American Museum of Natural History
Fossils
Sixteen slides showcase an average day on the job for a paleontologist, Ross MacPhee. Engaging images include world maps and real-world photographs from an archeological dig in Antarctica. A brief description accompanies each slide.
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Footprint Detectives: Making Inferences Using Dinosaur Trackways
Pupils 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...
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Hide and Seek with Bones: A Mapping and Scaling Comparison
Students examine and simulate how paleontologists map objects. They hide and find objects using a grid to map the objects' placements.
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The History of Life
In this history of life worksheet, learners complete a crossword puzzle by figuring out the vocabulary words associated with the 11 clues given. Then students review how paleontologists use fossils to learn more about past living things...
Project SMART
Dinosaur Trek
Second graders investigate dinosaurs. They explore various websites, submit questions to a paleontologist online, construct cut and paste model dinosaur skeletons, develop a graph to compare dinosaurs, and label pictures from online...
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Back to the Past
Students label fossil imprints. In this Geology activity, students view fossil imprints of several items. Students explain what a fossil is.
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Fossils
Fourth graders act as paleontologists and attempt to figure out the environment where various fossils would have existed. They explain how fossils can be used to make inferences about past life, climate, geology, and environments.
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Fossils: Clues to Ancient Life
You can make your students amateur paleontologists with great fossil lesson plans.
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Dinosaur Traces
Learners identify and interpret the type of evidence found at a typical dinosaur dig and mimic a paleontologist by taking crayon rubbings of simulated bone impressions. After the rubbings are taken, the students reconstruct the complete...
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It's All in the Rocks
Young scholars think critically to determine fact or inference when examining sedimentary layers with embedded fossils. They are being introduced to geology as well as evolutionary biology.
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Weighing a Dinosaur
Learners role play as paleontologists who make inferences about the weight of dinosaurs. They use models and the density of water to make these inferences.
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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....
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Life Has A History
For this biology worksheet, students identify and match various classes of species found today. Then they explain why biodiversity exists today on earth and define evolution. Students also describe who a paleontologist is and what they do.
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From Human Skeletons to Owl Pellets to Paleontology
Students explore about the function of the skeleton and comprehend the names of the bones of the human skeleton. They compare bones of the human skeleton to a dinosaur skeleton and graph to compare these bones. Students sort bones to...
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Fossils
Pupils 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.
American Museum of Natural History
Fighting Dinos
A famous fossil of fighting dinosaurs holds as many questions as answers. Scholars first analyze the fossil itself by virtually highlighting the specific bones of the dinosaurs and read about their function and importance. They then test...
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Fabulous Fossils
Students investigate how fossils are formed. They read the book, "Digging Up Dinosaurs," examine fossil samples, create a fossil imprint using play-doh, and complete a Fossil Questionnaire activity sheet.
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Science: Making Trace Fossils
Students explore types of fossils and discover how sediment affects fossil preservation. They focus their study on trace fossils and create their own using sediment, water, and a small organism such as a snail or lizard. Students use...
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PALEO COOKIE DIG
Students examine a variety of soil samples and then conduct a simulated "dig" in a grid of no-bake cookie bars.
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T-Rex
Learners examine the differences between a scavenger and a predator. For this predator lesson students research an animal and study its physical traits.
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Dino Babies
Young scholars 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.
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Correlation And Strata: Findasaurus
Students use fossils to correlate and locate the correct strata, and determine where in those strata dinosaurs might be found. They see it is now possible to see how dinosaur fossils can be traced from one place to another.
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What We Know About Dinosaurs?
Third graders determine what can and cannot be learned from fossils. In this fossils lesson, 3rd graders discuss what can and cannot be learned from fossils, then students create and observe their fossils.
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The Great Continental Drift Mystery
Students stud the concept of Pangaea by using Wegener's clues to construct a map of the continents joined together. They determine how fossil distribution can be used to enhance the study of continental drift. They locate the...