I N T R O D U C T I O N
Earthquakes are mystifying events. They are as
unpredictable as they are powerful, and not even
seismologists fully understand the forces within the Earth
that set them in motion. As an educator, you can capitalize
on that mysterious appeal to engage your students’ interest.
Ultimately, however, the purpose of these lessons is to
demystify earthquakes, and to counter the fatalism that
frequently accompanies ignorance about natural
phenomena. Interactive lessons invite students to discover
what is known about quakes—the considerable body of
knowledge that deals with their causes, the patterns of their
occurrence, and what human beings can do to minimize
their catastrophic effects on themselves and their
communities.
The units in this package follow a pattern of zooming in and
out, beginning with concerns closest to home, moving to
general principles and global perspectives, then homing in
again to engage students in evaluating their personal
preparedness and that of their families, schools,
neighborhoods, and communities. Look for the magnifying
glass symbols opposite the text, which indicate essential
vocabulary and helpful hints (Teaching Clues and Cues).
Units 1 and 6 deal most specifically with the personal and
local, but every unit contains a mixture of general
information and specific, local applications. A healthy
respect for the power of earthquakes requires both kinds of
understanding. Units 4 and 5 feature interactive lessons in
architecture and engineering, topics seldomdealt with in
grade 7-12 curriculummaterials.
You may not find time to teach every lesson in this package.
For teachers who must pick and choose, most of the lessons
are designed to stand on their own. Take time to familiarize
yourself with the outline, however. Read the unit
introductions; take advantage of the background readings
provided and of the unit resource lists. The Teacher
Preparation section in each lesson outlines things you need
to do before class begins, in addition to assembling the
items on the materials list. Plan ahead now for the
cooperation you will need in Unit 1, the
materials you will need in Unit 4, and the field trips you will
make in Unit 5. You’ll see a burst of learning to reward
your efforts and a wealth of ideas to enrich your science and
social studies teaching.
Theory takes a back seat to hands-on experience in most of
these lessons. As its name implies, this Seismic Sleuths
package focuses on discovery. Ideally, the process of
discovery will ripple through the town or city outside your
classroom. Beginning in Unit 1, students will be interacting
with a wide range of public officials. Please initiate and
encourage these relationships. They will benefit the
students, the school, and the community.
Through interacting with adults in positions of
responsibility, students will develop a realistic sense of how
their community functions day to day and how it would
function in the aftermath of an earthquake or other natural
disaster. Most will find it enormously reassuring to learn
that emergency plans are in effect. Moreover, they will be
empowered by the knowledge that their individual and
collective actions can make a difference. Cultivating
relationships within their community will also expose
students to a variety of careers they might never have
considered and provide a motivation to stay in school. In the
long range, these activities will prepare today’s students to
be tomorrow’s concerned and informed participants in
democracy.
The school will benefit from these relationships by
widening the pool of local adults who take an active interest
in education, share their expertise and experience, and serve
as role models for students. The community at large will
benefit greatly, whether or not it is in an area known to be
seismically active. Most of the kinds of emergency planning
that students will learn about, and model in Unit 6, would be
appropriate not only in the event of an earth- quake but also
in case of flood, hurricane, or other large-scale disaster. In
just the last few years, almost every section of the country
has experienced destructive natural events.
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