Assembling a Geologic History

More of a mini-unit than a lesson, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...

Ancient texts, like Homer's Odyssey, mentions navigating ships by observing constellations. Pupils learn about the link between history and astronomy as they relate to navigation in the Bronze Age. Scholars complete two hands-on...

Students review an interpretation of geologic history and relate it to the formation of oil deposits. They explore and explain factors controlling the porosity and permeability of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Pupils also interpret...

Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...

Did you know there are 20 volcanoes erupting at any given time? Pupils look at various igneous rocks, read local geologic maps, and determine if their area has a history of volcanic activity. A reading passage and analysis questions...

Don't get sedimental when you learn the history of geology. The video focuses on James Hutton who, in the 1700s, came up with a theory based on rock layers. Without using any modern dating tools, he was able to theorize the earth was...

Holocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene, Eocene, Paleocene ... wait, did I miss one? PBS Digital Studios explains how human impact on Earth has potentially brought about a new epoch in geologic history, the Anthropocene....

Here is a fine lesson plan on geology designed for high schoolers. Learners use rocks, fossils, and other geological clues to determine the geology of an area. Then, they make recommendations to a fictitious city council about the...

Sedimentary rocks are the building blocks of this geology instructional activity. In it, learners discover what sedimentary rocks are and how they form. They understand the differences between the major sedimentary rock varieties and...

Students construct a geologic timeline the size of a football field. They work in small groups to calculate the yardage for significant events in the Earth's history and then as a class pace out all of the events.