Activity

Paleoclimates

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

How do scientists know what the Earth was like in the past? This second installment of a six-part series focuses on paleoclimates and provides an overview of how geologists determine information about past climates using fossil pollen, tree rings, ice cores, deep-sea sediments, and glacial deposits and landforms.

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Instructional Ideas
  • Use this resource as an independent or group in-class activity
Classroom Considerations
  • Different color clay is required for one of the activities
  • Line graphs with vertical axes representing change in values rather than actual data values appear in the lesson, so be sure the activity is developmentally appropriate
Pros
  • Lesson includes an in-depth reading passage including pictures and graphs
  • Hand-on activity allows learners to visually see how core samples are used to predict climates
Cons
  • Materials list and answer key are not included in lesson
  • The "Inquiring Further" section has a reference to the EarthComm website, but it does not provide a link
  • Document permissions do not allow for printing