To start off the class, I want students to be able to make a personal connection with the topic of earthquakes and bring in any background knowledge they have. Giving them an earthquake event scenario, the students can first write or draw about it and then share their ideas about what happens in an earthquake with the class. This can lead to questions about where earthquakes happen, why they happen, what are the effects and dangers of earthquakes, etc. This conversation can provide a hook for students to get more interested in the topic as they make connections to it. To begin exploring the relationship between humans and earthquakes, I would introduce a couple of short video clips about 2 major earthquakes that caused a lot of damage in California, 1989 Loma Prieta & 1994 Northridge earthquakes. Watching the video, I can have students discuss what effects/hazards resulted from the earthquakes and how those affected the people that experienced the earthquake. I would compile a list of hazards so students can keep track of the effects of an earthquake.  I would also have students fill out the first two sections of a KWL chart: What do you know about earthquakes? What do you want to know about earthquakes? I think this will help students group their ideas and questions into a couple of main categories: Where/Why/how do earthquakes happen? How can we be prepared for an earthquake? This will help me focus the students on the questions of Where (California, plate boundary) & Why (plate tectonics, faulting) earthquakes happen.

To help facilitate discussion about why California is a hotspot for earthquakes and not other places in the US, I will have students look at two maps (US Seismic Hazard Map & US fault map). They can work in groups or pairs to answer the question: What is the relationship between seismic hazard zones and fault zones. I can ask students to what they notice about high-risk hazard zone and fault zones? Do you notice a pattern between different areas that have fault zones? What do you think about other areas with fault zones? Will they also have high risk of earthquakes occurring? I can ask the students for their reasoning, probing them to point out the details that can support their ideas and give examples.

After making a connection between earthquake hazard zones being tied to fault zones, I would bring in one more map (tectonic plates world map) for students to examine. Once again, the question to bring up is, why is California an earthquake hazard zone? We know it has so many faults. Why is that? Students can look at where the plates are located and discuss what the arrows mean in terms of movement. Questions that the teacher can ask would be how are faults and fault zones related to plate boundaries? Groups or partners can discuss their line of causes and effects or reasoning, giving students a chance to connect a much larger concept all the way to a local event. From global plate movements to an earthquake that shakes your house. In this activity the teacher can press for deeper reasoning asking for evidence and more detailed explanations.

In the final part of the lesson, students can reflect on the connections they made between plate tectonics and earthquakes that happen in California. But I think it is important for them to make connections to why this information would be important to them. How does this affect their lives and what might be the next step in putting this information into use?