CURRICULUM RESOURCES
Year 6 | Earth and space sciences | Earthquake explorers | NEW – fully aligned to the Australian Curriculum
Major earthquakes cause dramatic changes to the Earth's surface. Strong earthquakes can affect millions of lives by causing buildings to collapse, destroying roadways and bridges and affecting basic necessities such as electricity and water supply. Fortunately, the majority of earthquakes are barely noticed. It is still not possible to accurately predict where and when an earthquake will happen. However, greater understanding of their causes helps scientists estimate the locations and likelihood of future damaging earthquakes.
The Earthquake explorers unit is an ideal way to link science with literacy in the classroom. This unit provides opportunities for students to develop an understanding of the causes of earthquakes and how they change the Earth's surface. Through investigations, students explore earthquake magnitude data from Australia and neighbouring countries, drawing conclusions about patterns in the data.
Unit at a glance (PDF)
Equipment lists (PDF)
Alignment with the Australian Curriculum: Science (PDF)
Alignment with the Australian Curriculum: English and Maths (PDF)
Indigenous Perspectives framework (PDF)
Indigenous Perspectives Teaching and learning guide
Factual and narrative texts
Useful websites
Factual texts:
Shaky Ground – Earthquakes
Colson, Mary (Turbulent Planet series, Harcourt Education, 2004, 48 pp)
ISBN 1 84443 111 8
I didn't know that quakes split the ground open
Oliver, Clare (Aladdin Books, 1999, 32pp)
ISBN 0 74963 407 3
Shattering Earthquakes
Spilsbury, Louise and Richard (Harcourt Education, 2004, 32pp)
ISBN 0 43117 836 4
Earthquake (The Violent Earth Series)
Dudman, John ( Wayland, England 1992, 32pp)
ISBN 0 7502 0364 1
Earth Science
Pentland, Peter and Stoyles, Pennie (Macmillan Library, 2002, 32pp)
ISBN 0 73296 772 4
Earthquakes
Prager, Ellen J (National Geographic Society, 2002, 32pp)
ISBN 0 7922 8202 7
Earthquake
Rohr, Ian (Go Facts Natural Disasters set, Blake Publishing, 2006, 30pp)
ISBN 1 86509 927 9
Earth's changing crust: Plate tectonics and extreme events (Earth processes series)
Harman, Rebecca (Heinemann Library, Great Britain, 2005, 32pp)
ISBN 0 431 01298 9
Big books
Natural Disasters
Bransch, Nicholas (Bookweb Plus, Nelson, 2003, 24pp.)
ISBN 10 0 17 011204
Geoscience Australia
A national agency for geoscience research.
ABC Science
The latest science news, in-depth features, games and conversations as they happen from around Australia and the world.
Queensland University Advanced Centre for Earthquake Studies
Earthquake information for Queensland and Australia.
Emergency Management Australia
Government organisation co-ordinating volunteer services and official response units for emergencies.