Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences

Personal Timelines- Teacher instructions and student handout. This is a great activity created by Judith Scotchmoor that helps students understand geologic timelines and the concept of relative dating by creating a timeline of events from their own lives. The original lesson plan can be found at http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/Personal Timelines (4th Grade)

Personal Timelines (8th Grade)

Millions and Billions- It's difficult to picture numbers as large as hundreds of millions or billions when referring to geologic deep time. This activity helps students to picture these large numbers by visualizing how many zeros are involved. Source: Jonathan Hendricks

Felt Rulers Timeline- The “Felt Ruler Geologic Timeline model” can be used as an Engager to introduce the topic of geologic time and illustrate the evolution of the major forms of life students in 4th grade would be familiar with (plants, mammals, dinosaurs, humans, etc). Note however that the ruler only portrays the last 2 Billion years of the Earth’s history. The activity can be followed by a role play using a 50m timeline where every meter is 100 Million years, and by the nail file analogy which is a great way to show the scope of human history within the Earth’s history. 

Timeline Teacher Cheat Sheet- This conversion chart will come in handy for teachers trying to recreate a geologic time scale in their classroom to scale. For example: students, can represent different life forms along a 50m or 50 feet timeline. This is a useful drawing too. 

Early Earth Activity- In this concept sorting activity, students first organize in chronological order a series of photos of early Earth environments. They then place the fossil specimens on top of the corresponding early Earth, based on when they think they would have evolved. The activity is meant to uncover preconceptions about fossils and geologic time. 

4th Grade Teacher Instructions & Images
Early Earth Environment Images for 4th Grade in Slide Form

8th Grade Teacher Instructions & Images
Early Earth Environment images for 8th grade in Slide Form

Fossil or Not Student Handout- To spark discussions about what constitutes a fossil and what doesn't, as well as provide students the opportunity to observe, draw, and record information about some fossil samples. 

Mystery Fossils- Teachers often inherit treasure troves of fossils from others who inhabited the classroom before them. Random fossils offer a great opportunity for students to practice their inquiry skills to figure out what they are, what modern organisms they were related to, what period they lived in, etc. If you have fossils that you can't identify, please send photos to askageologist@appstate.edu for ID. 

"Engager" slideshow as an introduction to types of fossils.

Mystery Fossils- a collection of slides with images of a variety of common fossils. Students match their mystery fossil to the images in the slides to find out the name of the specimen and some basic information about it. 

Fossil Classification Cards- With these fossil photo cards, students can think about how fossils are classified into groups based on their characteritstics. The original activity and complete lesson plan by Dr. Amie Patchen can be found at https://www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/teach/species-diversity-and-classification/  

Fossil Types Chart- A simple handout with some examples of common fossils.  A more advanced handout with examples of marine invertebrate fossils can be found here. 

Aurora Fossil Sediment Station Signs- Can be used as table signs or slides describing the Aurora phosphate mine sediment and showing some examples of things students might come across while sifting through the sediment.  The fossil record sheet and follow-up questions can be used for drawing fossils students find in the sediment, then reading a short passage about the Aurora phosphate mine sediment and answering questions about it. 

Devonian Fossil Set- This set includes 15 casts of real Devonian fossils that can be used by students to practice categorizing and identifying common marine fossils from the Devonian period. Please request a set for your classroom by contact Outreach Coordinator Marta Toran (toranml@appstate.edu).

Devonian Fossil Set Key

Fossilize-Me! Concept Sorting activity-  Introduces students to various, simplified methods of fossilization based on the type of fossil it results in (mold, cast, trace and body). It can be used as an engager or as a review activity or game. 

Fossilize-Me! Concept Sorting Activity for 8th Grade(Teacher Instructions)
Puzzle pieces for Printing (8th Grade)

Fossilize-Me! Concept Sorting Activity for 4th Grade (Teacher Instructions) -includes puzzle pieces for printing-

What's Your Type? Student Handout- Knowledge check to determine understanding of different types of fossilization methods.

Fossilization Stations- Includes teacher instructions for how to set up each station (fossils in sediment, fossils in ice, fossils in cast and mold, fossils in tar pits) and table tents (geared towards 4th grade). 

Molding and Casting Instructions and Table Signs- Demonstrate how to make a mold fossil and a cast using Air Dry Clay or Plastilina (a firmer clay) and PlayDoh (a softer clay). 

Exploring Crosscutting Relationships Activity- In this activity (designed by Tim Martin), students examine a pre-made foam board that has undergone different “processes” and determine the order of actions done to the board. This modeling activity shows how scientists use cross-cutting relationships in geology as clues to determine the ages of rock layers and geologic timelines.              

Slides for Crosscutting Relationships Activity

Crosscutting Relationships Student Handout

Biostratigraphy- In this activity,  PVC pipe and foamboard models of rock cores are used for students to practice analyzing rock layers and index fossils . 

Biostratigraphy Activity for 4th grade (includes explanation of activity and printable, simplified model)

Biostratigraphy Activity for 8th grade (includes teacher instructions for making models, background information and handout with questions.