Tsunami Strike! Pacific Edition is a scenario-based learning experience for kids from middle school through high school (ages 13-17 is probably the best range). Some lessons within the module may be more appropriate for those in the higher grades, but we believe you will find that they are designed to explain the science and, when appropriate, the math being applied without requiring a high degree of prerequisite learning. See the section on Educational Standards in the main menu beneath Resources for Teachers for more details.
The module tells the story of four main characters at different locations in the Pacific basin who are each impacted by a major tsunami that originates in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. Over the course of the story, students not only learn about the unfolding events and how each of the characters respond, but also take 14 short lessons on the science, safety, and history of tsunamis.
The scenario-based learning approach provides an engaging environment for students to learn important lessons that not only make them more responsible and empathetic citizens in times of disaster, but more knowledgeable about important Earth science topics, as well as some geography and history. We expect that many of them will share their new knowledge about these very dangerous natural disasters with their families and friends, thereby increasing tsunami awareness within expanded communities.
Natural disasters are important to learn about not just because we need to be ready for them. They also provide a practical context for learning about science and technology. In learning how tsunamis are generated and propagate, how scientists monitor them and predict their paths, and how communities prepare for and respond to their occurrence, students observe very important real-world applications of what they learn in school. They see that science is important to all people, not just science teachers. Of course, stories of natural disasters also provide a dramatic context for learning—a setting that can provide inherent motivation to stay engaged. While the module is NOT a game, we hope the Tsunami Strike! Pacific Edition scenario will offer at least some of the same aesthetic engagement kids find today in movies and computer games, and that they will be eager to see how the story turns out for each of the characters.
Keep a look out for Tsunami Strike! Caribbean Edition, to be released late in 2011. This edition will use a different, more constructivist approach to its learning scenario.
The rest of this Guide will provide more details about the scenario, list the learning objectives for the module, and give a few ideas about how to use the module in school settings. Don’t forget to visit the additional Resources for Teachers available from the right-hand main menu for other valuable information.
The Tsunami Strike! Pacific Edition module is centered on the story of a fictitious, but scientifically realistic, earthquake and tsunami that originates in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. In fact, this fictitious event was also used as the basis of the PACIFEX Exercise offered in 2010 as a test run for NOAA Tsunami Warning Center Staff, National Weather Service Forecast Offices, and U.S. state and local emergency managers, to help them become better prepared for a potential real event.
Scenario Description
In the scenario prologue, we are introduced to the four main characters:
As the story unfolds, each character experiences and must respond to the events. Tilda is our surrogate, in a way, because in her research on tsunamis, she uncovers a Web-based module called Tsunami Strike! and begins taking its lessons to help prepare her report. All dialogue and monologues from the scenario are available from the Scenario Scripts link (see the right-hand menu).
The story unfolds in a Prologue and five time steps. In each of these segments, students visit multiple locations to follow the story and the characters. In the final time step, we also briefly visit the distant locations of the Marquesas Islands; Valparaiso, Chile; and Palmer Station, Antarctica to see the far reaches of the event. The lessons are sequenced through the time segments to provide students with learning opportunities as they follow the scenario. The lessons can also be accessed via the Lessons Menu (see the right-hand menu), which provides lessons descriptions as well as direct links to both the multimedia and print version of each lesson.
The module Site Map (pdf) provides a quick glance at the chronology of the story, as well as where in the timeline the fourteen lessons occur.
To comply with 508c guidelines, and for additional convenience, text versions of the module content are available from the Lessons Menu and the Scenario Scripts menu on the right.
A Download Version of the module is also available from the home page. You can load this version locally on any computer in case bandwidth makes using the module online inconvenient.
Module Length
The entire module may take 3.5 to 4 hours to complete, so it will be best used over
the course of multiple visits. The breakout of the time required for each time step
is provided below:
Estimated times for completing the website segments and lessons in each time step:
The instructional goals for Tsunami Strike! Pacific Edition are:
Learning Objectives
Use the links below to access the teacher's versions of the lesson worksheets (.pdf files):
The Tsunami Strike! Pacific Edition module was designed for instructional flexibility. Because the entire module will take at least 3.5 hours, you’ll probably want to use it as a unit to be completed over multiple days or weeks. You can also skip the scenario and just use the lessons that fit your curriculum. These can be accessed easily from the Lessons Menu (see right-hand menu). You could also simply use the scenario to generate discussion. This approach might be particularly useful if the lesson content is too advanced for your students. Worksheets are designed to be used while students are viewing the material. Depending on the age group, the questions may be too challenging to function as tests of comprehension, but you could adapt them for that purpose.
The module can be used in any of the following modes, and you will probably find many other uses as well. Let us know how you end up using the module by completing a User Survey. We will add good ideas from the community to this list periodically.