My lesson went very well! I had two groups of students that I used for my lesson. My brother is going into 6th grade, so I was able to get some students there but unfortunately half of them did not show up for the lesson. I conducted part of the lesson with two of his friends and then later on in the week with friends in college and fellow teachers. I used slinkys to demonstrate how P and S waves move. First I had students work with partners to demonstrate the different motions between P and S waves. Then I create a 5 slinky model which demonstrates how waves move in all directions. Both these activities were very effective and the students were really intrigued. This model helped them to visualize what happens in the earth's interior as the vibrations travel. I also had students determine the location of an earthquakes center by using this online simulation (http://www.sciencecourseware.com/VirtualEarthquake/VQuakeExecute.html). The only issue was that no one was able to find the epicenter because they made little mistakes while reading the seismogram. I think in the future I print them out so they are easier to read for students.
I wanted to use the 5 slinky model to generate data and have my students graph them but the vibrations moved too quickly and we could not get a time down. Does anyone have suggestions on how we could get around this?
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteDo you think that it might be possible to use the 5 slinky model in more a more qualitative way? For example, even though it may not be possible to take measurements from the model, students may be able to determine which station was closest and farthest away from the epicenter. I may have more feedback once I look over the lesson plan as well :) Amy
I love the slinky activities when talking about Earthquakes. It is a great way to show kids how the different waves can travel through the Earth. There are some great videos on youtube that show footage of the huge quake in Japan in the mid nineties. If you are paying attention you can see how the different types of waves affect the buildings and objects on the surface.
ReplyDeleteI have used slinkies in the past to simulate the different waves of an earthquake. However, I have never seen the slinkies attached to a center piece. What a wonderful idea! I like how they can not only identify the waves, but see how it effects the areas surrounding the quake.
ReplyDeleteI love this lesson. Like Becky, I used slinkies to illustrate wave patterns. I also like the idea of attaching an epicenter, it gives student a clear idea of how earthquakes work.
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