About the Kamome Curriculum

The Kamome Activities are grouped by age levels: K – 2, 3 – 5, Middle School, and High School.  Some activities can be completed in a single class session and others can be spread out over much of a semester or school year.  A few, like the Kamome Coloring Book, will require little advanced preparation and others will need several hours to prepare.  All are connected to the story of Kamome, and all the activities should begin with reading or listening to the book. 

Each activity begins with an overview including grade level, objectives and an estimate of the time required.   The time will change depending on how much or how little you choose to explore each section.  Clicking on the link will bring up a list of Activity Documents.  The first document in the list is a PDF with the Activity Instructions.  Some Activities will have additional materials listed in the Activity Document menu such as work sheets, additional background material or audio and video files.   This additional material will be referenced by bold italic font in the Activity Instructions.  It is not a live link, you will need to return to the Activity Document menu to open.

The Activity Instruction PDF also includes references to which California Educational standards are met in Common Core, the STEM fields, Social Sciences, and/or Visual and Performing Arts.  A complete listing of State articulation requirements, their relationship to Kamome and explanation of acronyms and abbreviations are included under the Resource Menu, Additional Resources for Teachers link. 

An underlying philosophy behind all of these activities is that they provide a non-frightening way to learn about earthquakes, tsunamis and natural disasters.  It is important for teachers to thoroughly read through the activity material and to make sure to recognize any personal anxieties they may arouse and not to convey them to students. 

These Activities do not provide a comprehensive earth science curriculum, but are intended to augment or provide alternative ways of teaching some areas of mandated curricula.  Many activities include references to related curriculum programs.  We are particularly indebted to the Cascadia Earthscope Earthquake Tsunami Education Project (CEETEP) and the California Earthquake Education Project (CALEEP) for several activities.  We respect the expertise and creativity of classroom professionals and encourage you to adapt, edit, and modify these activities into lessons you are already using.  

Please provide feedback on how well these activities worked for you.  There is an easy-to-use online survey form on the bottom of each activity page.  Please fill it out and let us know what you liked and what you didn't and point out any errors you may have found or sections that were confusing.  This is a living curriculum and we are continuing to develop new activities.  If there is a topic you would like to see addressed, please tell us.

The Kamome Curriculum was developed by scientists and educators from the Humboldt Education Center at Cal Poly Humboldt and activities have been reviewed by experts in the fields of education, geology and tsunami sciences.   The information about earthquake and tsunami hazards is based on the best currently available science but may change as new research is completed.   Activities may be modified or updated when appropriate.   We thank the California Seismic Safety Commission for providing the support to develop the Kamome Curriculum and this website.  Additional support was provided by the California Office of Emergency Services.

The Kamome Curriculum Team