Earthquakes: Make a Seismograph

Fairly simple to make, a little difficult to explain!  It's a bit of a crude model, but it does give your students an idea of how seismographs work.

Supplies:

Empty cereal box.

String

Paper tape (for a calculator)

String

Small paper cup

Pennies (other other material for weight)

Pen

Scissors

Sharp knife

Hole punch

How To Assemble:

Cut out most of the large sides.  Leave about an inch border on the right, left, and top.  Leave about two inches (or more) on the bottom.

Cut a slit in the bottom border, on each side of the box, wide enough for paper tape to pass through.

Punch a hole in the top border on each side. 

Punch a hole on each side of a small cup.

Cut a small x in the bottom of the cup.

Poke a pen through the bottom of the cup (a felt tip works best).

Use string to suspend the cup from the box.

Add some pennies to the cup for weight.  (You could also use rice or dried beans, but they create a much larger mess if spilled!)

Thread the paper tape through the slits.

Adjust the pen so that it writes on the paper.

To Use:

Set the seismograph on the table.  Have one person gently shake the table, to simulate an earthquake.  While the quake is going on, have another person slowly pull the paper tape through the seismograph. 

Earthquakes: A Letter to the 3 Little Pigs

After learning about earthquakes and earthquake resistant structures, have your students write a letter to the 3 Little Pigs, suggesting ways they could build their houses to be earthquake (or wolf) resistant.

The letter could be written from a friend  -
a personal letter passing along information that might be helpful

Or from a government official -
a letter outlining city or state requirements for earthquake resistant structures

The letters should include at least 5 suggestions. 

Encourage students to get creative in their writing and also in their presentation - written on a piece of stationary or as an email if it's a letter to a friend, written on a piece of "letterhead" if it's from a government official. 

Earthquakes: Quake & Shake Challenge Part III

Your students have been busy planning, buying and building earthquake-resistant structures... now what? 

Shake Tables
To test just how earthquake resistant the structures are, you may want to invest in a shake table.  You can find these in various science supply catalogs or a quick Internet search will turn up instructions for tables you can build yourself using supplies found at a hardware store. 

I built one of those tables (and by that I mean that my husband built one for me using directions I found) and truth be told, it was big and heavy and didn't work as well as I would have liked given the time and effort put into it.  My kids were far more into the process than the final testing and it probably would have worked just as well to strap their buildings to a skateboard (or better yet, those carts they use in phys ed, with casters so they can move in all directions) and shake them around that way.

Final Write-Up
I had the students assemble a final write-up for the whole project.  Each member of the group was responsible for part of it and it was all compiled into one packet which was submitted to me.

Architect:
An essay answering the following:

1. Describe your group's design idea
2. Why did you decide on that design?
3. How did your design stand up to the "earthquake"?
4. What changes would you make to your design if you were to do this project again?
5. What are the challenges of acting as the team's architect?

Blueprints for your building


Foreperson:
An essay answering the following:

1. Describe the way in which your group members worked together - did you divide up the tasks or share all of them?
2. What could be done to improve the way your group worked together, without changing group members?
3. What strategies would you recommend to a future foreperson to help them help their group work well together?

A procedure detailing the steps you followed in building your structure.


Buyer:
An essay answering the following:

1. Describe the materials used to build your structure.
2. Why did your group choose to use those?
3. What materials would you like to have available for this project?
4. You built a model.  If you were to actually build this structure, what materials would actually be used (instead of Popsicle sticks, hot glue, felt, etc.)?

A list of materials used in building your structure and their approximate quantities.


Accountant:
An essay answering the following:

1. Do you think your group spent their money wisely? Explain.
2. What could your group have done to save money?
3. What are the challenges of acting as the accountant?
4. In the "real world", what expenses would a company have besides materials and employee salaries?
5. What would happen if you went over-budget in the "real world"?

The accounting paperwork.


