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The following instructional plan is part of a GaDOE collection of Unit Frameworks, Performance Tasks, examples of Student Work, and Teacher Commentary. Many more
GaDOE approved instructional plans are available by using the Search Standards feature located on GeorgiaStandards.Org.
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for SCIENCE – GRADE 7
FOSSILS AND THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
Content:
S7L5. Students will examine the evolution of living organisms through inherited characteristics that promote survival of
organisms and the survival of successive generations of their offspring.
a. Explain that physical characteristics of organisms have changed over successive generations (e.g. Darwin’s finches and
peppered moths of Manchester).
c. Trace evidence that the fossil record found in sedimentary rock provides evidence for the long history of changing life forms.
Habits of Mind:
S7CS1. Students will explore the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in science and will exhibit these
traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.
a. Understand the importance of—and keep—honest, clear, and accurate records in science.
b. Understand that hypotheses can be valuable, even if they turn out not to be completely accurate.
S7CS3. Students will have the computation and estimation skills necessary for analyzing data and following scientific
explanations.
d. Draw conclusions based on analyzed data.
S7CS4. Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulation equipment and materials in
scientific activities.
a. Use appropriate technology to store and retrieve scientific information in topical, alphabetical, numerical, and keyword files,
and create simple files.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
SCIENCEy GRADE 7 y FOSSILS AND THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
JULY 2008 y Page 1 of 4
Copyright 2008 © All Rights Reserved One Stop Shop For Educators Georgia Performance Standards Framework for SCIENCE – GRADE 7
S7CS5. Students will use the ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and technological matters.
b. Understand that different models (such as physical replicas, pictures, and analogies) can be used to represent the same thing.
S7CS6. Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.
c. Organize scientific information using appropriate simple tables, charts, and graphs, and identify relationships they reveal.
S7CS7. Students will question scientific claims and arguments effectively.
a. Question claims based on vague attributions (such as “Leading doctors say…”) or on statements made by people outside the
area of their particular expertise.
b. Identify the flaws of reasoning that are based on poorly designed research. (i.e., facts intermingled with opinion, conclusions
based on insufficient evidence.)
c. Question the value of arguments based on small samples of data, biased samples, or samples for which there is no control.
d. Recognize that there may be more than one way to interpret a given set of findings.
Nature of Science:
S7CS8. Students will investigate the characteristics of scientific knowledge and how that knowledge is achieved.
c. As prevailing theories are challenged by new information, scientific knowledge may change.
S7CS9. Students will investigate the features of the process of scientific inquiry.
a. Investigations are conducted for different reasons, which include exploring new phenomena, confirming previous results,
testing how well a theory predicts, and comparing competing theories.
b. Scientific investigations usually involve collecting evidence, reasoning, devising hypotheses, and formulating explanations to
make sense of collected data.
d. Scientists often collaborate to design research. To prevent this bias, scientists conduct independent studies of the same
questions.
e. Accurate record keeping, data sharing, and replication of results are essential for maintaining an investigator’s credibility with
other scientists and society. Scientists use technology and mathematics to enhance the process of scientific inquiry.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
SCIENCEy GRADE 7 y FOSSILS AND THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
JULY 2008 y Page 2 of 4
Copyright 2008 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators Georgia Performance Standards Framework for SCIENCE – GRADE 7
Essential Question: What is the significance of the geologic time scale?
Enduring Understanding:
Physical characteristics of populations of organisms change over time due to changing conditions.
Fossils provide evidence for change.
Outcome /
Performance
Expectations:
General Teacher
Instructions:
Materials Needed:
Safety Precautions
Task with Student
Directions:
ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURES
The students will create and analyze fossil relationships on a geologic time scale.
Use the following essential question to guide instruction: What is the significance of the geologic time scale?
1.
2.
3.
4.
None
geologic time line,
fossil choices and references handout
butcher paper
glue
I. Teaching/Learning Task: Fossil Timeline
Purpose: To create a classroom illustration of geologic time
Materials: Library or computer lab, geologic time line, fossil choices and references handout, butcher paper,
glue
1. Reserve a computer lab or the library with printers for student use.
2. Make a banner of the geologic time scale and place it near the top of a classroom or hallway wall. The
longer the wall, the better.
