Teaching Activities

Earth education activities from across all of the sites within the Teach the Earth portal.



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Environmental Science

Results 1 - 10 of 41 matches

Earthquake Hazard Maps & Liquefaction: Alaska emphasis part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
TOTLE (Teachers on the Leading Edge), CEETEP (Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program), EarthScope ANGLE, and ShakeAlert projects
Ground shaking is the primary cause of earthquake damage to man-made structures. This exercise combines three related activities on the topic of shaking-induced ground instability: a ground shaking amplification demonstration, a seismic landslides demonstration, and a liquefaction experiment. The amplitude of ground shaking is affected by the type of near-surface rocks and soil. Earthquake ground shaking can cause even gently sloping areas to slide when those same areas would be stable under normal conditions. Liquefaction is a phenomenon where water-saturated sand and silt take on the characteristics of a dense liquid during the intense ground shaking of an earthquake and deform. Includes Alaska and San Francisco examples.

Grade Level: Informal, Middle (6-8), Intermediate (3-5), General Public, High School (9-12)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Lab Activity, Outreach Activity, Classroom Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Seismology, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Mass Wasting, Earthquakes, Geoscience, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards, Engineering
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Seismic Slinky: Modeling P and S waves part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology)
Students will produce P and S waves using a Slinky© to understand how seismic waves transfer energy as they travel through solids. All types of waves transmit energy, including beach waves, sound, light, and more. When an earthquake occurs it generates four different types of seismic waves. We will focus on two of these: Compressional-P (longitudinal) and shearing-S (transverse) "body waves." These travel through the Earth with distinct particle motion and predictable speed.

Grade Level: General Public, Informal, High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14), Intermediate (3-5), Middle (6-8)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Lab Activity, Classroom Activity, Outreach Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Seismology, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Earthquakes, Geoscience
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Fault Models for Teaching About Plate Tectonics part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
Modified from an activity by Larry Braile (Purdue University) by TOTLE (Teachers on the Leading Edge) Project and further improved by ShakeAlert.
This short interactive activity has learners to manipulate fault blocks to better understand different types of earthquake-generating faults in different tectonic settings--extensional, convergent, and strike-slip. Fault models aid in visualizing and understanding faulting and plate motions because the instructor and their students can manipulate a three-dimensional model for a true hands-on experience.

Grade Level: General Public, Informal, Intermediate (3-5), High School (9-12), Middle (6-8)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Outreach Activity, Classroom Activity, Lab Activity
Subject: Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Earthquakes, Geoscience, Geology:Tectonics
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Human Wave: Modeling P and S Waves part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) and ShakeAlert
Lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, learners are the medium that P and S waves travel through in this simple, but effective demonstration. Once "performed", the principles of P and S waves will not be easily forgotten. This demonstration explores two of the four main ways energy propagates from the hypocenter of an earthquake as P and S seismic waves. The physical nature of the Human Wave demonstration makes it a highly engaging kinesthetic learning activity that helps students grasp, internalize and retain abstract information.

Grade Level: Informal, College Lower (13-14), General Public, High School (9-12), Intermediate (3-5), Middle (6-8)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity, Lab Activity, Outreach Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Seismology, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Earthquakes, Geoscience
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Be Smart, Be Prepared! Planning an Emergency Backpack part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
Bonnie Magura (Portland Public Schools), CEETEP (Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program), and ANGLE Project
Participants learn what to do before, during, and after a potentially damaging earthquake. They brainstorm valuable components for an emergency supplies backpack and then present on their ideas. The primary resource is the booklet Are you prepared for the next big EARTHQUAKE in Alaska?

Grade Level: Informal, Middle (6-8), Intermediate (3-5), General Public, High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity, Lab Activity, Outreach Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Oceanography:Marine Hazards, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Coastal Hazards:Tsunami, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards, Natural Hazards:Volcanism, Earthquakes, Mass Wasting
Activity Review: Passed Peer Review

Build a Better Wall part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) and CEETEP (Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program). Improvements by ShakeAlert.
How can we design buildings to withstand an earthquake? This activity uses simple materials and gives learners a chance to experiment with structures that can withstand an earthquake. Two optional activities explore building damage by subjecting models to ground vibration on a small shake table.

Grade Level: General Public, High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14), Informal, Intermediate (3-5), Middle (6-8)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Lab Activity, Project, Classroom Activity
Subject: Engineering, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Mass Wasting, Geoscience, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards, Natural Hazards:Earthquakes
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Rocks are Elastic!! Seeing is Believing part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology)
This activity helps learners see the elastic properties of rocks by actually bending marble. How rocks respond to stress is a fundamental concept, critical to forming explanatory models in the geosciences (e.g., elastic rebound theory). Whereas learners are likely to have lots of experience with rocks, few will have directly experienced them behaving elastically. As a result of this "missed experience", most learners conceptualize rocks as rigid solids; a concept which generally serves students well in everyday life but impedes learning about particular geologic concepts.

Grade Level: General Public, Informal, Middle (6-8), Intermediate (3-5), High School (9-12)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities:Classroom Activity, Lab Activity, Outreach Activity
Subject: Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Seismology, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Earthquakes, Geoscience
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Educator Guide: Lab 1- Launching an Expedition part of CLEAN Collection

Nicole Davi, Pat Pringle, Frank Wattenberg
Students are charged with thinking about what it takes to 'do science'. They are introduced to the science of dendrochronology and learn how tree-ring science is executed.
CLEAN Selected This activity has been selected for inclusion in the CLEAN collection.
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Grade Level: College Lower (13-14), College Upper (15-16), Middle (6-8), Informal, High School (9-12)
Online Readiness: Online Adaptable
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Biology, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Ecosystems
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Rising Tides: Protect Your Home from the Waves part of CLEAN Collection

Kate Carter
Warming oceans and melting landlocked ice caused by global climate change may result in rising sea levels. This rise in sea level combined with increased intensity and frequency of storms will ...
CLEAN Selected This activity has been selected for inclusion in the CLEAN collection.
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Grade Level: Intermediate (3-5), High School (9-12), Informal, Middle (6-8), Primary (K-2)
Online Readiness: Designed for In-Person
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Meteorology:Extreme weather, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Extreme Weather, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Mitigation of climate change, Impacts of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Sea Level Change
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary

Mapping a Personal Story of Environmental Change part of CLEAN Collection

Arctic and Earth SIGNs
This is a very simple but effective lesson that engages students with drawing a map of their local environment, then annotating their map with environmental changes they've observed. The ...
CLEAN Selected This activity has been selected for inclusion in the CLEAN collection.
Learn more about this review process.
Grade Level: High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14), Informal, Middle (6-8), Intermediate (3-5)
Online Readiness: Online Ready
Resource Type: Activities: Activities
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Climate feedbacks, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Climate feedbacks, Impacts of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Climatology :Climate sensitivity and feedbacks
Activity Review: Peer Reviewed as Exemplary