In this pack you will find informa on and ac vi es to help your class
improve their communica on and language skills through the musings
of the enigma c Charles Lyell.
James Hu on, the ‘Father of modern Geology’ had
some phenomenal ideas but their ini al impact was
slight…..largely because of his poor wri ng skills.
His three volume publica on explaining his theories
totalled over 2,000 pages making it a rather
in mida ng read. Furthermore, his conclusions
were muddled in long sentences
with overly‐complicated language.
As a result, Hu on’s work
remained, for the dura on of his
life, somewhat inaccessible.
Courtesy of NPG, London
“
Thinking Point rles Lyell
It was not un l Cha
eas in his
included Hu on’s id
Geology ’
book ‘Principles of
ce was
that their significan
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recognised. His bo
mplicated
sense of Hu on’s co
e can now
language so that w
as the
appreciate Hu on
Geology’.
‘Father of modern
Time, w
hich me
a
is often
deficien sures everythin
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and as
schemes
nothing
idea, an
,
; it cann
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had exis
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ems inf as the natural
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ourse of
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,
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oceed in
continu
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James H
utton (1
788
)
”
www.dynamicearth.co.uk
These ac vi es have been designed to help your class understand the significance of
the work of Charles Lyell as the ‘Great Communicator’. They also aim to help pupils
develop their own communica on skills by using different ways to express thoughts
and ideas effec vely.
Using the examples at the end of the pack, get
the class to work in pairs to iden fy the nursery
rhyme tles that have been made overly
complicated. Once this has been done
why not get pupils to come up with their
own complicated sentences based on a
topic and get their partner to decode them?
Topic ideas might include:
•
hobbies and interests
•
everyday life
•
story tles
Presenter Skills Using the science facts at the back, focus
on how to make them sound exci ng
using ‘voice dynamics’ and body language.
Put the class in small groups and get them
to work on one fact each. Read one in a
flat, boring voice as an example of what
not to do. Aspects to think about include
varying tone, drama c pauses, volume
changes and hand gestures.
Scien fic Pic onary Get the class to try and draw a well‐
known scien fic theory. The
illustra on should make the theory
easy to understand without the use of
words. This ac vity allows pupils to
get crea ve and consider different
ways of communica ng ideas.
Theories might include: evolu on, the
big bang, or ‘deep me’.
Get your class to have a go at the
‘code cracker’ worksheet at the
back of this pack. As an extension,
encourage pupils to make their
own code for others
to crack. Rather than
numbers they may
choose to use
symbols or clues.
www.dynamicearth.co.uk
Lyell’s geological conclusions were influenced by those of Hu on. Building on
Hu on’s idea of ‘deep me,’ Lyell conclusively demonstrated that the Earth was
indeed much older than was believed at the me. He argued that it was slow‐
moving processes that worked to shape the Earth – an argument that could not
have stood without Hu on's new, extensive me‐scale! Furthermore, Lyell was
able to date the age of rocks by looking at the fossils hidden within.
Get the class to design a me line
that illustrates the significance of Hu on’s ‘deep‐ me’ theory.
Start at the Earth’s forma on 4.6 billion years ago and work up to
the present day, marking any significant events such as first life and when
humans first appeared.
Now do a second me line that illustrates the me scale followed before
Hu on’s theory. As people believed that the Earth was only a few thousand
years old and that things such as mountains and rivers were formed in
sudden catastrophic events, this me‐line will be much shorter and all
marked events will be much closer together. A comparison of these me
lines will show how significant Hu on’s theories are and will help
illustrate the enormity of me and the rela vely small role
that humans have played.
“Consider the
Earth’s history
as the
old measure o
f the English Ya
rd,
the distance fr
om the King ’s n
ose
to the p of his
outstretched h
and.
One stroke of a
nail file on his
middle finger e
rases human
history.” John M
cPhee 1981 Why not take your class outside to make a
physical representa on of this me line?
Use a tape measure in the playground to
start your me line, then ask pupils to
stand at various points to represent key
events. This should really help show how
massive the Earth’s me scale is!
www.dynamicearth.co.uk
Lyell used some of Hu on’s theories to take his work further. This is one
example of how ideas formed during the Sco sh Enlightenment have
shaped our modern understanding of the world around us.
Use our ‘Characters of The
Enlightenment’ card templates
and examples to profile the most
famous people from this era of
Scotland’s history. This can easily
be extended to include other
famous scien sts such as Charles
Lyell.
Thinking Point ok accompanied
o
b
s
ll’
e
Ly
f
o
y
p
co
A
his voyage upon
Charles Darwin on
y is this
the Beagle. But wh
significant?!
Encourage your class to do a
bit of research on the work of
Lyell and his theories. Ask the
pupils to present their
findings. They may choose to
do a poster, a presenta on or
a PowerPoint. The idea is to
consider different ways of
conveying informa on
effec vely.
ays in which
w
e
th
r
e
d
si
n
o
c
t:
Hin
eep‐ me may
d
f
o
ry
o
e
th
’s
n
o
Hu
win's theory of
ar
D
d
ce
n
e
u
fl
in
ve
a
h
evolu on.
www.dynamicearth.co.uk
..for the Timeline
h p://bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/ me/
meline/home.html?src=topNav
h p://serc.carleton.edu/quantskills/
ac vi es/TPGeoTime.html
This pack has been made possible through funding
from the Heritage Lottery.
