Teaching about tsunamis is an important part of any earth science course. The causes of a tsunami, safety information, and history of tsunamis are typical topics covered in an earth science course. Listed below are some excellent resources for teaching tsunami curriculum. As a teacher myself, these resources are selected as some of the best.
Tsunami Lessons and Teaching Resources
- The Role of the NWS in Tsunami Forecasting an article explaining how tsunamis are commonly mistaken as weather events
- How DART Buoys Work An animation showing how DART Buoys for tsunami detection are deployed and used in tsunami forecasting.
- The Sumatra Tsunami An animation of the propagation of the Banda Aceh Tsunami in the Indian Ocean
- Historic Tsunami Wave Photo Gallery Photos of historic tsunami events worldwide in a photo gallery with information on each event
- Tsunami Mini Book The Great Wave pamphlet on tsunami causes makes a great supplemental reading or poster display.
- Tsunami Textbooks in English and Spanish Elementary and secondary school textbooks available for free download including a teacher's book
- Grade K-6 Tsunami Curriculum Free 68-page book of tsunami lesson plans for elementary school
- Grade 7-12 Tsunami Curriculum Free 51-page book of tsunami lesson plans for middle school and high school
- Seismic Activity and How Tsunamis Form Coverage of the causes of tsunamis from an earth science perspective, including details on plate tectonics and earth structure
- Tsunami Safety Posters A series of four tsunami preparedness and safety posters for classroom use
- Tsunami Children's Booklet - Full Color A full reading book available for download about tsunamis. Maldivian, Thai, Spanish, Indonesian, and Sinhalese versions are available here.
- Make Your Own Tsunami Book A fully customizable version of the Tsunami Book available in MS Word format
- Tsunami Teacher Training Course A full 2-stage teacher training course on tsunamis
- Tsunami Wave Simulation from PBS (Savage Seas) An excellent interactive resource for simulating a tsunami wave
- Discovery Education Tsunami Lesson Plan Full lesson plan on tsunamis
- Full Tsunami Education Kit A huge resource file of tsunami education materials
- The Bridge: Tsunami Waves Lesson The Bridge is always an excellent resource for ocean education.
- National Geographic Ocean Waves Lesson Plans An always trusted resource for educational materials
- The Math and Science of Monster Waves Great integrated science curriculum materials supporting STEM topics
- Crayola Tsunami Tracking Activity Younger students track and monitor a simulated tsunami wave
- Prehistoric Tsunamis Interesting resource discussing prehistoric and famous historic tsunami events
- The Tsunami Trivia Game Makes an excellent review of tsunami-related vocabulary and concepts