Curated OER
Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Students recognize that they haven't seen a dinosaur because they no longer exist. In this dinosaur lesson plan, students view videos and understand what the dinosaur habitat was like. Students role play dinosaurs. Students explore...
Curated OER
Fossils and our Past (part 1 of 3)
Third graders investigate how some extinct organisms resemble organisms that are still alive today. They watch and discuss the Magic School Bus video about fossils, then create clay fossil imprints, matching the imprints to plaster of...
Curated OER
When Dinosaurs Ruled The World
Young scholars discover how a paleontologist digs up fossils and what tools they use. In this paleontology lesson, students discuss the importance of the job of a paleontologist, watch a video on the process of extracting fossils,...
Curated OER
Coffee Ground Dinosaur Fossil Prints
Students create fossils to understand how scientists learn about dinosaurs. In this dinosaur lesson, students mix ingredients to make dough and put in objects that can make impressions. Students let fossil dry overnight....
Curated OER
The Bare Bones Of Fossils
Studentsare able to understand the three ways foosils were created. They are able to make a reconstruction of a puzzle or draw a picture based on cluses and limited pieces of the puzzle or animal. Students are able to explain how fossils...
Curated OER
Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life
Students explain how the earth makes fossils and how dinosaur remains become fossils. In this Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life lesson, students solve paleo-puzzles which ask students to solve problems as if they were paleontologists....
Curated OER
Fossil Formation Fun
Students compare the three types of fossils: preserved organisms, mineral replacement fossils, and impression fossils. They create a model of amber,
sponge fossil, and make traces of fossil.
Curated OER
Fossil Formation
Students discuss fossils. In this science lesson, students simulate fossils within Earth's layers by using gummy fish and bread.
Curated OER
Dino Babies
Students 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.
Curated OER
Fossilworks
Young scholars research fossils and fossil formation. They explain how fossils are formed, identify fossil formations and use casting plaster to produce fossil replicas.
Curated OER
Making Tracks
Fifth graders examine the fossil footprints of two and four legged dinosaurs. Using this information, they try to determine how the dinosaurs lived their lives. They use their own walking pattern to compare it to the dinosaurs and...
Curated OER
Making Tracks
Middle schoolers participate in groups to show how two legged and four legged dinosaurs walked. Using fossilized footprints, they identify the two and four legged dinosaurs shown. They use the internet to determine what happen by a...
Curated OER
Footprint Detectives: Making Inferences Using Dinosaur Trackways
Learners analyze and discuss footprints and dinosaur tracks. They listen to books about paleontologists, create and analyze their own trackways using black paper and chalk, examine the data, and form hypotheses about footprints and...
Curated OER
What are the Different Kinds of Fossils?
Students examine different types of fossils. In this fossil activity, students investigate the attributes of mold fossils, trace fossils, cast fossils, and true form fossils. Students create their own fossil samples.
Curated OER
Making Sedimentary Rocks
Learners make models of sedimentary rock layers to explain how rocks form layers and represent ancient environments. Layers of sediment and fossils are added together to simulate the environment and connections to sedimentary rocks are...
Curated OER
Make a Cast of a Tyrannosaurus rex Fossil
Second graders examine the formation of fossils and list the different types. They make cast model of a dinosaur fossil. They write about conditions that are necessary for fossils to form and create a model of a buried fossil.
Curated OER
Fossils
Students discuss the work of a paleontologist and examine several fossils and books on paleontology. They use clay and Plaster of Paris to create a cast of an object and compare this activity to the formation of fossils in nature.
Curated OER
Science: Down Home Dinosaurs
students participate in hands-on activities to discover the different types of fossils. Using teacher-provided materials, they make models of cast and trace fossils. After writing essays describing how traces are formed, students plan a...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Weighing the Evidence for a Mass Extinction Part 2: On Land
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...
Curated OER
What Big Teeth You Have:
Students make their own tooth impressions of a sharp and a flat tooth and compare the differences. They make impression of fossil teeth from dinosaurs comparing the sharp and flat teeth and learning about their uses.
Curated OER
Cooking with the Sun!
Learners access prior knowledge of solar energy and understand that solar energy produces heat. In this solar cooker lesson, students complete grade appropriate experiments using the heat of the sun. Learners complete a worksheet on...
Curated OER
Carbon Cycle Game
In this carbon cycle lesson, middle schoolers review the carbon cycle and visit stations in the room where they experience every phase in the carbon cycle. Students journal about their journey through the cycle and brainstorm ways...
Curated OER
Dell House Dig
Students experience an archaeological dig exploring off the shore of Black Hawk Island and Wisconsin River. They study in the same place where the infamous Dell House once stood. Dell House and its historical significance is reviewed...