Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets Earthquakes

What "Seis" Shake? Earthquakes

---

What "Seis" Shake?
Print What "Seis" Shake? Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

Print What "Seis" Shake? Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print What "Seis" Shake? Reading Comprehension

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	8.9

Vocabulary

challenging words:

earthquake-prone, seises, seismo, seismogram, seismograph, seismologists, transverse, seismic, origin, displace, intensity, estimate, epicenter, mantle, seis, seismology

---

What "Seis" Shake? By Trista L. Pollard

---

¹     Keeping track of the earth as it rotates, revolves, shakes, erupts, and erodes is a tough job. So when there is rumbling and rolling below the earth's surface, you don't just call any earth scientist. You need the experts. This is when a voice must call out, "Is there a seismologist near the plates?"
 
²     First of all, seismology is the study of earthquakes and their causes. Seismologists are responsible for monitoring earthquakes and other seismic activity. In case you are curious, seismo is the Greek word for earthquakes. Now keep in mind, seismologists may not be near the actual plates when they monitor seismic activity. However, they have the tools to help them locate earthquakes and fault zones. They also have the data from these tools or instruments to build models of fault zones to predict where and when future quakes will occur.
 
³     These scientists use seismographs, which are instruments that record and measure seismic waves and vibrations. When these waves travel through the earth or along the earth's surface, the seismograph records a "zigzag" line called a seismogram. The lines on the seismogram show the changing intensity (power) of the vibrations as the ground surface is moving beneath the seismograph. Seismologists use the measurements to determine the time, the epicenter, the focus, and type of fault where the earthquake is occurring. Scientists can also estimate the amount of energy being released by the earthquake and the speed of the seismic waves. Let's roll away from the "seises" for a moment and get more acquainted with the waves.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Feedback on What "Seis" Shake?

Leave your feedback on What "Seis" Shake?   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Earthquakes

Earthquakes

---

Science

Science

Careers in Science         Caring for Earth         Clouds         Dinosaurs         Earth's Land         Earth         Earthquakes         Electricity         Energy         Erosion         Food Pyramid         Food Webs and Food Chain         Forces and Motion         Fossils         Health and Nutrition         How Things Work         Landforms         Life Science         Light         Magnets         Matter

Moon         Natural Disasters         Photosynthesis         Plant and Animal Cells         Plants         Rocks and Minerals         Science Process Skills         Scientific Notation         Seasons         Simple Machines         Soil         Solar System         Sound         Space and Stars         Sun         Tsunami         Volcanoes         Water Cycle         Water         Weather

Copyright © 2025 edHelper