ABSTRACT
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Seismic Sleuths is an earthquake education curriculum originally published in 1995 by the American geophysical Union (AGU) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In order to bring the curriculum to date with the current National Science Education Standards and make the lessons easier for teachers to use, it is now being revised under supervision of the Southern California Earthquake Center. For the revision, the curriculum was reevaluated in terms of the final 1995 version of the National Science Education Standards. To increase usability, each of the six units was streamlined and reorganized so they may be used individually, and each laboratory activity was updated and redesigned if necessary. Also, printed and video resources lists for each topic have been updated and expanded to include electronic sources. The reorganization has resulted in five stand-alone units that follow a logical learning sequence. The next step for Seismic Sleuths is a digital, online supplement to the written curriculum. As the first step, the entire package is being scanned and read using optical character recognition software. Also up-and-coming is a 60 minute video overview and supplement to Seismic Sleuths. Seismic Sleuths is a powerful tool for today's teachers. When revision is completed, it will allow students to understand the world around them and use that understanding to reduce risk from natural disasters. |