Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Learning Lab: Fossils: Footprints Across Time
Smithsonian Education presents "Fossils: Footprints Across Time." Teachers can download this teaching package that introduces students to the study of fossils. Students will discover what fossils can teach us about the Earth as it was...
New York Times
New York Times: Science
[Free Registration/Login Required] The New York Times maintains daily coverage of the latest in environmental news, including geology, global warming, wildlife and earthquakes.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Chaco Canyon: Observation: How Old Is It?
How is time read on the stone of the Chaco Canyon? Find out systems geologists have for dating rocks and fossils.
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: What Can We Tell From the Fossil Record?
Find out what the fossil record tells scientists about the geologic and biological history of the Earth.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Sorting Out Sedimentation
Sedimentary rock forms in layers that are deposited one after the other over long periods of time. Oftentimes, sedimentary rock contains fossils and other debris that are deposited within the layers. Use this experiment to investigate...
Other
Fossil Museum: Paleobiology
This table is an overview of the appearance and extinction of major groups of organisms through geologic time.
Curated OER
The Virtual Fossil Museum: Fossils Across Geological Time and Evolution
Picture of the fossil Leanchoilia superlata from the Phylum Arthropoda recovered from Burgess Shale.
PBS
Nova: A Brief History of Earth
This timeline is a good resource if you are looking for brief descriptions of the geologic periods. Descriptions include pictures of common organisms for each period and the range of time covered by each period.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Learning Lab: Prehistoric Climate Change and Why It Matters Today
A slideshow will introduce the process of climate change that the earth has experienced since the beginning of time. Discover "leaf margin analysis" which scientists use while studying fossils to determine the temperatures they were...
Climate Literacy
Clean: A Fossil Thermometer
In this activity, students calculate temperatures during a time in the geologic record when rapid warming occurred using a well known method called 'leaf-margin analysis.' Students determine the percentage of the species that have leaves...
BBC
Bbc Nature: Prehistoric Life: Jurassic Period
Overview of the Earth in the Jurassic Period told by photos, news, videos, and external links with emphasis on what grew then, what lived then, the causes of mass extinction, types of fossils, and what life was like in general.
BBC
Bbc Nature: Prehistoric Life: Triassic Period
Overview of the Earth in the Triassic Period as told by photos, news, and external links with an emphasis on what grew then, what lived then, the causes of mass extinction, types of fossils, and what life was like in general.
Other
Bio Web Evolution: Homepage
This site from BioWeb Evolution was originally created as a ThinkQuest entry, and it has some good basic information about evolution. This page is on fossils and geologic time.
EL Education
El Education: Get a Clue
This nonfiction children's book was created by 1st grade students at the Genesee Valley Community Charter School in Rochester, New York, as part of a learning expedition on fossils and local geological history. The expedition consisted...
Other
Prehistoric Planet: Rock Layers: Timeline of Life on Earth
Offers an easy to understand explanation of the earth's layers and the fossils we find in each layer. It explains how these are interpreted by scientists to represent the evolution of animal and plant life through the geological eras.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Geo Logic: The Big Five Mass Extinctions
Using GEOLogic puzzles, students are asked to match the five largest mass extinction events with their relative dates, approximate duration, and severity based on clues given from various perspectives.
Curated OER
Agi: Evolution and the Fossil Record
The American Geological Institute has done a great job defining and explaining evolution in this online booklet. Darwin, fossils, natural selection, and change over time are some of the concepts that are covered. Make sure to see the...
Curated OER
Agi: Evolution and the Fossil Record
The American Geological Institute has done a great job defining and explaining evolution in this online booklet. Darwin, fossils, natural selection, and change over time are some of the concepts that are covered. Make sure to see the...