Here is a simple lesson with a great hands-on illustration of the unpredictable nature of earthquakes. The manipulative demonstrates the stress, tension and release of faults and plate boundaries, and shows students in one step why earthquakes are impossible to predict and why we never know when they will strike, or how large they will be!
In the lesson, the blocks are covered in sand paper, and the top block is pulled with a rubber band. The tension mounts as the rubber band takes the strain, until finally, the force is strong enough to move the block.
It can be exciting knowing that the block will eventually move, but even with that in mind, it’s still surprising when it finally does move!
This slow-mo video shows how it works!
Follow the Link for the lesson plan:
Aware and Prepared 