Thirty years ago, on a Sunday morning in May of 1980, the clear, blue water of Spirit Lake near Mount St. Helens turned toxic. With the force of 19 atom bombs the size of those that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the adjacent area to the south exploded.
Washington State's fifth-highest peak blasted more than 1,300 feet from its north face. Mount St. Helens had erupted.
After seven weeks of some 10,000 lesser precursors, an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale precipitated a massive avalanche that rapidly released volcanic gasses, obliterating 150,000 acres of forest and killing every wild animal that wasn't underground.
The blast killed 57 people and destroyed 250 homes, 47 bridges, and miles of rail and road. Hurricane-force winds approached the speed of sound, searing the landscape at temperatures up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit. A mushroom cloud rose 15 miles into the atmosphere. Daylight turned dark. Within two weeks, the ash would circle the globe.
The nine-hour volcanic eruption unleashed the largest landslide in recorded history, choking the Toutle River Valley and burying Spirit Lake Lodge beneath 500 feet of mud, rock, and debris.
Less than three decades after the eruption, the lake that had been stripped of oxygen and choked with scorched timber now supports life. As destructive as the eruption had been, it now gives new life to the land it destroyed. Today, many people are supporting a movement to make this area a National Park because of its uniqueness.
BookCart Learning Activity
Volcanoes play an important role--both positive and negative--in understanding the geology of the Earth. ProQuest has created a BookCart learning activity: "Volcanoes--Nature's Wonders."
This is a complete activity that includes everything that the student will need to complete the assignment. Teachers can copy and edit the Cart if necessary to customize it for their students.
BookCart learning activities offer significant advantages to both students and teachers. BookCart inquiry-based learning saves time and frustration in searching and ensures excellent resources from which students can make selections. This is especially helpful to inexperienced researchers.
BookCarts save classroom/library time and reduce distractions to provide more time on task for learning instead of searching. BookCarts can be shared and used again and again after some minor editing. Each ProQuest model BookCart contains the best editor-selected resources for learning, student directions, and essential questions for critical thinking. Think of it as one place to go to get everything that a student needs to have a successful inquiry-based learning activity.
Learn more about how to copy, edit, and adapt these models to differentiate instruction for your students.
Click the BOOKCART ADMIN tab of the Teacher Edition.
Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab.
Type "Volcanoes--Nature's Wonders" in the SEARCH box
Click the COPY icon (middle one) in the ACTIONS column to the right of this title (Elementary version--2010).
Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.
Librarians or teachers can edit this BookCart to customize it for their students. To edit this BookCart:
Click the new BookCart TITLE with the prefix COPY OF.
Delete "Copy of" and then type your name in the AUTHOR boxes and your initials in the EMAIL box (required info).
Option: Edit any ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS for your students in the DESCRIPTION box.
Option: Edit the existing STUDENT DIRECTIONS in the Description box.
Scroll down and click SAVE.
Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.
Traditional Search Learning Activity
Students should select one specific aspect about volcanoes from the pathfinder listed below.
Assign students to write a report of at least 100 words (or a slide show presentation of at least five slides) that cites at least three resources and addresses the essential questions for critical thinking listed below (you can substitute others):
What causes a volcano to erupt?
What damage does a volcano eruption cause to the Earth and life?
What beneficial purpose do volcanoes serve on Earth?
How can scientists predict when a volcano might erupt?
Research Pathfinder
TOPICS Tab > Science > Earth Science > History of the Earth (Geology) > Physical Geology > Earth Materials & Structures > Volcanoes
