300 MILLION YEARS AGO IN ILLINOIS
Grade Level: 3 rd- 5 th Grade
LESSON DESCRIPTION
COMPELLING QUESTIONS
EDUCATOR
Students will visit Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life in order to observe, analyze, and interpret fossils found
in Mazon Creek, Illinois from the Carboniferous period. Students will use their observations of the fossils to make a
claim as to what they think the Chicago-area looked like 300 million years ago.
• How do The Field Museum scientists use collections to explain our past?
Page 1
• What did Illinois look like 300 million years ago? How do we know?
OBJECTIVES
Students will
• Compare and contrast specimens to accurately identify the Tully monster
• Make observations of the diverse plant and animal fossils found in Mazon Creek, Illinois
• Use observations of fossils as evidence to predict what the Mazon Creek area looked like 300 million years ago
KEY WORDS
FOSSIL – Preserved remains, or traces of organisms that lived in the past
SPECIMEN – an individual animal, plant, or piece of mineral used for scientific study
INVERTEBRATE – an animal that lacks a backbone (arthropod, mollusk, annelid, etc.)
VERTEBRATE – an animal that has a backbone (mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, etc.)
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
CONNECTIONS TO STANDARDS
Next Generation Science Standards
DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEA
• LS4.A: Fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that lived long ago and also about the nature
of their environments
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICE
• Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena and logical reasoning
CROSSCUTTING CONCEPT
• Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: Observable phenomena exist from very short to very long time periods
APPROXIMATE TIME
Three 30-minute class periods
PREPARATION NOTES
EDUCATOR
This is a three-part lesson (pre-field trip, during the field trip, and post-field trip). Plan out the timing of the lesson to
best fit your teaching schedule and your students’ learning styles, being mindful of how this may fit into an existing
unit of study.
MATERIALS
• Butcher Paper
• Student Resource B and D (per group)
• Writing Utensils
• Student Resource C (per student)
• Assorted Art Materials
Page 2
• Student Resource A (per class)
• Clipboards (optional)
VIDEO RESOURCES
The Field Revealed: “The Tully Monster”
The Brain Scoop: “Tully Monster Mystery Solved!”
EXHIBIT AREA OF FOCUS
Mazon Creek Fossil Collection
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
PROCEDURES
ENGAGE (IN THE CLASSROOM)
1. Show students the picture on Student Resource A: What Is This Animal?.
Ask students: Have you ever seen something like this before? Does it remind you of any other animals you’ve
seen? Encourage students to cite evidence for their guesses.
2. Explain that this animal is known as the Tully monster and that it lived 300 million years ago in Illinois. If
possible, show students The Field Revealed: “The Tully Monster” video and/or use Teacher Resource A:
Tully Monster Fact Sheet to share information with students.
3. Ask students: How do the scientists at The Field Museum know about the Tully monster? What has informed
their understanding of this extinct animal?
4. Listen for students to say fossils. Work with students to define the term “fossil.” Inform students that The Field
Museum has 2,000 Tully monster fossils in its collection, and that scientists have spent the past 50 years trying
to figure out what it is.
5. Encourage students to think about why The Field Museum would have so many fossils of one particular
specimen. Inform students that because of the Museum’s large collection of Tully monster fossils, scientists
were able to collect enough evidence to confidently identify the Tully monster and figure out what living
animal it is most like.
6. Explain that one of the key mysteries scientists have spent the last fifty years trying to figure out is if the Tully
monster was an invertebrate or a vertebrate. Ask students: Have you ever heard those terms before? What do
they mean and can you give an example of an invertebrate and a vertebrate?
8. Tell students that scientists were able to use something called a synchrotron X-ray machine, which showed
them the Tully monster’s physical features in a new way. Ask students: Have you ever had an X-ray? What do
X-ray machines help us do? Explain that X-ray machines allow people, like scientists and doctors, to look inside
something, like inside an arm to see if a bone is broken.
10. Explain to students that they are going to analyze the Tully monster features and, much like Field Museum
scientists, use their observations to solve the mystery of the Tully monster. Remind students to pay careful
attention to whether or not scientists have determined whether or not the Tully monster is a vertebrate
or invertebrate.
11. Place students into small groups of three to four. Distribute Student Resource B: Mystery of the Tully
Monster to each group.
12. After students have completed the activity, encourage groups to share their identification and reasoning
for their selection. Listen for students to identify the Tully monster as a relative to the modern-day lamprey,
a vertebrate.
13. If possible, show students The Brain Scoop: “Tully Monster Mystery Solved!”
14. Ask students: What other plants and animals lived with the Tully monster 300 million years ago? Do you think
we would recognize any of them? How could we find out what the Chicago-area looked like when Tully monsters
were still alive?
15. Elicit student responses. Inform students that one way to answer this question is to visit The Field Museum in
order to observe fossils of other specimens found with the Tully monster.
