TCM 14613
Level 2.2
Word Count: 369
Reading Level Correlations:
Early Intervention Level 19
Guided Reading Level J
DRA Level 20
Lexile 490L
What would you do if the
ground beneath your feet
started to shake? Find out
what causes earthquakes
and, more importantly, nd
out how to stay safe if you
nd yourself in one!
Earthquakes!
Earthquakes!
Cy Armour
Teacher Created Materials
5301 Oceanus Drive
Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1030
http://www.tcmpub.com
ISBN 978-1-4333-3613-3
2012 Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
Consultant
Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D.
Kent State University
Publishing Credits
Dona Herweck Rice, Editor-in-Chief
Robin Erickson, Production Director
Lee Aucoin, Creative Director
Conni Medina, M.A.Ed., Editorial Director
Jamey Acosta, Editor
Stephanie Reid, Photo Editor
Rachelle Cracchiolo, M.S.Ed., Publisher
Image Credits
Cover & p.1 Victor Zastol`skiy/Dreamstime; p.3 Shutterstock; p.4 Eduardo Alexandre Piccoli Rocha/
Shutterstock; p.5 Alamy; p.6 Hepatus/IStockphoto; p.7 top: Luis Romero/ASSOCIATED PRESS; p.7 bottom:
Qi Heng/Xinhua/Photoshot/Newscom; p.8 Gary Hincks/Photo Researchers, Inc.; p.9 Lee Prince/Shutterstock;
p.9 mack2happy/Shutterstock; p.10 top: HD Connelly/Shutterstock; p.10 bottom: Rob Byron/Shutterstock;
p.11 top: Kevin Schafer/Photolibrary; p.11 mack2happy/Shutterstock; p.11 bottom: Getty Images/Dorling
Kindersley; p.12 Gary Hincks; p.13 mack2happy/Shutterstock; p.13 bottom: Tim Bradley; p.14 top: Claudia
Dewald/iStockphoto; p.14 bottom: Yekaixp/Dreamstime; p.15 mack2happy/Shutterstock; p.15 top: Marcelo
Vildsola Garrig/Dreamstime; p.15 bottom: Radekdrewek/Dreamstime; p.16 JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images;
p.17 mack2happy/Shutterstock; p.17 top: Reniw-Imagery/iStockphoto; p.17 bottom: A.S. Zain/Shutterstock;
p.18 Cartesia/LKPalmer; p.20 s76/ZUMA Press/Newscom; p.21 top: arindambanerjee/Shutterstock.com;
p.21 bottom: x99/ZUMA Press/Newscom; p.23 Dean Mitchell/Shutterstock; back cover Marcelo Vildsola
Garrig/Dreamstime
Based on writing from TIME For Kids.
TIME For Kids and the TIME For Kids logo are registered trademarks of TIME Inc.
Used under license.
Synched Read-Along Version by:
Triangle Interactive LLC
PO Box 573
Prior Lake, MN 55372
ISBN-13: 978-1-68444-777-0 (e-book)
Table of Contents
Earthquake! ................................... 4
How Earthquakes Happen ......... 8
What Happens Next? ................ 14
Where Do Earthquakes
Happen? ................................... 18
Glossary ....................................... 24
Earthquake!
Imagine you are sitting at
the table, eating your cereal.
Suddenly, the milk in the bowl
starts to shake. The table begins
to move. The ground beneath
your feet is shaking.
What is happening?
Its an earthquake !
What should you do? Take
cover! Get under the table.
Crouch next to a sturdy object.
Stay away from windows. Most
of all, stay calm. You will be all
right.
How Earthquakes Happen
Earths top layer (the crust ) is
made of plates . When two plates
slide past each other, pressure
builds along their sides.
When the pressure becomes
too much, it is released. Then an
earthquake happens.
fault line
This is land
that has been
cracked along
a fault line.
This is land
that has been
cracked along
a fault line.
Think of it like a rubber
band. Imagine you stretch the
band more and more. Finally, it
breaks. Snap!
That is how an earthquake
happens. The pressure builds,
and then snap!
The San Andreas Fault
California
The San Andreas Fault
California
This diagram shows
how plates move in different
directions. The pressure snaps
at the focus , the center of the
earthquake.
The epicenter is the point
on land above the focus of
an earthquake.
The epicenter is the point
on land above the focus of
an earthquake.
epicenter
focus
What Happens Next?
Once the pressure snaps,
things start to shake. The
shaking moves away from the
focus across the land.