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Paleontology

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		BUILDING A TOPOGRAPHIC MODEL ^Votes:0 BUILDING A TOPOGRAPHIC MODEL ELLEN P. METZGER INTRODUCTION THE ACTIVITIES that follow are from The Best of BAESI, a collection of 19 hand-on lessons modeled by teacher-participants in the Bay Area Earth Science Institute. BAESI was founded in 1990 at San Jose University. A non-profit organization supported by the National Science Foundation, San Jose State University, and a consortium of government, corporate, and academic partners, BAESI is built on the following observations: Earth science is a wonderful tool for attracting more students to science. Kids of all ages are intrigued by dinosaurs, gemstones, tornadoes, and meteors. Earth science provides an outstanding opportunity to integrate geology, meteorology, oceanography, chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics in a Read More Go to Site


		Cookie Dig ^Votes:0 PALEO COOKIE DIG SHARON K. HEINDEL INTRODUCTION Grade Level: 1-3 Time: Approximately one hour. Purpose: Students are introduced to the concept of a dig site and the use of simple grids. Skills: The science and mathematics process skills used include: observation, classification, simple grids and bar graphs. At the Mammoth Site we use the bone bed and our Junior Paleontologist dig as a visual for the students. For teachers too far away to visit the Mammoth Site, a mock dig could be set up in any size box using chicken bones or plastic bones for fossils, plastic spoons and small paint brushes for tools. Overview: Students examine a variety of soil samples and then conduct a simulated "dig" in a grid of no-bake cookie bars. MATERIALS A variety of soil samples, such as potting soil, san Read More Go to Site

		DETERMINING AGE OF ROCKS AND FOSSILS ^Votes:0 DETERMINING AGE OF ROCKS AND FOSSILS FRANK K. MCKINNEY THE AGE of fossils intrigues almost everyone. Students not only want to know how old a fossil is, but they want to know how that age was determined. Some very straightforward principles are used to determine the age of fossils. Students should be able to understand the principles and have that as a background so that age determinations by paleontologists and geologists don't seem like black magic. There are two types of age determinations. Geologists in the late 18th and early 19th century studied rock layers and the fossils in them to determine relative age. William Smith was one of the most important scientists from this time who helped to develop knowledge of the succession of different fossils by studying their distribution through Read More Go to Site

		DINO-FACTS - A UNIT ON DINOSAUR BEHAVIOR ^Votes:0 DINO-FACTS A UNIT ON DINOSAUR BEHAVIOR JUDITH SCOTCHMOOR INTRODUCTION THIS PARTICULAR set of dino-facts is based upon work done by Jack Horner and other associates of The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. The data has been used in order to theorize about the behavior of dinosaurs in that area. Students should have some working knowledge about the three dinosaurs mentioned before beginning this activity. It is sufficient for them to know that several different dinosaurs lived at the same time (roughly 80 million years ago) in this vicinity. Three of these dinosaurs were Orodromeus (mountain runner) which was a swift plant eater; Troödon (wounding teeth) which was a small but fierce predator (carnivore); and Maiasaura (good mother lizard), a larger herbivore. There is go Read More Go to Site

		Flying Pteranodon Science Lesson Plan, Thematic Unit, Activity, Worksheet, or Biology or Chemistry Teaching Idea ^Votes:0 Join Newsletter Search This Site! Flying Pteranodon About \| Lesson Plans \| Forums \| Contribute \| Hotchalk's Classroom Tools \| Advertising Lesson Plans Math Language Arts Science Social Studies Art Computers & Internet Music P.E. & Health Other Multi-Disciplinary HotChalk Tools Inspired Teachers Science Projects Math Worksheets Teacher Discussions Lesson Plan Guide Search This Site Join Our Newsletter Contribute !!! Take Our Survey! Tell A Friend! Special Features Efficient Reading Fun Science Ideas Food & Fitness Master's in Education Science Competition Previous Articles Enroll with HotChalk Free Professional Development Tools for Schools What We Offer Take a Tour! About HotChalk HotChalk Sites EdScope, L.L.C. EduBanners.com Learn PC Hardware Vote For Us @ SitesForTeachers @ Teach-nology Read More Go to Site

		FOSSILIZATION AND ADAPTATION ^Votes:0 FOSSILIZATION AND ADAPTATION: ACTIVITIES IN PALEONTOLOGY BRENT H. BREITHAUPT INTRODUCTION AS THE concepts of time, past life, and fossils are often difficult for children to comprehend and as many of the National Parks and Monuments have important paleontological resources, Fossil Butte National Monument developed a fossil education curriculum guide designed to aid teachers presenting these principles to students in the second and third grades. The following activities are modified from that guide (Leite, M. B. and Breithaupt, B. H., 1994, Teaching Paleontology in the National Parks and Monuments: A curriculum guide for teachers of the second and third grade levels: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument, Kemmerer, WY 103 p.). For more information on this curriculum guide di Read More Go to Site

		ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY AND EVOLUTION ^Votes:0 ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY AND EVOLUTION: SOLVING A PHYLOGENETIC PUZZLE USING MOLECULAR GENETICS R.P. FILSON PREFACE ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY and Evolution is an activity about the evolution of three species of lizards on the Canary Islands. It is designed for high school biology students. Its purpose is to demonstrate to students that evolutionary problems are complex, and solutions may involve data from various disciplines of science. First, students must arrive at different phylogenetic solutions using only geographical and geological data. Then, students compare the morphology of the species involved, arriving at a more traditional solution to phylogeny. Finally, students deduce a phylogeny based on genetic distance using DNA sequences from cutting edge biotechnology. The strength of the activity Read More Go to Site

		MICROFOSSILS ^Votes:0 MICROFOSSILS JERE H. LIPPS INTRODUCTION MICROFOSSILS ARE the tiny remains of bacteria , protists , fungi , animals , and plants . Microfossils are a heterogeneous bunch of fossil remains studied as a single discipline because rock samples must be processed in certain ways to remove them and microscopes must be used to study them. Thus, microfossils, unlike other kinds of fossils, are not grouped according to their relationships to one another, but only because of their generally small size and methods of study. For example, fossils of bacteria , foraminifera , diatoms , very small invertebrate shells or skeletons, pollen, and tiny bones and teeth of large vertebrates, among others, can be called microfossils. But it is an unnatural grouping. Nevertheless, this utilitarian subdivision of pa Read More Go to Site

		ROUND ROCKS ^Votes:0 "ROUND ROCKS": TEACHING THE PRINCIPLES OF EARTH SCIENCE AND PALEONTOLOGY WARREN D. ALLMON AND DAVID H. GRIFFING INTRODUCTION SUPPOSE YOU are given one hour to tell someone about paleontology. The audience is naive but interested. They want to know something about paleontology but have not previously received, and may ever again receive, formal instruction in the subject. What will you choose to talk about? Will you choose to talk about local fossils, local geological history, how to collect fossils, or the age of the Earth? Will you bring with you an assortment of fossils and tell your audience what each one is? In other words, will you present a taste of the innumerable particulars in which paleontology is so rich? There are compelling reasons why you might do so. It is the particulars of Read More Go to Site

		SEQUENCING TIME ^Votes:0 SEQUENCING TIME JUDITH SCOTCHMOOR TELLING THE history of the earth requires placing events in sequence so that reference can be given to the relative and/or numerical time at which each event occurred. This helps to make sense out of the enormous expanse of time that has elapsed since the origin of the earth. This activity will help students to understand the methods used by geologists in creating the Geologic Time Scale . Objectives: 1) Students will place events in sequence and assign relative times to each event. 2) Students will gain an understanding of relative and numerical time. 3) Students will become familiar with the methods used by scientists to develop the Geologic Time Scale. Explore this link for additional information on the topics covered in this lesson: Geologic Time MATER Read More Go to Site

		TENNIS SHOE DETECTIVES ^Votes:0 TENNIS SHOE DETECTIVES SHARON K. HEINDEL INTRODUCTION Grade Level: 2-4 Time: Approximately one and a half hours, or 45 minutes on two consecutive days. Purpose: This exercise encourages students to make observations, examine data, and form hypotheses. These are concrete skills that easily transfer to other science activities. Overview: Sets of class footprints are made using flour, ground chalk, or light soil and black or colored construction paper. Groups of students write a mystery story involving some of the tracks, and then draw a picture of the tracks and trails to illustrate their story. MATERIALS Flour, ground chalk, or light powdery soil is placed in a dishpan. Black or colored construction paper for shoe prints. Spray adhesive or extra control hair spray to seal the powdery tracks Read More Go to Site

		WHAT CAME FIRST? ^Votes:0 WHAT CAME FIRST? JUDITH SCOTCHMOOR THIS ACTIVITY is an effective follow-up to Sequencing Time . After sequencing events in their own lives and assigning each a numerical time, students use the same process to sequence actual events in the evolution of life on Earth. Objectives: (1) Students will gain an understanding of deep time 4.6 billion years of Earth's history . (2) Students will become familiar with events in the Earth's history and how they relate to one another. Explore these links for additional information on the topics covered in this lesson: Nature of Science Geologic Time History of Life MATERIALS A timeline made of adding machine tape or strips of vinyl glued together. You will need a length of 25.5 yards. (A product called Goop is an excellent adhesive for the vinyl Read More Go to Site

		WHO'S ON FIRST? A RELATIVE DATING ACTIVITY ^Votes:0 WHO'S ON FIRST? A RELATIVE DATING ACTIVITY MARSHA BARBER and DIANA SCHEIDLE BARTOS INTRODUCTION PALEONTOLOGY, AND in particular the study of dinosaurs, is an exciting topic to people of all ages. Although most attention in today's world focuses on dinosaurs and why they became extinct, the world of paleontology includes many other interesting organisms which tell us about Earth's past history. The study of fossils and the exploration of what they tell scientists about past climates and environments on Earth can be an interesting study for students of all ages. Teaching about Earth's history is a challenge for all teachers. Time factors of millions and billions of years is difficult even for adults to comprehend. However, "relative" dating or time can be an easy concept for students to lear Read More Go to Site

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