Scotland’s Time Lord Workshop: Learn how ‘Time
Lords’ James Hutton and Arthur Holmes realised our
planet was ancient. Create a geological formation out
of play-dough, discover radioactivity and marvel at the
enormity of geological time.
The Tour: Through funding from Heritage Lottery, we
celebrate one of the most influential Scottish thinkers
of all time. James Hutton, the father of modern
geology is brought to life in a £1million redevelopment
to the beginning to the tour. Experience cutting edge
technology and state of the art interactive displays
before being transported hundreds of millions of years
back through ‘deep time’ to the very beginning of our
planet in our brand new ‘Time Machine’
Continuing your journey, you will fly across glaciers,
feel the Earth move beneath your feet and experience
the chill of polar ice. – All this before embarking on a
4DVENTURE across the globe and crash landing in a
tropical rainforest.
Throughout the year you will also witness spectacular
360 degree films in our ShowDome, the only one of it’s
kind in Scotland. It’s the Mother Earth of all
adventures.
...For the Enlightenment
h p://www.educa onscotland.gov.uk/
sco shenlightenment/index.asp
...For Charles Lyell and Geology
h p://www.uamont.edu/facultyweb/
edson/
a_short_history_of_historical_ge.htm
h ps://www.angus.gov.uk/history/
features/people/lyell.htm
Outdoor Learning: Discover the amazing and violent
geological history of Scotland as told in the rocks of
Arthur’s Seat with engaging tours led by our
experienced education team.
This resource was developed in line with Social studies > People, place
and environment;
Literacy and English > Listening and talking and Sciences > Topical
Science.
A male and his female counterpart embarked on a
journey on which they ascended a gradient.
A lady with a biblical name had a fleeced creature who
had not yet developed into adulthood.
A number, greater than two but less than five, of
visually‐impaired rodents.
There was once a mature person who inhabited a
piece of a re one would normally wear on one’s feet
If Charles Darwin hadn’t read Charles Lyell’s book
and realised that the Earth was really old, he might
not have come up with the theory of evolu on.
Planet Earth is around 4.6 billion years old. If you
imagine scaling that down to 46 years humans only
evolved 6‐7 days ago.
Many meteorites have not changed since the
forma on of the Solar System. The oldest ones
found are 4.6 billion years old.
The oldest rocks in Scotland were formed 2.8 billion
years ago. That means they have been around for
over half the age of the Earth.
If you drove at 60 mph through the planet, it would
take you about 5 minutes to drive through the thin‐
nest parts of the crust. It would take you 63 hours
to reach the centre.
During the Sco sh Enlightenment, Edinburgh was a
‘hot‐bed of genius’ Many people believe that the
ideas and advancements made then are s ll shaping
the world today.
1
C
3
4
5
6
7
V
9
10
11
12
S
E
15
16
17
L
P
20
H
22
23
24
O
W
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
D
35
36
37
K
39
N
41
B
43
44
45
46
U
48
49
50
T
X
53
54
55
F
57
58
59
60
61
62
Q
64
65
66
67
68
J
70
71
72
73
U
75
76
G
78
79
80
A
82
83
84
I
M
87
88
R
90
Y
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
Z
Lyell would have found it difficult trying to untangle what Hu on was saying with all his
complicated language. Can you, like Lyell, try and decode the sentences below?
1) 21, 47, 51, 51, 25, 40 _ 85, 13 _ 51, 21, 14 _ 56, 81, 51, 21, 14, 89 _ 25, 56 _ 86, 25, 34, 14, 89, 40 _
77, 14, 25, 18, 25, 77, 91.
Answer: 2)
18, 91, 14, 18, 18 _ 21, 14, 18, 19, 14, 34 _ 74, 13 _ 51, 25 _ 74, 40, 34, 14, 89, 13, 51, 81, 40,
_ 34, 14, 14, 19 _ 51, 85, 86, 14.
34
Answer: Now put your own sentence about Charles Lyell into code using the table above and get a friend to
try and work it out.
My Sentence: 1726-1797
‘Father of Modern Geology’.
Proposed that we are living on an
ancient planet. Argued that granite
and basalt were once molten and
that there is a ‘heat-engine’ in our
planet which forms new rock.
James Hutton
1723-1790
Chemist who discovered Carbon
dioxide: he called it ‘fixed air’.
Demonstrated that hydrogen-filled
balloons will rise up and taught
Thermodynamics—the links
between heat and energy.
Joseph Black
Image from Education Scotland
1714-1794
Poet and Songstress who
encouraged a young Walter Scott.
She hosted parties for all the
scientists and artists in Edinburgh
and was a very strong,
independent woman..
Alison Rutherford
Image from Education Scotland