Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evolution and the Fossil Record

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Engage young biologists with four laboratory activities that explore the fossil record. Learners examine fossil images, a fossil kit, the rock record, and geologic time scale. They even experiment with the oxygen production of an Elodea...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossils and Lithologic Units

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Practicing paleontologists map the geologic time scale, simulate the formation of sedimentary rock, and analyze fossil data. Instructions for four activities and five assessment choices are provided for the teacher. This comprehensive...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hunting Invertebrate Fossils in the Classroom

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Students acquire a general knowledge of fossils and paleontology, the study of evidence of life in the past and identify the major invertebrate groups (phyla) commonly found in the fossil record.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examining the Fossil Record

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners create an evolutionary tree based on fossil morphology and their ages. In this fossil record lesson plan, students are given 23 pictures of fossil. They study their morphology and arrange the fossils by age and structures on a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Hunt

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students ask questions about the nature of science as they experience a 'Fossil Hunt'. They reconstruct a book that has been literally destroyed, just as the fossil record has been changed by billions of years of geological processes.
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Living Dinosaurs: Fact or Fiction?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Are birds descendants of dinosaurs? Learners consider the question as they watch an informative video comparing fossil records of dinosaurs with current species. Following the video, groups ponder the evidence to draw conclusions about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science: Making Trace Fossils

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore types of fossils and discover how sediment affects fossil preservation. They focus their study on trace fossils and create their own using sediment, water, and a small organism such as a snail or lizard. Students use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Excavating Your Recycling Bin as a Fossil Record

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how scientists examine the past and use rock layers with fossils to understand the past.  In this excavation lesson students divide into groups and complete an activity. 
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Weighing the Evidence for a Mass Extinction Part 2: On Land

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What can fossils tell us about periods of extinction? Young scholars interpret fossil layers to make conclusions about changes in life during different geological time periods. They analyze the fossils for abundance and diversity as well...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Determining the Age of Fossils

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the concept of radioactive dating. In this radioactive dating lesson, students investigate how to determine the ages of fossils and rocks as they learn about half-life radioactive decay.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

What Do You Know About PaleontOLogy?

For Students 6th - 12th
Believe it or not, some dinosaurs are not extinct. Discover this and other interesting facts about dinosaurs in a 10-question online quiz. As individuals answer questions, the resource provides them with feedback and additional facts...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dino Babies

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars distinguish between dinosaurs and fossils. They escribe what paleontologists do and how they reconstruct the lives of dinosaurs from the fossil record. In addition, they state that dinosaurs hatched from eggs.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Climate Change & Coral Activities

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students study how the ocean stabilizes our planet's climates and how global warming is becoming a threat to this fine balance.  In this climate change lesson, students identify that fossil fuel emissions are responsible for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Studying Fossils

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students study the Evolution in the Light of Fossils. Activities in this lesson range from quantitative measurements of hominoid skulls to the comparison of hominoid bone structures. They hypothesize dinosaur size and speed by looking at...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Evidence

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students evaluate each other's fossil imprints and they try to identify the original object. They comprehend the importance of accuracy in identifying a fossil imprint. Students create an answer sheet that has space for the names of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paleoecology of "Fossilized" Owl Pellets

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students examine fossilized owl pellets to determine how a species environmental preferences allow us to reconstruct probable past environments. Differences in anatomy are used to identify species in this lesson.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Anatomy Adventure

For Students 6th - 12th
Sometimes science is puzzling. Using an online animation, individuals manipulate skeletal bones of an ancient species to recreate its skeleton. Learners complete the skeletal puzzle and learn about the process of paleontology in person...
Activity
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 4th - 10th Standards
Help young scientists piece together the theory of plate tectonics with this comprehensive collection of materials. Whether your are looking for worksheets, hands-on activities, or assessments, this resource has everything...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classifying Rocks

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders classify rocks. In this rocks and minerals lesson, 3rd graders observe, make inferences and conclusions about rocks, minerals, soil and fossils.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Kit Lesson #7 - Positioning Solar Panels I: Explorations with Tracking

For Teachers 6th - 9th
In this first part of a two-part lesson, learners track and record the sun's azimuth using a solar panel. They graph and analyze the data to identify relationships among the time of day, the altitude and azimuth of the sun, and the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaur Traces

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students identify and interpret the type of evidence found at a typical dinosaur dig and mimic a paleontologist by taking crayon rubbings of simulated bone impressions. After the rubbings are taken, the students reconstruct the complete...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Soil, the Forgotten Resource

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students discuss soil understanding that is is often overlooked as a natural resource. In this science lesson plan, students recognize that we depend on it for energy in the form of foods. Students experiment with six boxes of soil to...
Activity
It's About Time

The Changing Geography of Your Community

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Lead your class in exploring their local communities as well as the general environment. As they determine continental distributions by investigating minerals, rocks, and fossils located in their local region, pupils construct...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Climate Change Inquiry Lab

For Teachers 6th - 8th
With global temperatures on the rise faster than ever recorded, the effects of a heating planet could be devastating. Allow learners to discover just what the world is in store for if the warming continues through a series of videos, a...

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