Jan Adkins is a curious guy. Sometimes his curiosity leads him to places that will surprise his readers. The biggest continental US earthquake was centered in Missouri? Who knew? Adkins did, and he takes us along for the ride. With every new piece of writing, readers will get to see a piece of extraordinary thinking as he makes his connections. And seeing that thinking in writing might just get your students thinking right beside him. Give Adkins a try - you will not be disappointed! |
Social Studies
Explore US History
STEM
Explore energy
Research Skills
Explore primary sources
Explore US History
- Students spend a lot of their US history learning in the colonial period. Or the Civil War. Or the Civil Rights era. Less well know is that period of early growth and the ensuing War of 1812. Author Adkins gives us the opportunity to send students exploring the historical happenings when this earthquake rocked the Midwest. What else was going on? What did this "Louisiana Territory" really look like? What Native Americans were living here, and was there tension as the newly established western European-turned-Americans started heading west? Consider trying out some jigsawing in your classroom to have students share the pieces of history from this era.
- Adkins tells us that this earthquake changed the path of the great Mississippi River. Have students explore the effects of this geological event on the geography of the area. Take a look at the creation of Tennessee's only natural lake - a lake that didn't exist prior to these earthquakes. How this this event change the path of development?
STEM
Explore energy
- Use this article as an introduction to the power of the earth. Explore the science behind an earthquake. How do they occur? Why are fault lines important? What kind of damage do earthquakes cause? How can we minimize that damage? How can engineering help us think about this?
- Introduce properties of matter. Water in its liquid and gas states both produce energy. How are they the same in this instance? Different?
- Investigate the power of steam. Compare the energy created by the earth during an earthquake to the steam energy harnessed by Robert Fulton in the steamboat named the New Orleans that was chugging down the Mississippi. Have students explore the benefits of using steam as power. Are there any downsides?
- Take a closer look at the engineer Robert Fulton. Add him to a wall of engineering thinkers that advanced the human race. Have students think about his contributions. What conditions existed that led to his discoveries? Can you find contemporary problems that parallel the conditions that existed for Robert Fulton's engineering marvels to flourish?
Research Skills
Explore primary sources
- Take this opportunity to have students explore newspaper archives for references to these events. See if they can dig up references to journals or diaries from this area and time period to get some firsthand accounts of what this may have been like. Teach them how to find primary sources in subscription databases and on the free web. How has the growth of technology and mass media changed our perceptions of history? Using the evidence they find (or don't find) about these past events, have them explore what an event of this magnitude might look like today.
© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission