Let's Look Inside the Earth part of Teaching Activities
David Zelenka
Students will analyze USGS seismology data in the classroom using spreadsheets and scatter plots to look for patterns and structure in the Earth's crust. Before analyzing data, students will learn about the ...

Volcano Monitoring with GPS: Westdahl Volcano Alaska part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
Maite Agopian, EarthScope; Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope
Learners use graphs of GPS position data to determine how the shape of Westdahl Volcano, Alaska is changing. If the flanks of a volcano swell or recede, it is a potential indication of magma movement and changing ...

World Map of Plate Boundaries part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
Bonnie Magura (Portland Public Schools) and Chris Hedeen (Oregon City High School)
The plate tectonics mapping activity allows students to easily begin to identify basic tectonic processes on a global scale. As students become aware of plate movements, they begin to identify patterns that set the stage for deeper understanding of a very complex topic. The activity uses a simple "Where's Waldo" approach to identify tectonic symbols on a laminated World Plate Tectonic map.

Virtual Field Trip to Mt. Vesuvius part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Katherine Kelley, University of Rhode Island
This is a virtual field trip to Italy's Mt. Vesuvius, which explores the 79AD eruption of the volcano. Students explore the excavated cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as the different types of ...

Virtual Field Trip to Laki Fissure part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Katherine Kelley, University of Rhode Island
This is a virtual field trip to Iceland's Laki Fissure, which explores the 1783 eruption as a type example of a large historical lava flow eruption that had a significant impact on the local human population ...

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?

SeismicWaves Viewer & SeismicEruption Software part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
Roger Groom, Mt Tabor Middle School
This activity includes both the Seismic Waves Viewer and the Seismic Eruption software to help learners better understand earthquakes, volcanoes, and the structure of the Earth. Seismic Waves is a browser-based tool to visualize the propagation of seismic waves from historic earthquakes through Earth's interior and around its surface. By carefully examining these seismic wave fronts and their propagation, the Seismic Waves tool illustrates how earthquakes can provide evidence that allows us to infer Earth's interior structure. Seismic Eruption shows seismicity (earthquakes) and volcanic activity in space and time from 1960 to present. When the program is running, the user sees lights, which represent earthquakes, flashing on the screen in speeded-up time. The user can control the speed of the action. In addition, the program can show seismicity under Earth's surface in three-dimensional and cross-sectional views. Earthquakes can be selected by magnitude and volcanic eruptions can be selected by volcanic explosivity index. In this way, large earthquakes and large eruptions can be selected to emphasize how different types of plate boundaries are characterized by different magnitudes of earthquakes (e.g. no major or great earthquakes occur on spreading ocean ridges). This lesson plan was developed by , Portland Oregon. Students investigate how seismic waves travel through Earth's internal layers and bounce and bend at internal boundaries between mantle, outer core, and inner core.

Monday Morning Meeting (II): Monitoring Mount St. Helens 2004 dome growth using authentic data part of Teaching Activities
Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico
This jigsaw activity groups students first as volcano monitoring experts of either RSAM seismic data, earthquake locations, or GPS data, and then regroups students into interdisciplinary teams. The teams discuss ...

Unit 5 Hazards and Risks at Convergent Plate Boundaries (Day 1 of activity) part of Living on the Edge
Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico; Peter Selkin, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus; Laurel Goodell, Princeton University
In this two-day activity, students monitor an evolving volcanic crisis at a convergent plate boundary (Cascadia). Using monitoring data and geologic hazard maps, students make a series of forecasts for the ...

Unit 6 Hazards and Risk at Convergent Plate Boundaries (Day 2 of activity) part of Living on the Edge
Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico; Peter Selkin, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus; Laurel Goodell, Princeton University
In this two-day activity, students monitor a simulated evolving volcanic crisis at a convergent plate boundary (Cascadia). Using monitoring data and geologic hazard maps, students make a series of forecasts for the ...