| Lesson Title (Description) |
Grade Level |
Lesson Type |
Big Beans, Little Beans
Students measure and note the variation in the lengths of lima beans. Students then compare the growth rate of different sized beans. |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
Climate Analysis Using Planktonic Foraminifera
Students manipulate, plot, and interpret data on the occurence of a particular species of foraminifera in the fossil record in order to infer changes in climate during the last 160,000 years. |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
Dino-Data
Students are presented with a set of data about dinosaurs and are asked to make hypotheses about what the data can tell us. |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
Great Fossil Find
Students are taken on an imaginary fossil hunt and hypothesize as to the identity of the creature they discover. Students revise their hypotheses as new evidence is "found." |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
Inferring Ancient Environments from Fossil Foraminifera
Students analyze actual data from samples of microfossils collected from a particular locality. They use this data to infer water depths in the Miocene in order to locate potential petroleum reserves. |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
Interpreting the Tracks
Students discover the relationships among foot length, leg length, stride length and speed in bipedal animals that provide clues about dinosaur speed. |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
Nature of science
Understanding how science works allows one to easily distinguish science from non-science. Thus, to understand biological evolution, or any other science, it is essential to begin with the nature of science. |
6-8 |
Tutorial |
Xenosmilus
Students play the roles of paleontologists on a dig. They “unearth” a few fossils at a time and attempt to reconstruct the animal the fossils represent. |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
