Material Detail

Earthquakes

Earthquakes

This is a third grade stand-alone instructional lesson on earthquakes. In this lesson, students are asked to explore how earthquakes are just one of the natural causes which can change Earth's surface. This lesson meets Third Grade Michigan Content Standards for Science under Solid Earth. Instructional objectives for this lesson are as follows: 1)The student will recognize that an earthquake is a natural phenomenon that shapes and alters the...

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Stephanie Scofield
Stephanie Scofield (Teacher (K-12))
11 years ago

Wow, this resource has great information for learners.  The slides were very interesting with the different pictures of real scenes.  Additionally, when the learner got an answer incorrect they were taken back to the information where they could review and find the correct answer.  The only suggestion I have is to maybe add some sound to the slides where the information is read to the learner in case the student is visually impaired or the learner's reading level is lower than the words presented on the slides. Overall, great STAIR!!

Technical Remarks:

Minimal technology requirements so many people can easily use. All links worked as well.

Time spent reviewing site: 20 minutes
Julie Sheridan
Julie Sheridan (Teacher (K-12))
11 years ago

This StAIR resource is great! There are interesting graphics, a you-tube video, and many animated features that are engaging and educational for the students that are working through this project. This project covers a lot of material, but with the graphics, and teaching slides it isn’t overwhelming to the learner. Each different component of an earthquake is clearly illustrated, as well as the parts of the Earth that play a role in earthquakes. I like that there is additional material for the students to work through once they finish with this slide show also.

Technical Remarks:

The only difficulty I had was when the presentation was playing and I clicked on the you-tube video, the video starting playing behind the presentation. I had to escape out of the presentation, and then resume the slide show from the current slide once the video was completed. I am not sure what technological experience the kids that are working with this will have, and if they will run into trouble navigating between the two components.

Time spent reviewing site: 30 min
Duane B. Karlin
Duane B. Karlin (Teacher (K-12))
11 years ago

What a great lesson!  The diagrams and photos are helpful for reinforcing learning objectives.  I particularly like how the presentation is broken into two sections: a review of the earth and its structural components and an overview of what earthquakes are, where they can take place, and the different types of earthquakes.  During the quiz sections, I found it extremely helpful that you had a review button for questions that may have been missed.  They helped to reinforce the concept being taught.  The embedded video was amazing!  What an excellent find.  The external links that explained the three types of earthquakes was helpful as well.  I liked how it actually showed how types of faults move.  The presentation is technical without bogging students down with too much information.  They will enjoy learning about this powerful, unpredictable force of nature.  With the recent earthquakes in Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan, this lesson will help students gain a better understanding of the devastation earthquakes can cause.

Technical Remarks:

The yellow "proceed" button is a nice touch.  It is eye-catching and links to the next pages.  I would suggest changing the color of the subtitle on the first slide because the black type is a little tricky to distinguish with the great picture in the background.  Also, perhaps a "back" button on the informative slides would give students a chance to review before taking the test.  Overall, outstanding!

Time spent reviewing site: 35 minutes