Use earthquakes for QCA Unit 16 “What’s in the news”. Pupils could carry out a variety of activities, eg preparing a news report, designing an emergency aid poster, writing an imaginary first hand account. Draw pictures to illustrate the Mercalli earthquake scale.

KS 3-5

Earthquakes are a staple topic of secondary geography. The following ideas may enhance schemes of work: consider some of the project ideas on the US geological survey site earthquake.usgs.gov4kidssciencefair.html

If you have an interactive whiteboard, use The Guardian’s interactive guides www.guardian.co.ukinteractive0,,192055,00.html base homework on the picture photo journals on the BBC website news.bbc.co.uk eg the earthquake in Pakistan; look at the distribution of eathquakes in the San Francisco region and LA; investigate UK earthquakes www.geologyshop.co.ukukequakes.htm and find out about earthquake-proof buildings on the How Stuff Works website people.howstuffworks.comnews-item91.htm investigate predicting earthquakes pubs.usgs.govgipearthq1predict.html and preventing them www.msnbc.msn.comid6759689