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
Page 3
9. Tell students that the high-powered X-ray machine helped scientists look very closely to determine if the Tully
monster was an invertebrate or a vertebrate. After comparing and contrasting thousands of specimens, the
mystery of the Tully monster was finally solved!
EDUCATOR
7. Guide students to the idea that an invertebrate is an animal that does not have a backbone or spine, examples
can include: insects, crabs, lobsters, snails, octopuses, and worms. A vertebrate is an animal that does have a
backbone or spine, examples can include: fish, mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
PROCEDURES (continued)
EXPLORE (AT THE FIELD MUSEUM)
1. Upon arrival, distribute Student Resource C: Specimens Exhibit Activity and a writing utensil to each student.
Explain to students that they will visit the Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life exhibit.
2. Tell students that they will look for the Tully monster fossils from Mazon Creek, Illinois. In that exhibit area
students should select two other fossils from this area and time period.
3. Explain that students will observe the fossils and then draw their observations in the box labeled “Scientific
Drawing” on Student Resource C. If possible, encourage students to select different fossils to draw so the class
has a wide variety of fossils documented.
4. Remind students to include additional information to support their observations (i.e. size, detailed notes, etc.).
Tell students they will analyze the fossil drawings back in the classroom in order to put together a more complete
picture of what the Chicago-area looked like when Tully monsters existed.
5. Allow students time to explore the exhibit and complete their drawings.
6. Collect all student drawings and save for the next lesson.
EXPLAIN & EVALUATE (IN THE CLASSROOM)
1. Encourage students to recall the field trip to The Field Museum, specifically the visit to the Specimens: Unlocking
the Secrets of Life exhibit.
3. Pass out each student’s Student Resource C from the field trip. Tell students to share their fossil drawings
with a partner.
EDUCATOR
2. Remind students that they visited the exhibit to answer the question: What did Illinois look like 300 million
years ago when Tully monsters were alive?
4. After sharing, have students work together to use the fossil drawings to predict what the animal/plant specimen
would have looked like when alive. Encourage students to draw their predictions next to the fossil drawings on
Student Resource C.
5. When students have finished their predications, pass out Student Resource D: Comparable Species Cards to
each pair of students. Explain to students that some of the cards depict modern day examples of the organisms
and others show drawings of what scientists believe the organisms looked like. Encourage students to find their
animal/plant specimen and compare their predications to the picture cards.
6. Ask students to reflect on the following questions:
• What clues did you find in the fossil that led to your prediction?
• How close was your prediction to the picture?
• Do you think these pictures are completely accurate? Or are scientists still learning by collecting
more specimens?
7. Tape a large piece of butcher paper on the wall. Tell students that they will use the information collected from the
fossils to predict what Illinois looked like 300 million years ago.
8. Encourage students to discuss what the area looked like based on their fossil observations. Use Teacher
Resource B: Carboniferous Forest as a visual guide if necessary.
9. Using the butcher paper and art supplies, create a class representation of Mazon Creek 300 million years ago.
Invite students to work collectively by each drawing their animal/plant specimens.
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
Page 4
*Teaching Tip: Not all of the Mazon Creek fossils in the Specimens exhibit have an equivalent modern day
example, and in fact some of the fossils are classified as unknown. You may want to provide an additional
research opportunity for students to learn more about the particular fossils they selected.
PROCEDURES (continued)
10. Post the representation in the school and invite other classes to view the Mazon Creek rendering.
11. After completing the Mazon Creek representation, discuss with students possible ways to learn more about
this area of Illinois during other time periods. Consider the question: How did Illinois change over time to look
as it does today?
ENRICHING THE LESSON
• To give students additional opportunity to explore Mazon Creek fossils, consider renting the “300 Million Years
Ago in Illinois” Experience Box from the N. W. Harris Learning Collection ( harris.fieldmuseum.org )
EDUCATOR
Page 5
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
STUDENT RESOURCE A: WHAT IS THIS ANIMAL?
STUDENT RESOURCE
A
Photo Credit: @ Sean McMahon
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
TEACHER RESOURCE A: TULLY MONSTER FACT SHEET
DESCRIPTION
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lived underwater
Soft-bodied animal (no hard parts)
Had a proboscis or trunk like an elephant
At the end it had a claw-like feature with small, sharp teeth
It had an “eye bar” with two eyes
Segmented body, similar to a worm
At the opposite end it had two fins that allowed it to swim
Maybe an invertebrate? Maybe a vertebrate?
THE MYSTERY
Scientists have been trying to figure out to which contemporary living animal the Tully monster is maybe related.
