• 6-8: 4C/M2a. Some changes in the earth's surface are abrupt (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) while other changes happen very slowly (such as uplift and wearing down of mountains).
• 6-8: 4C/M12. The earth's plates sit on a dense, hot, somewhat melted layer of the earth. The plates move very slowly, pressing against one another in some places and pulling apart in other places, sometimes scraping alongside each other as they do. Mountains form as two continental plates, or an ocean plate and a continental plate, press together.
• 6-8: 4C/M13. There are worldwide patterns to major geological events (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building) that coincide with plate boundaries.
• 9-12: 4C/H5. Earthquakes often occur along the boundaries between colliding plates, and molten rock from below creates pressure that is released by volcanic eruptions, helping to build up mountains. Under the ocean basins, molten rock may well up between separating plates to create new ocean floor. Volcanic activity along the ocean floor may form undersea mountains, which can thrust above the ocean's surface to become islands.

• 6-8: 4F/M4. Vibrations in materials set up wavelike disturbances that spread away from the source. Sound and earthquake waves are examples. These and other waves move at different speeds in different materials.
• 6-8: 4F/M7. Wave behavior can be described in terms of how fast the disturbance spreads, and in terms of the distance between successive peaks of the disturbance (the wavelength).
• 9-12: 4F/H6ab. Waves can superpose on one another, bend around corners, reflect off surfaces, be absorbed by materials they enter, and change direction when entering a new material. All these effects vary with wavelength.

• 6-8: 11B/M1. Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly. They are also used for processes that are too vast, too complex, or too dangerous to study.
• 6-8: 11B/M4. Simulations are often useful in modeling events and processes.
• 9-12: 11B/H1a. A mathematical model uses rules and relationships to describe and predict objects and events in the real world.

• RST.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.

• RST.9-10.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.

• RST.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

• RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11—CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.

A great resource to augment a module on tsunamis.  These are interactive "magazine-style" articles designed to help students understand how tsunamis are generated and why they become so destructive upon reaching shore.  Don't miss the excellent animated view of a tsunami caused by subduction zone earthquake.

• Physics First Types of Mechanical Waves Unit
• Conceptual Physics Types of Mechanical Waves Unit
• Algebra-Based Physics Types of Mechanical Waves Unit
• AP/Calculus-Based Physics Types of Mechanical Waves Unit

Exactly what is a tsunami and how does it differ from a regular water wave?  Why is it so destructive to a shoreline when it looks harmless at sea?  This excellent resource from WNET-TV in New York features a magazine-style set of three articles on tsunamis, explaining what causes them and how they travel.  Don't miss the animation of a subduction-zone earthquake (a frequent cause of tsunami) and the interview with a survivor.

• Physical Sciences K-8 Types of Mechanical Waves Unit