Seize the moment and capitalize on the recent earthquakes to teach your students about earthquakes and what causes them. Delve into the history of earthquakes, how and why they happen, and the subsequent destruction that can occur because of them. The free teaching resources below are a great starting place to give you ideas and inspiration.
Free Earthquake Lesson Plans and Activities
Elementary Earthquake Lesson Plans
Collection of lessons geared toward elementary students from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Middle School Earthquake Lesson Plans
Lesson plans geared toward middle school students from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Earthquake Activities for Kids
Activities designed for children as they learn about earthquakes. Includes science fair projects, puzzles, games, and photos.
Teaching Earthquakes by Marcia’s Science Teaching Ideas
Lesson ideas for earthquake zones, Richter Scales, labs, worksheets, tests and more.
Developed by FEMA, this comprehensive guide can be downloaded and used to help calm students’ anxieties about earthquakes.
Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes for Middle School Students
This collection of activities was designed by PBS and perfect for teaching middle school students about earthquakes and their damaging effects.
Broaden students’ understanding about earthquakes by teaching them about the 1989 Newcastle earthquake in Australia.
Preschool/Early Elementary Earthquake Lesson
National Geographic allows teachers to find the perfect lesson for their grade level and The Rhythm of Rice exercise is ideal for preschool and early elementary students.
This upper elementary/middle school 2-part lesson is designed to teach students about the fault lines in Virginia.
These free, downloadable printables are good for elementary and middle school students as you teach them more about earthquakes.
Children’s Books
Branley, Franklyn and Lloyd, Megan. Earthquakes. New York: Collins, 2005.
Griffey, Harriet. Earthquakes and Other Natural Disasters. New York: DK CHILDREN, 2010.
Levine, Ellen. If You Lived At The Time Of The Great San Francisco Earthquake. New York: Scholastic, 1992.
Osborne, Mary Pope. Earthquake in the Early Morning (Magic Tree House #24). New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2001.
Simon, Seymour. Earthquakes. New York: Collins, 2006.
Jenny Doty says
You can’t go wrong with this! I can see using this to review any number of things. Just print up questions on business card. Great stuff. I would divide the class into two groups and play it that way.
Jill says
Thanks for the resources! There is so much to choose from!
marthavictor013 says
Have your ESL students heard of all the holidays you celebrate? Mine haven’t, so I am sure to teach them these holidays in an effort to build their common, cultural knowledge
<a href=”http://ielts-learn.blogspot.com/2010/06/the-8-uncertain-mythology-regarding.html”>I.E.L.T.S Test mythology</a>