3. Assign a student to each of the fossil or fossil group headings, or they can use the same fossil they used
for the activity, “Creating an Illustration of the Fossil Layers.”
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
SCIENCEy GRADE 7 y FOSSILS AND THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
JULY 2008 y Page 3 of 4
Copyright 2008 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators Georgia Performance Standards Framework for SCIENCE – GRADE 7
4. In the computer lab, each student is asked to thoroughly research the topic assigned.
5. Each student should prepare and print a single page with the following items:
a. A picture of the organism and/or its fossil
b. The significant facts about the organism that support its evolutionary significance
c. The estimated time period the organism evolved
6. When completed, students should print out their page and place it on the wall according to its place in
the geologic time scale.
7. Students should read the contents of the student pages once the time scale is finished.
II. Summarizing Activity: Brainstorming
Purpose: To brainstorm ideas about the significance of the geologic time scale
After completing the geologic time scale, the following discussion questions can be addressed.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
When did your fossil arise compared to the other fossils displayed?
How long did your fossil animal live compared to other fossils?
When did fish compared to amphibians arise?
When did reptiles compared to birds arise?
When did mammals arise compared to the other chordates?
Why has every species that ever lived not been fossilized?
How complete must the fossil evidence be to become convincing?
Will more gaps in the fossil record be filled in over time? Can all the gaps be filled?
Why is it said that scientists do not debate whether evolution occurred but rather debate the details on
how it occurred?
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
SCIENCEy GRADE 7 y FOSSILS AND THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
JULY 2008 y Page 4 of 4
Copyright 2008 © All Rights Reserved
Back
U
The Geologic Time Scale
Precambrian (4,500 to 543 mya)
Hadean (4500 to 3800 mya)
Archaean (3800 to 2500 mya)
Proterozoic (2500 to 543 mya)
Vendian (650 to 543 mya)
Phanerozoic (543 mya to today)
Paleozoic Era (543 to 248 mya)
Cambrian (543 to 490 mya)
Tommotian (530 to 527 mya)
Ordovician (490 to 443 mya)
Silurian (443 to 417 mya)
Devonian (417 to 354 mya)
Carboniferous (354 to 2290 mya)
Mississippian (354 to 323 mya)
Pennsylvanian (323 to 290 mya)
Permian (290 to 248 mya)
Mesozoic Era (248 to 65 mya)
Triassic (248 to 206 mya)
Jurassic (206 to 144 mya)
Cretaceous (144 to 65 mya)
Cenozoic Era (65 mya to today)
Tertiary (65 to 1.8 mya)
Paleocene (65 to 54.8 mya)
Eocene 54.8 to 33.7 mya)
Oligocene (33.7 to 23.8 mya)
Miocene (23.8 to 5.3 mya)
Pliocene (5.3 to 1.8 mya)
Quaternary (1.8 mya to today)
Pleistocene (1.8 mya to 10,000 years ago)
Holocene (10,000 years ago to today)
Adapted from the University of California, Museum of Paleontology,
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/geologictime.php
Back
Fossils to Research
1
2
3
4
5
Fossil or Fossil
Group
Stromatolites
(bacterial fossil
mounds)
Suggested Links
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/cyanofr.html
http://mafweb.rsmas.miami.edu/RIBS/TeachingModules%5CModule2_StromThroughTime.
pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stromatolite
Cambrian
Explosion/Burgess
Shale(early
invertebrates)
Homo
heidelbergensisf
(early human)
http://www.burgess-shale.bc.ca/
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Paleobiology/CambrianExplosion.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/change/deeptime/paleoz.html
Sinonyx (wolf-sized
mesonychid with
developing whale
like features)
Pakicetus (ancient
whale)
http://www.bluelion.org/sinonyxlargeprint.htm
http://balenoptera.mx.tripod.com/
http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/heid.htm
http://hometown.aol.co.uk/robertrob8/myhomepage/phones.html
http://www.geocities.com/palaeoanthropology/Hergaster.html
http://wiki.cotch.net/index.php/Pakicetus
http://www.neoucom.edu/DEPTS/ANAT/Pakicetid.html
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gingeric/PDGwhales/Whales.htm
6
Ambulocetus
(ancient whale)
http://www.abc.net.au/beasts/evidence/prog1/page7.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/4/l_034_05.html
7
Basilosaurus (early
whale)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/seamonsters/factfiles/basilosaurus.shtml
http://www.intersurf.com/~chalcedony/Basilosaurus1.html
http://www.abc.net.au/beasts/evidence/prog2/page2.htm
Page 1 of 7
8
Dorudon (early
whales)
http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/gingerich.html
http://www.talkorigins.org/features/whales/
9
Tiktaalik (fish with
tetrapod
characteristics)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12168265/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiktaalik
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5325720
http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/54079?&print=yes#54083
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40713F63B540C758CDDAD0894D
E404482
10 Archaeopteryx
(bird-like reptile)
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/archaeopteryx/info.html
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/birds/archaeopteryx.html
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/paleo/paleonews/Archaeopteryx.htm
http://www.daily-tangents.com/Aves/Archaeop/
11 Dromaeosauridae
(theropod with bird
characteristics)
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/saurischia/dromaeosauridae.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromaeosauridae
http://dino.lm.com/images/display.php?id=1364
12 Mononykus
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_n1_v15/ai_14891471
olecranus (bird like http://www.dino-nakasato.org/en/special97/Mono-e.html
dinosaur)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mononykus
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v112n04/p0958-p0963.pdf
13 Sinosauropteryx
prima (feathered
dinosaur)
http://www.sinofossa.org/sinosaur/sinosauropteryx.htm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinos/Sinosauropteryx.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinosauropteryx
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs/diorama/forest.php
Page 2 of 7
14 Australopithicus
afarensis (bipedal
ape)
http://www.wsu.edu/gened/learn-modules/top_longfor/timeline/afarensis/afarensis-a.html
http://www.anthro4n6.net/lucy/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/human/human_evolution/mother_of_man1.shtml
http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/australopithecusafarensis.htm
http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/afar.html
15 Synapsids
(mammal like
reptiles)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synapsid
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/synapsids/synapsida.html
http://www.tolweb.org/notes/?note_id=466
http://tolweb.org/Synapsida
16 Doliodus
problematicus,
Cladoselache
(ancient sharks)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1001_031001_sharkfossil.html
http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/evolution/ancient.htm
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/prehistoricsharks/gallery6.html
17 Ichthyostega,
Acanthostega
Early amphibians
(tetrapods)
http://www.devoniantimes.org/Order/re-elipistostege.html
http://sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=000DC8B8-EA15-137C-AA1583414B7F0000
http://www.tolweb.org/Ichthyostega
http://www.devoniantimes.org/Order/re-ichthyostega.html
http://www.devoniantimes.org/Order/re-acanthostega.html
http://www.tolweb.org/Acanthostega
http://www.devoniantimes.org/opportunity/tetrapodsAnswer.html
18 Haikouichthys
ercaicunensis
(Oldest fish fossils)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4498049.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/504776.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4498049.stm
http://www.odu.edu/sci/cqfe/world%20of%20fishes/oldest%20fish/oldest%20fish%20disc
overed.htm
Page 3 of 7
19 Shark teeth and
scales
http://econtent-01.its.yale.edu/paleo/pdf/Fossil_Shark_Teeth.pdf
http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/evolution/earliest.htm
http://www.sharkattacks.com/prehistoric.htm
20 Early reptiles
http://www.bio.miami.edu/tom/bil160/bil160goods/21_dinos.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4441940.stm
21 Hyracotherium
(ancient horse)
http://nature.ca/notebooks/English/dahorse.htm
