Your Process
Buying a house in a potentially dangerous location means that you have to be prepared. Below is what you will need to do:
Family Roles:
- First, you will be assigned to a family. You and each of your “siblings” will be given a specific role to perform – Geologist, Historian, Safety Officer, and Real Estate Planner. See the descriptions below.
- Once your roles have been selected, each “sibling” has to locate the information for educating your parents about buying a home in southern California. Use the resources provided under the Student Resource tab above to gather information. Research might overlap so be prepared to put information together into a big picture.
- Using the information you found, you will produce an educational resource (PowerPoint presentation) to present your findings to your parents and the class.
- After each of you has located the appropriate information and educated your parents, you and your “siblings” will persuade your parents using data you found to buy a house located in a specific city in southern California.
Family Roles:
- Geologist: It is your responsibility to educate your parents about the San Andreas Fault, where it runs, why it is there, and how it relates to theory of plate tectonics. Be sure to include the type of fault that it is, the names of the plates on either side of the fault, and the directions these plates are both moving. You should also describe the characteristics of the fault.
- Historian: It is your responsibility to find information about past earthquakes that occurred in southern California and the damages they caused. You will need to include in your findings a description of how earthquakes are measured and recorded. Patterns and trends in earthquake activity in certain areas should be described and considered when selecting a location for your family’s new house.
- Safety Officer: It is your responsibility to describe what actions need to be taken during and after an earthquake occurs. You should include information about what you should do if you are indoors or outdoors, where you should go in both cases, what to do if you are alone, how to get help, and how to recover from the event.
- Real Estate Planner: It is your responsibility to determine the specific threats earthquakes pose to certain cities and come up with ways in which you could reduce the impacts of earthquakes on your new home and family. You should also include information on how to prepare for an earthquake and what are the warning signs that one might occur.