Amy Gampe

Bianca Polino
Deashni Pillay
Trish Gee

http://tsunamiunitplan.weebly.com

DYNAMIC EARTH UNIT PLAN YEAR 6

Duration: 6 weeks
Description of unit:
Each of the ten lessons within the tsunamis discovery unit are lead
by inquiry questions that have been designed to
developstudentsscience understanding of the
nature,development, use andinfluenceofscience in a real world
context.

SEQUENTIAL LESSON MAP

Lesson # 1 - Tsunami Engagement
Inquiry question: What is a Tsunami, how is it formed and are there
any natural warning signs?
Lesson # 2 - Engaging with historical tsunamis
Inquiry question: What are some of the largest recorded tsunamis
and what triggered them to form?
Lesson # 3 - Exploring the impacts of tsunamis (Tsunami
experiment)
Inquiry question: How far can tsunami waves travel and what are

SEQUENTIAL LESSON MAP

Lesson #4 - Exploring stages of a tsunami using ICT
Inquiry question: What are the different stages of a tsunami?
Lesson # 5 - Explaining the stages of a tsunami through
formative assessment
Inquiry question: Explain the stages of a tsunami?
Lesson # 6 - Explaining Tectonic plates.
Inquiry question: What are tectonic plates, where are they found
and how do they affect the earths surface?

SEQUENTIAL LESSON MAP

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Todays
Lesson # 7 Elaborating on Seismic Activity
activity
Inquiry question: Why do tsunami warning centres rely on seismic
data?
Lesson # 8 Elaborating on What we want to know
Inquiry question: What do we still want to know about tsunamis?
Lesson # 9 & 10 Summative Assessment
Allocated to students working on their summative assessment
items: Information Report and miniature model.

BTEOTLSAAT:
Knowledge: Describe the connection between an earthquake and a tsunami .

Comprehension: Discuss why sudden releases of energy can cause tsunamis.

Comprehend: Explain seismic events.

Application: Identify the information that scientists rely on to predict tsunamis.

Analysis: List the information required by the Bureau of Meteorology to

determine if a seismic event has the potential to generate a tsunami.

Synthesis: Understand how tsunami warning centres can use seismic data to
determine the tsunami size, arrival time and potential impact locations.

Evaluation: Consider the outcomes of the Bureau not receiving seismic event

ENGAGE PHASE OF THE LESSON

How to predict an earthquake:
http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/30150/4
(Only view the video clip to 04:15 mins).

ELABORATE PHASE

CONSOLIDATING CONCEPTS ACQUIRED THROUGHOUT THE

EXPERIMENTS

Animation depicting events that lead to the detection of tsunamis:

http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/Mov/DART_04.swf

ITS TIME TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF HANDOUT

Data retrieved from the BOM website:
http://www.bom.gov.au/tsunami/about/atws.shtml
Knowledge: What does 'Tsunami' translate to in English?
Application: On page 1 of the flyer, what is meant by a Seismic Event?
Synthesis: Why do tsunami warning centres require seismic data?
(Inquiry Question)
Evaluation: What would occur if the Bureau of Meteorology did not