Evaluation
I've evaluated the project in different ways.  Here are some areas you may wish to consider when evaluating your students' work:
--Designing & Building the Model - use of construction methods and materials
--Testing and Improving the Model - was effort made to test and improve the model along the way?
--Final Product Performance - how did it hold up on the shake table?
--Blueprint
--Final Write-up - well-organized, interesting, clear
--Working Cooperatively with Classmates
--Budget
--Promptness and Completeness

Some years I've given students the opportunity to grade their team members and factored that into their grades

I've also asked them to answer the following questions
--Describe the successes and failures of your group's procedure.
--Evaluate your performance in the group effort.  What did you do?  Should you have done more?  Should you have let others do more?
--Evaluate your group memebers' effort.  Did they work well together?  Did everyone participate?  What could be done to make the group work better together (without changing group members)?


pdf Files
Here's the part you've been waiting for patiently for two weeks - the pdf files you can download - I imagine you'll want to change them to meet your needs, but it's a starting point. 
Quake & Shake Challenge (this the project information sheets and checks for the accountants to use)
Quake & Shake Account (sheet to use when purchasing materials for the groups)
Earthquake Write-Up (final write-up requirements)


Once again, please let me know if you are familiar with the original version of this activity so I can give proper credit - the bulk of this is not original to me. 

Email me or leave a comment with any questions you may have along the way.

And, most of all, have fun with this!  It takes a bit of prep work to get it going, but once you've done it, your students will work independently for several days and have a fabulous time doing so.

Earthquakes: Quake & Shake Challenge Part II

Last week I gave you an overview of the Quake & Shake Challenge and we left off with students ranking their job choices.

The following day, I let students know their teams and their job within the team.

At this time I also show the materials available for purchase and construction.

Toothpicks - $10 each
Foil - $150 per square foot
Gumdrops - $50 each
Pipe cleaners - $250 each
Yarn - $20 per foot
Clay - $50 per gram
Wood splints - $50 each
Thread - $30 per foot
Elmer's glue - $200 per gram
Rental glue gun - $100 per day
Hot glue sticks - $250 each
Cotton batting - $300 per square foot
Popsicle sticks - $30 each
Tissue paper - $250 per square foot
Rubber bands - $200 each
Plastic wrap - $100 per square foot
Floss - $25 per foot
Fishing line - $20 per foot
Wax paper - $175 per square foot
Felt - $375 per sheet
Cotton balls - $25 each

I would recommend you have a glue gun available for each team, as that is what they all seem to want to use - I use the low temp mini glue guns.  I guess you could limit the ones available and force them to go in other directions...  I would also recommend having an abundance of Popsicle sticks on hand as that seems to be a favored building material.

We also discuss a few other fees and fines..

Consultant Fees:
The teacher's role in this process is to act as a consultant.  If you have a question that the group cannot answer, you may pay the consultant $200 for each question.  Be sure to phrase the question carefully so that the response is not too simple (yes or no).

Fines:
Any item purchased must be incorporated in the model.  There is a penalty fee of $500 for each missing item.

Any group that does not clean up before class is over will be penalized $1000 for each safety violation. 


Armed with all this information as well as a team folder (containing plain white paper, graph paper, accounting ledgers, "checks" and shopping sheets) I send the teams off to begin planning.

While the teams are planning and sketching, I call the accountants together.  I provide each team with "checks" (each team's is printed on a different color paper) and a checkbook ledger.  With all of the accountants together, I show them how to fill in the checks and how to maintain the ledger.  The students interested in the accountant job are usually interested  in knowing this and it provides them with a real-world lesson.


The following day students can begin construction.  Since I taught a few grade levels, I had a cart loaded with all of the supplies available for purchase that I would roll out for the appropriate class periods. 

Next Tuesday we'll talk about testing the buildings, a group write-up/paper and tie up any other loose ends.  I will also try to make my documents available for you to download.

Earthquakes: The Quake & Shake Challenge

This is one of the greatest projects I've done with my students. I hope you'll stick with me through the explanations - there will be several posts full of lots of words and not many pictures (I've got pictures of students working on the project, but they aren't pictures I have permission to post on the Internet).

But, before I can tell you about the project itself, I need to disclose that this is not an original idea.  The original activity was called Shake, Rattle and Roll.  I have searched to the end of the Internet to find the original activity but cannot put my hands on it.  If someone else knows of it, PLEASE let me know so that proper credit can be given. 

Okay... that was a lot of rambling on... let's get to the good stuff.