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/fhc/hyraco1.htm
22 Glyptodont (ancient http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/trip/armored.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyptodon
armadillo)
23
Early Mammals
(Eomaia &
Jeholodens jenkinsi)
http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2002/apr/mammals/index.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0423_020425_firstmammal.html
http://www.sinofossa.org/mammal/eomaia.htm
http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=7
8
24 Mesohippus
(ancient horse)
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/fhc/mesoh1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesohippus
25 Therapsids
(mammal like
reptiles)
http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/400Therapsida/400.000.html
http://www.kheper.net/evolution/therapsida/Therapsida.htm
http://www3.telus.net/therapsid/therapsid-index.htm
26 Merychippus
(ancient horse)
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/fhc/merychippus.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merychippus
Page 4 of 7
27 Homo habilis
(ancient hominoid)
http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/hab.html
http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/homohabilis.htm
http://www.ecotao.com/holism/hu_habilis.htm
http://www.msu.edu/~heslipst/contents/ANP440/habilis.htm
http://www.msu.edu/~robin400/habilis.html
28 Early primates
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070123105055.htm
http://anthro.palomar.edu/earlyprimates/first_primates.htm
29 Trilobites (ancient
arthropods)
http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/fossils/trilobite.html
http://www.ucm.es/info/paleo/personal/diegogbc/ecdysis.pdf
30 Oldest land animal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3427499.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3427499.stm
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/Silurian2.htm
31 Oldest insect
fossils
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3478915.stm
http://www.ub.es/dpep/meganeura/52inrocks.htm
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/fossils/article-oldest-insect-fossil/the-oldestfossil-insect-in-the-world.html
32 Homo ergaster
http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/erec.html
http://www.msu.edu/~heslipst/contents/ANP440/ergaster.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/human/human_evolution/leaving_home1.shtml
Page 5 of 7
Suggested Print Resources
1. Dawkins, Richard. The Ancestor’s Tale; A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution, Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston, 2004.
2. Gould, Stephen Jay. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History, W.W. Norton & Company,
New York, 1989.
3. Martin, Robert A. Missing Links: Evolutionary Concepts and Transitions through Time, Jones & Bartlett, London,
2004.
4. Stringer, Chris and Andrews, Peter. The Complete World of Human Evolution, Thames & Hudson, New York,
2005.
5. Zimmer, Carl, Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea, Harper Collins, 2001.
General Web Sites
Geological Time
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_timescale
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Paleobiology/Preambrian_Paleobiology.htm
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Paleobiology/Paleozoic_paleobiology.htm
Fossils
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil
http://www.paleoportal.org/index.php?globalnav=fossil_gallery&sectionnav=main
http://hometown.aol.com/darwinpage/transitionals.htm#Transitionals
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-transitional/part1a.html
http://www.wits.ac.za/geosciences/bpi/fossilpictures.htm
Page 6 of 7
Whale Evolution
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gingeric/PDGwhales/Whales.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/4/l_034_05.html
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gingeric/PDFfiles/PDG413_whalesmhyst_opt.pdf
http://www.edwardtbabinski.us/whales/evolution_of_whales/
Bird Dinosaur Connection
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/avians.html
http://www.ucm.es/info/paleo/personal/patricio/DMKCR-2004.pdf
Hominoid Fossils
http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/a_tree.html
http://www.msu.edu/~robin400/habilis.html
Horse Fossils
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fhc/
http://chem.tufts.edu/science/evolution/HorseEvolution.htm
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0317_050317_horseevolution_2.html
Fish Fossils
http://www.devoniantimes.org/who/pages/acanthodians.html
BIG PICTURE CONCEPTS THAT SHOULD BECOME EVIDENT FROM THE FRAGMENTED PUZZLE
1. Fish evolved before amphibians which evolved before reptiles which evolved before birds (feathered reptiles)
and mammals.
2. After one vertebrate group first (i.e. fish) appears, it continues to this day with modifications.
3. Later derived groups such as mammals and birds are not found among Devonian and Silurian fish.
4. There are many transitions between all the vertebrate groups.
5. Inherently, there are gaps in the fossil record and inferences play an important role in developing the big
picture.
Page 7 of 7