Science
SCI.V.1.4
Grade: 2
Strand:
Using Scientific Knowledge in Earth Science
- Geosphere
Standard:
All students will describe and explain how the earth’s features change over time.
Benchmark:
Explain how rocks and fossils are used to understand the history of the Earth.
Constructing and Reflecting:
SCI.I.1.1 - Generate reasonable questions about the world based on observation.
SCI.I.1.2 - Develop solutions to problems through reasoning, observation, and investigation.
SCI.I.1.6 - Construct charts and graphs and prepare summaries of observations.
SCI.II.1.1 - Develop an awareness of the need for evidence in making decisions scientifically.
Vocabulary
•
•
•
•
fossils
extinct plants and animals
ages of fossils
rock layers
Context
•
fossils found in gravel, mines, and quarries
•
beaches (Petoskey stones)
•
museum displays
•
Michigan examples of layered rocks
•
specific examples of extinct plants and animals
such as dinosaurs
Knowledge and Skills
Resources
Coloma Resources:
Benchmark Clarification:
The history of the Earth can be explained by examining
rocks and fossils. The bottom layer of rock is usually
the oldest.
Students will:
•
Explain how fossils are a record of the existence of
plants and animals
•
Interpret how the layers of rocks explain the age of
the Earth
Other Resources:
Mud Fossils – USGS Teaching packet – online –
EXCELLENT resource http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/teachers/mu
dfossils.htm
American Museum of Natural History – The “ology”
site – AWESOME – OUTSTANDING – lots of
activities, information, fun and learning – choose
paleontology, archeology or fossil hunting.
http://ology.amnh.org/?src=h_m
Michigan Teacher Network Resources
http://mtn.merit.edu/mcf/SCI.V.1.E.4.html
BCISD – Earth Science Resources – NICE http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/bcisd/classres/escience
.htm
Fossils, Rocks, and Time– how fossils are used in
establishing time sequence
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/
Dinosaurs Fact and Fiction:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dinosaurs/
Geological Time Machine: UC Berkeley - Museum
of Paleontology - also links resources and museum
exhibits.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html
Kittinger, Jo. Stories in Stone: The World of Animal
Fossils. Watts, 1999.
Manning, Mick. What’s Under The Bed? Watts,
1998.
Instruction
Focus Question: How do different layers of the Earth
represent the history of the Earth?
The teacher will pose the focus question to the class to
introduce the lesson.
Then students in small groups will fill a grocery bag
with daily collections of classroom scraps and shredded
colored paper. This collection will be created over a
period of time.
Each time period is designated by the use of different
colored shredded paper. (At least two different colors
should be used.) After the collection period, each group
will cut a wide strip down one side of the bag, showing
a window revealing all layers. Measuring the height of
the bag in centimeters, students will cut a strip of paper
equal to the height of the bag and will measure and
record the contents of each layer. Based on the students'
data, the group will determine the events that occurred
during the different time periods. The students will
identify that the bottom layer represents the oldest
layer.
Assessment
Students will construct a labeled graphic
representation of each shredded paper time period
that identifies and labels the time periods. The
graphic representation should visually demonstrate
different lengths of time.
(Give students rubric before activity.)
Scoring Rubric
Criteria: Accuracy of graphic representation
Beginning - Creates a graphic representation that
inaccurately represents the time periods. Developing Creates a graphic representation of the time periods that is
incomplete.
Achieving - Creates a graphic representation of the time
periods that is complete.
Exceeding - Creates a graphic representation of the time
periods that is complete and includes details. Criteria:
Accuracy of labels
Beginning - Labels only one layer accurately.
Developing - Labels some layers accurately. Achieving Labels most layers accurately.
Exceeding - Labels all layers accurately.
Criteria: Correctness of order
Beginning - Does not arrange layers in time order.
Developing - Arranges some layers in time order.
Achieving - Arranges most layers in time order.
Exceeding - Arranges layers in time order.
Teacher Notes:
Describe and explain how the earth's features change over time.
As students gain understanding, they start to explore the dynamics of the geosphere. They come to realize that the
earth's features are constantly changing, some of these changes are immediate and some take eons. Wind and water erode
away mountains and hills. Ice and heat break apart rocks. Rivers cut new valleys and dams form new lakes. Volcanoes
and earthquakes form new mountains and hills. Wind and water combine to build sand dunes and then turn around and
erode them away. The forces that work to change the surface of the earth in this continuing dynamic are tremendous and
sometime even catastrophic. A volcano can explosively form a mountain or island in a matter of hours, while rivers can
take decades to carve out valleys.
The evidence for these changes is abundant. By studying rock layers, and fossils, (i.e., mineralized replacements or
casts of ancient life forms), students learn the history of the geosphere. They discover that these fossils are found in many
places, and that rock layers can become inverted. Marine plants and animals are found on mountaintops and in limestone
deposits in the Great Lakes area. Creatures from rain forests have left fossilized remains in current deserts, and plains
animals are found in frozen in arctic ice. From road cuts they will see how the earth is folded to a point where layers of
rock are reversed. In the Great Lakes Basin they observe a history that goes from salt-water seas, to inland swamps, to
high plateaus, to the largest collection of fresh water on the planet.
Students will continue to gain understanding of the geosphere as they discover that similar processes form rocks and
minerals. They will learn of the tremendous amount of heat and pressure involved in their formation. They will also
observe how changes in temperature from melting to freezing and vise versa change big features into little ones. Rocks
are fractured through this process. Water in small cracks and crevices of rocks can freeze, expanding as it freezes and
breaking the rock into small pieces. Students will notice how microorganisms help turn rocks into soil, and how they turn
organic materials back into minerals, thus returning needed materials to the earth.
With the help of media presentations about volcanoes and earthquakes, students will observe the movement of the
Earth's crust. This will lead to an understanding of the dynamics of the earth's interior- its core, a dynamic that can build
mountains. From this knowledge of the fluidity, tremendous heat and pressure that are involved in the dynamics of the
earth's core, comes an understanding of what leads scientists to theorize the movement of plates in the earth, the study of
plate tectonics.