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Peer Reviewed Teaching Activities collection.

This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection

This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the process are

Scientific Accuracy
Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
Pedagogic Effectiveness
Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page

For more information about the peer review process itself, please see https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/activity_review.html.

This page first made public: Feb 16, 2022

Summary

Did You Feel It (DYFI) is a collaborative on-line program hosted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that collects information from people who felt an earthquake. Reported experiences of shaking and damage are compiled on maps, helping to visualize the unique effects of earthquake ground motion across a broad area within a short period of time. In this activity, learners can report an earthquake event, and/or browse data reported by others to better understand earthquake intensity.

Show more information on NGSS alignment

Earthquakes, Natural Hazards | Intermediate (3-5), Middle (6-8), High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)

Expand for more detail and links to related resources

Used this activity? Share your experiences and modifications

Context

Audience

This activity can be done with introductory geoscience learners from late elementary through secondary and even early college.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

Learners should be familiar with what earthquakes are.

How the activity is situated in the course

At any time an earthquake happens, report your experience! Alternatively, use this data portal when you introduce earthquake intensity, and how it is measured.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

Learners will:

Understand how earthquake intensity data is gathered for the Modified Mercalli Index
Identify the DYFI portal as a place to contribute information about experienced earthquakes
Articulate the importance intensity data for describing the severity of an earthquake event

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

Other skills goals for this activity

Interpreting spatial information

Description and Teaching Materials

As an instructor, you can encourage students to take their own experience of earthquake shaking to an important USGS collaborative on-line program that seeks to better understand and map the unique effects of earthquake ground motion across a broad area within a short period of time.

Activity

See attached file for instructor notes, NGSS alignment, and links to supporting resources.
Did You Feel It Activity (Acrobat (PDF) 1.2MB Feb16 22)

Supporting Presentation/Audiovisual

Presentation: Earthquake Basics - the concepts of earthquake magnitude and intensity are included in this presentation
Animation: Earthquake Intensity
Animation: Take 2: Magnitude vs Intensity
Animation: Buildings In Earthquakes—Construction affects the intensity
Other related animations: Earthquake Intensity: Introduction to 4 Modules

Teaching Notes and Tips

How you can use Did You Feel it with your learners:

Report an earthquake as a class after an earthquake occurs
As a research project which could include shake maps, etc.
As a way to describe the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale
As a way to describe how partnerships work to increase scientific understanding of seismic events
As a way to describe the relationship to shake maps which use information from DYFI reports as a verification tool.

Assessment

There is no formal assessment for this activity. It is really intended more for engagement at the start of learning about earthquakes, magnitude, and intensity or anytime there is an earthquake that is felt by the leaners.