How do scientists know when they've discovered something new? Travel back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the earth using an interesting video, which is part of Brain Scoop's Fossils and Geology playlist. The narrator examines the fossilized remains of the first brachiosaurus ever found, then discusses what archaeologists learned about ancient ecology through the study of the fossils.

Concepts

fossils, fossil records, archaeological digs, archaeology, bones, skeletons, dinosaurs, ecology, food sources

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Add the video to a unit about archaeology, dinosaur species, or ecology
• Find images of other dinosaurs and have the class examine their features, then determine what that dinosaur ate based upon its body structure
  

Classroom Considerations

• Provide a quick review of how an animal's traits enable it to be successful in its environment before watching the video
  

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Compares the discovery of the holotype brachiosaurus to the standard meter bar scientists developed, a useful strategy for illustrating the importance of having standards to measure new discoveries against
• The content is described in student-friendly terms
  

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.2 SL.7.2 SL.9-10.2