By viewing and reading these slides, your precious paleontologists learn what makes a fossil and what scientists can learn by studying them. Consider giving the website to pupils as homework. They can read the slides, take an assessment...

Here is an unusual question: How can I become a famous fossil for future generations to examine and adore? It is from this comical perspective that viewers learn how fossilization occurs. Show this for your middle school paleontologists...

Casey Gardener takes your class to meet Leonardo, one of the most intact dinosaur mummies ever found. A prominent paleontologist takes you on a tour of the dinosaur's body, showing how fossils and mummies can tell the story of life as it...

Explorer Evan hosts this episode of "Our World" as he describes what a paleontologist does and how NASA helps these scientists work using remote sensing. Perfect for your first through third graders, this five-minute video shows the many...

Travel with a team of paleontologists as they dig into the Gobi Desert to uncover new species of dinosaurs. They find several dinosaur graves containing a new find, Guanlong, or crested dragon, a never before seen species trapped in a...

An intriguing question awaits you and your imaginative learners. What would life be like if dinosaurs had survived and were still alive today? A passionate paleontologist gets kids thinking about what paleontologists do and what would...

Students examine the process of fossil removal and the naming of dinosaurs. They participate in a "fossil dig" involving cookies, create new dinosaur names, and create a picture of a dinosaur they name.

Begin with an informational text, "Reptiles and Amphibians through the Ages," and then research online about the evolutionary development of a modern frog. Look at drawings of ancestor's skeletons and list the organisms on the geologic...

Learners explore the geological time line. In this inquiry based lesson, students create a time capsule that represents a geological time period. The class will examine the time capsules to determine what time period each represents.

Young scholars simulate a paleontological dig and construct a dinosaur.

Students examine pictures of fossils, and make their own fossils using clay, plaster of paris, and molding objects.

An exceptionally creative approach is taken to assessing your biologists' grasp of natural selection concepts. They are to imagine hosting Charles Darwin for dinner and having, to their surpise, a few other noted scientists crash the...

After reading a passage about geological time and fossil evidence, Earth historians write answers to six questions about what they learned. They are also directed to design a board game that would teach players about the geological time...

Students investigate the practice of digging for fossils. They participate in a mock dig of fossils using real bones and other artifacts. Then students dig through sand in order to go through the simulation. Students make observations...

DinoWorks is a paleontolgy kit that you can order from skullduggery.com. This resource has directions that come with it. Primary paleontolgists examine bone replicas of the Velociraptor, Tyrannosaurus, and Triceratops that you prepare...

This is a truly amazing project. Perfect to use during your next dinosaur unit. Second and fifth graders work together to draw and make a relief sculpture of a nine foot-long stegosaurus. They discuss what paleontologists do and then...

If you are staging an archaeology or paleontology simulation, here is a checklist that you can post for your diggers. It lists reminders for how to prepare for the dig, as well as reminders for wrapping up. 

Youngsters examine four fossil replicas and chart their time periods, vertebrate or invertebrate, and the names of other organisms living at the same time. A specific fossil kit is available for sale if you do not have the same samples....

Learners 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.

Students will comprehend the use of simple grids and the basic principles and skills used on a paleontological dig, such as the Illampi Mound Colony. They incorporate a systematic investigation. Students analyze a variety of different...

Explore 1870s when a "bone rush" led to amazing discoveries, as fossil-hunters risked life and limb in their quest for dinosaur remains. The class uses the attached visual encyclopedia to prep for a discussion on early paleontology. Two...

Here is an excellent cross-curricular lesson plan. Learners relate multiplication to area by making a grid on graph paper, and then creating the same grid in real space outside in the school yard.

Take your class on an investigation of fossils. Middle schoolers will discover the formation of fossils by using clay to simulate fossils. They will research the stages of fossil development and then draw pictures of their fossil casts...

Students classify microfossils according to their physical characteristics. In this earth science lesson, students research about what phylum their fossil belong to. They prepare slides and write descriptions about them.