The following concepts are associated with the California State Science Standards and with the lessons shown. There are also National Science Education Content Standards represented in this teaching box.

Concepts: (Click to enlarge)	California Content Standards:	Earthquake lesson:
Earthquakes cluster in certain places	Grade 6: 1a	Lesson 1 - Plotting earthquakes from real-time data
Most earthquakes occur along plate boundaries	Grade 6: 1e
Generally the relative motion of individual earthquakes reflects the relative motion of plates	Grade 6: 1c - 1d	Lesson 2 - Fault types and plate boundaries
- Strike slip faults usually occur at transform boundaries - Reverse faults usually occur at convergent boundaries - Normal faulting usually occurs at divergent boundaries	Grade 6: 1d
The deepest earthquakes occur at subduction zones	Grade 6: 1c	Lesson 3 - How deep is the earthquake?
The locations, depths, and types of earthquakes provide evidence for plate tectonics	Grade 6: 1a	Lesson 4 - Earthquakes as evidence: Tying it all together

---

California State Science Education Standards

6th Grade Earth Science
Focus on Earth Science - Plate Tectonics and Earth’s Structure
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/scgrade6.asp

Standard 1. Plate tectonics accounts for important features of Earth’s surface and major geologic events.
As a basis for understanding this concept:

6.1a. Students know evidence of plate tectonics is derived from the location of earthquakes and midocean ridges.

6.1c. Students know lithospheric plates the size of continents and oceans move at rates of centimeters per year in response to movements in the mantle.

6.1d. Students know that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults.

6.1e. Students know major geologic events, such as earthquakes, result from plate motions.

6.1f. Students know how to explain major features of California geology, such as faults, in terms of plate tectonics.

Investigation and Experimentation

Standard 7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

6.7a. Develop a hypothesis.

6.7b. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.

6.7c. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop qualitative statements about the relationships between variables.

6.7e. Recognize whether evidence is consistent with a proposed explanation.

6.7g. Interpret events by sequence and time from natural phenomena (e.g., the relative ages of rocks and intrusions).