Unit 1: Earthquake!
Vince Cronin, Baylor University (Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu) Phil Resor, Wesleyan University (presor@wesleyan.edu)
In this opening unit, students develop the societal context for understanding earthquake hazards using as a case study the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake. It starts with a short homework "scavenger hunt" ...

Measuring Ground Motion with GPS: How GPS Works
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
With printouts of typical GPS velocity vectors found near different tectonic boundaries and models of a GPS station, demonstrate how GPS work to measure ground motion.GPS velocity vectors point in the direction that a GPS station moves as the ground it is anchored to moves. The length of a velocity vector corresponds to the rate of motion. GPS velocity vectors thus provide useful information for how Earth's crust deforms in different tectonic settings.

Converging Tectonic Plates Demonstration
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
During this demo, participants use springs and a map of the Pacific Northwest with GPS vectors to investigate the stresses and surface expression of subduction zones, specifically the Juan de Fuca plate diving beneath the North American plate.

Unit 4: Anatomy of a tragic slide: Oso Landslide case study
Becca Walker, Mt. San Antonio College
Landslides can have profound societal consequences, such as did the slide that occurred near Oso, Washington in 2014. Forty-three people were killed and entire rural neighborhood was destroyed. In this unit, ...

Pinpointing Location with GPS Demonstration: How GPS Works (Part 2)
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
Using string, bubble gum, and a model of a GPS station, demonstrate how GPS work to pinpoint a location on Earth.Precisely knowing a location on Earth is useful because our Earth's surface is constantly changing from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tectonic plate motion, landslides, and more. Thus, scientists can use positions determined with GPS to study all these Earth processes.

Topographic Maps from the US Geological Survey
Eileen Herrstrom, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This activity takes place in a laboratory setting and requires ~1.5-2 hours to complete. Students learn how to interpret a topographic map. They read contour lines, construct a topographic profile, and calculate ...

Google Earth Investigations of Folded and Faulted Landforms
Hillary Hamann, University of Denver
This activity utilizes Google Earth (the free downloadable version) to investigate folded and faulted landscapes and to review crustal deformation processes and associated landform features.

Topographic Maps
Kyle Fredrick, Pennsylvania Western University - California
This exercise is a lab exercise to introduce elevation, landforms, and topographic maps to Introductory-level students. It is used to convey the principles of land variability and the processes that shape the ...

Critiquing Crummy Maps
Emily Burns, Community College of Rhode Island
Emily Burns, Community College of Rhode Island Summary Students work in groups to identify problems with a group of maps from the internet. Problems include lack of detail, lack of readability, no coordinates, and ...

GIS Resource Portfolio
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Barbara and David Tewksbury, Hamilton College Summary In this semester-long project, students develop a GIS resource portfolio that will be useful to them for future GIS tasks. You might also be interested in our ...