Some scientists think it may be related to the:
• Gastropod - clear, gelatinous free swimming snails that swim in the ocean today, sometimes called
“Sea Elephants”
• Annelids - Worms
• Conodonts - extinct animal, or no longer living that resembles a “Hag Fish” or “Lamprey” that are
still alive today
In 1958, Francis Tully, amateur fossil collector, found a fossil that he’d never seen before. He wanted to identify it and
so he took it the Field Museum. A Field Museum scientist, Dr. Eugene Richardson, looked at the fossil and also had
no idea what it was! It was like nothing anyone had seen before. In 1966, Dr. Richardson wrote a paper about the
Tullimonstrum gregarium or Tully monster, named in honor of Francis Tully. In 1989, the State of Illinois recognized
the Tully monster as the official state fossil. It’s such a unique fossil that it’s only found in Illinois.
SCIENTIFIC QUESTION
Since 1958, when the Tully monster was first discovered by Francis Tully, scientists have been trying to answer the
question: What is the Tully monster?
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
A
One of the key mysteries of the Tully monster is whether or not it is an invertebrate or vertebrate. Scientists have
looked closely at each specimen in The Field Museum’s collection to figure this out, as they believe it is an important
clue in correctly identifying the Tully monster.
TEACHER RESOURCE
DISCOVERY
STUDENT RESOURCE B: MYSTERY OF THE TULLY MONSTER
CAN YOU HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF THE TULLY MONSTER?
1. Read and analyze the information scientists have collected about the Tully monster.
2. Compare the Tully monster to other organisms scientists think it may be related to that are living today.
3. Discuss with your group members and check the box next to the organism you think is most likely to be a
distant relative of the Tully monster.
4. Write down your reasoning for why you think it’s related to this organism.
TULLY MONSTER
Scientific Information
• Soft body
• Vertebrate (has a backbone)
• Eye bar with two eyes
• Proboscis (trunk-like feature)
• Claw-like mouth with small teeth
WORM (Annelid)
Scientific Information
• Soft body
• Invertebrate (no backbone)
• Body has segments or sections
LAMPREY (Jaw-less Fish)
Scientific Information
• Soft body
• Vertebrate (has a backbone)
• Funnel-like mouth with small teeth
Why do you think the Tully monster is related to this organism?
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
B
Scientific Information
• Clear, jelly-like body
• Invertebrate (no backbone)
• Proboscis
• Outer shell
STUDENT RESOURCE
SEA ELEPHANT (Gastropod)
STUDENT RESOURCE C: SPECIMENS EXHIBIT ACTIVITY GUIDE
Select two fossils in the Mazon Creek section of the Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life exhibit. Take a few
minutes to observe each fossil. Then draw what you see in the box labeled “Scientific Drawing.” Remember to be
as detailed as possible and include words or labels to explain your drawing. Do not make any predictions now. We
will work on that part when we return to school.
FOSSIL NAME:
Scientific Drawing
Prediction
STUDENT RESOURCE
FOSSIL NAME:
Prediction
C
Scientific Drawing
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
STUDENT RESOURCE D: COMPARABLE SPECIES CARDS
LAMPREY
LUNGFISH
MARINE WORM
PLANT
SEED FERN
SEA CUCUMBER
HORSESHOE CRAB
FERN
SHARK EGG CASE
BIVALVE
MILLIPEDE
STUDENT RESOURCE
BANDRINGA SHARK
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
D
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
TEACHER RESOURCE B: CARBONIFEROUS FOREST
TEACHER RESOURCE
Photo Credit: @ The Field Museum
B
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM
IMAGE CREDITS
TITLE IMAGE
Z94526_09Cd @ John Weinstein (©The Field Museum)
STUDENT RESOURCE B: MYSTERY OF THE TULLY MONSTER
Tully Monster @ Sean McMahon (fieldmuseum.org)
Gastropod @ NOAA (commons.wikimedia.org)
Annelid @ Alex Popovkin (commons.wikimedia.org)
Lamprey @ Ellen Edmonson and Hugh Crisp (commons.wikimedia.org)
STUDENT RESOURCE D: COMPARABLE SPECIES CARDS
Bandringa Shark @ Karen Carr (fieldmuseum.org)
Lamprey @ Ellen Edmonson and Hugh Crisp (commons.wikimedia.org)
Lungfish @ G.H. Ford (commons.wikimedia.org)
Marine Worm @ NOAA (commons.wikimedia.org)
Plant @ Internet Archive Book Images (flicker.com)
Seed Fern @ Australian Museum (australianmuseum.net)
Sea Cucumber @ Francois Michonneau (commons.wikimedia.org)
Horseshoe Crab @ Tybee Marine Science Center (tybeemarinescience.org)
IMAGE CREDITS
Fern @ Brian Gratwicke (commons.wikimedia.org)
Shark Egg Case @ Mark Norman (commons.wikimedia.org)
Bivalve @ Pearson Scott Foresman (commons.wikimedia.org)
Millipede @ Samuel H. Scudder (commons.wikimedia.org)
Presented by The Field Museum Learning Center
300 Million Years Ago in Illinois
S PECIM E N S
THE FIELD MUSEUM