Resources: Unit 14: Surviving The Japanese Tsunami - 2011

I Survived The Japanese Tsunami, 2011 by Lauren Tashis

Earthquake Games by Matthys Levey and Mario Salvadori – A unique and fun book with games and experiments to help the students understand earthquakes and volcanoes.  Suggested for grades 5^th-8^th.

Meltdown The Nuclear Disaster in Japan and Our Energy Future by Fred Bortz – I really like this book.  It is really informative with excellent explanations, diagrams and more.  Suggested for 4^th and older – but I would recommend it for 5^th-9^th grade.

Tsunami Monster Waves by Mary Dodson Wade – This is a well written book that is easy to read.  The book includes several stunning photos, maps and information on several specific tsunamis.  Suggested for 4^th-6^th grade.

Surviving the 2011 Japanese Earthquakes and Tsunami by Kira Freed – An excellent book.  Survivor accounts tell tales of bravery and courage in a nearly impossible time.  Suggested for 4^th grade and older.

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster by Rona Arato – This book is excellent! So simple to read, white space, colorful, larger print.  Topics include various nuclear disasters and natural disasters that led to them; nuclear cleanup, survivors, recovery, environmental impact, preparedness and more.  Suggested for 3^rd-6^th grades.

 Study Earthquakes by Suzy Gazlay –This is a fun book with great information.  The pages are designed to resemble a computer screen.  There are sections or “windows” with challenge questions, facts, diagrams and more.  Appropriate for ages 2^nd-6^th grade.

Disaster Science The Science of an Earthquake by Lois Sepahban – This book is very easy to read with graphs, pictures, white space and easy to understand scientific explanations.  Suggested for 4^th-8^th grade.

Perspectives on Modern World History – Japan’s 2011 Natural Disasters and Nuclear Meltdown by Myra Immell – This is a good book to use as a text to teach from or for a high school student to use as a reference book.  Includes first hand accounts, photos, and more. 

The Worst Tsunamis of All Time by Terri Dougherty -  Another great book from the Epic Disasters series.  Easy reading, colorful, informative.  Suggested for 3^rd-6^th grade.

Twisted True Tales From Science by Stephanie Bearce – This book is filled with unbelievable true stories about science and disasters.  Suggested for 3^rd-6^th grades.

 F-16 Fighting Falcons by Jack David – This is a good book for early readers.  Plenty of pictures and white space – larger print – informative and engaging.  Suggested for 2^nd-4^th grade

Can You Survive an Earthquake? An Interactive Survival Adventure by Rachael Hanel – A fun and engaging book to familiarize students with earthquakes and what can happen in natural disasters.  Appropriate for 3-4^th grade or older struggling readers. 

How to Survive an Earthquake by Heather Montgomery – This is another easy to read book.  This book contains information on how to survive several scenarios – not just earthquakes.  It also includes instructions on how to make a survival kit.  Suggested for grades 3rd-7th.

Fighter Planes Fearless Fliers by Karen and Glen Bledsoe – I reallylike this book, and imagine that any student that likes planes will also enjoy it.  Colorful with facts, photos and more.  Suggested for 4^th-6^th grades.

The Hazardous Earth by Timothy Kusky – This book would be a good book to teach from.  It is not one that I would suggest for independent reading.  It contains information on areas at risk, convergent margins, divergent plate boundaries, earthquake disasters, earthquake hazards, earthquake magnitude, earthquake prediction, preparation and response, structure of the Earth, transform margin process and understanding ancient earthquakes.  This book does mention 250 millions of years ago on page 9.  Suggested for 5^th-9^th grade.

Emergency! Earthquake by Jen Green – This is a colorful book that is easy to read with a lot of information and facts.  It has information about several different earthquakes that have happened around the world. Suggested for grades – 2^nd-5^th grade.

 Supersonic Fighters by Bill Sweetman - I reallylike this book, and imagine that any student that likes planes will also enjoy it.  Colorful with facts, photos, diagrams and more.  Suggested for 3^rd-6^th grades.

How Can We Reduce Nuclear Pollution? By Samantha S. Bell – This is another good book specifically addressing nuclear pollution.  Easy to read with white space, larger print, diagrams and photos.  Suggested for 3^rd-5^th grade.

How to Survive a Tsunami by Marne Ventura - This is an easy to read book with survival information, in addition to an emergency kit checklist.  Suggested for grades 2^nd-4^th.

Earthquakes by Mari Schuh – This is a great book for K-2^nd grade.  It is very simple reading with few words – yet good information.  The pictures are excellent.  

Epic Disasters The Worst Earthquakes of All Time by Mary Englar – Each page has a short story about an earthquake from a different part of the world, with facts and photos.  Suggested for 3^rd-6^th grade.

Radioactive Elements by Tom Jackson – I found this book to be very interesting and informative.  This book what radioactivity is, how it is found in our environment and what it can be used for.  Complete with periodic table.  Suggested for 5^th-8^th grade.

Earthquake Alert by Shilpa Mehta-Jones – I like this book a lot.  The topics are broad and include the following – plate boundaries, faults, seismic waves, staying safe, earthquakes and nature and more.  This book does mention millions of years on pages 8 and 9.  Suggested for grades 3-6.

Nuclear Meltdown Disaster by Nova and PBS - Rated PG - Run time 60 minutes.

Craft Resources

 4D Puzzle -

4D Cityscape Puzzle of Tokyo - Learn the architectural history of Tokyo from the 1920’s to 2012 with the Time Poster included.  Puzzle features plastic 3D replicas of the most famous monuments and buildings.  Hundreds of educational facts included. Suggested for children 8 years old and older.

Create a Model of the Earth’s Layers: There are several options for this on the web.  Probably the easiest is a Styrofoam ball.  Cut either in half or cut out ¼.  Paint can be used for the layers and the outside.  The layers can be labeled with small flags made from toothpicks and paper.  Another way to do this would be with clay.  A flat version can be made on poster board with colored paper and/or makers.  An elaborate, but really fun way to do this – is with cake or jello.  You may also purchase an Earth cross section model here.

Origami for Kids