The students are presented with the following task:

The city of San Francisco has given you a plot of land and a budget of $20,000 to design, build and test your model of a 3 story structure: house, apartment building, factory, etc. that is earthquake-resistant.  Each story must be a minimum of 15 cm high, contain a floor and have a base length and width of 20 cm x 20 cm.  The entire structure cannot exceed 50 cm. 

The purpose of your work is to use your knowledge of earthquakes to construct an earthquake resistant building within the budget limits and a time limit of 8 days.

On the day in which I tell students about their challenge, I also tell them about each of the 4 roles they can have on their team:

Construction foreperson: This person oversees the entire construction of the model.

1. Communicates with the buyer on what materials are needed for the model.
2. Communicates with the accountant regarding availability of funds.
3. Responsible for testing on earthquake simulator.
4. Promotes cooperation among all the builders.
5. Salary: $200 per day

Architect: This person oversees the designing of the model.

1. Draws the building plans with details and materials labeled.
2. Drawing must be neat and to scale.  Use pencils, rulers, compass and/or protractor.
3. Promotes cooperation among all the builders.
4. Salary: $350 per day

Accountant: This person takes care of the entire budget and makes sure the team does not overspend.

1. Responsible for checkbook balancing, check writing and signing
2. Communicates with construction foreperson on availability of funds.
3. Keeps a record of expenses and salary payouts.
4. Promotes cooperation among all builders.
5. Salary: $250 per day

Buyer: This person is the buyer of all supplies needed to construct the model.

1. Purchase materials needed for construction
2. Communicate with construction foreperson on supply needs.
3. Communicate with accountant on funds needed and funds spent.
4. May only go to Mrs. Hickland's Home Depot once per day.
5. Promotes cooperation among all builders.
6. Salary: $150 per day

After hearing of all the options, the students rank their job choices in order of preference.  Before leaving class, they hand me their ranked lists.  I make groups by attempting to give each student his/her first or second choice of job.  It usually works out that I can accommodate all students in that way.  However, if I have to resort to a lower choice for a student, I will usually try to compensate in some other manner, such as putting that student in a group I know he/she would enjoy working with. 

Tune back in next Tuesday when I share with you how things proceed after students receive their jobs and teams!

Earthquakes: San Francisco Earthquake Accounts

I happened to be teaching about earthquakes in April 2006.  I hadn't given it much thought, but I was watching the Today show on the morning of April 18, and there was a segment on the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. 

Well, the timing couldn't have been better (well... I could have planned a bit further ahead and been a bit more prepared...) so when I got to school that morning I went searching for something to share with my students to mark the date. 

I came across The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.  There, I found a whole collection of eyewitness accounts as well as lots of other information. 

I printed out a few accounts and shared parts of them with my students that day.  These do tend to be longer narratives, so you won't be able to read several whole accounts, unless your students are much more patient than mine. 

Since this was a plan that was hatched about an hour before school started, I read the accounts and left it at that.  You may want to take it further...

Assign each student a different eyewitness account to read as homework.  Then, have them summarize their story for the rest of the class the next day. 

Perhaps you could have your students write their own account of what it would have been like to survive the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.  Or maybe you'd like them to research another earthquake and write an account of that experience in the first person.  If you live in a place that experiences earthquakes, you could have your students write of their own experiences.  (Talk to the language arts teacher, maybe it'll work out that your students are working on writing first person narratives or memoirs and you could team up).

You could adapt this exercise to other natural disasters: hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, etc.

Earthquakes & Plate Tectonics: Plot Earthquake Data

Use the US Geologic Society website to print out a copy of the most recent earthquakes. Provide students with a world map with lines of latitude and longitude clearly marked. Have students plot the points at which the earthquakes occurred. Compare the plotted data to a map of the tectonic plates. If enough data points are plotted, you will see an outline of the tectonic plates form, as most earthquakes occur along those faults.

If you wish, to get more data plotted more quickly: print out the world map on overhead transparencies for each student. Have each student plot several points on their transparency. Then stack the transparencies on top of one another to create a single map.

Earthquakes: When was the last Earthquake?

Ask your students to guess when the last earthquake occurred. You can have them write their answers on paper or have a discussion. Log on to the US Geologic Society to find out the answer. Many students will be surprised to learn that the most recent earthquake likely occurred in the last few hours – numerous low-magnitude earthquakes occur every day - in this country and worldwide.