Discover the fascinating world of fossils and the ancient stories they tell! This engaging storyline takes students through the processes of fossilization, exploring body and trace fossils, mineralization, and unique preservation methods like amber and freezing. With both a Teacher Edition and Student Edition included, this resource dives into the Earth's geologic eras, from the Precambrian to the Cenozoic, helping students uncover the evolution of life and environments over millions of years. Perfect for meeting middle school Next Generation Science Standards while sparking curiosity about Earth's history.
Optional, but Recommended Activity:
Storyline: Fossils (Teacher & Student Edition)
ZIP file containing 3 PDF files
(1 Teacher Edition, 1 Student Edition, 1 Science Outside Terms and Conditions)
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):
1. Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs)
● ESS1: Earth's Place in the Universe
○ Fossils provide evidence of Earth's history, showing how life has evolved and how environments have changed over geological time. ○ MS-ESS1-4: Construct an explanation for how fossil evidence can provide insight into past environments and how life on Earth has changed.
● LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
○ Fossils are a key piece of evidence for understanding evolution, mass extinctions, and how organisms have changed over time.
○ MS-LS4-1: Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of how life on Earth has changed over time.
○ MS-LS4-2: Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among species that are related to common ancestry, often informed by fossil evidence.2. Crosscutting Concepts
● Patterns: Fossils help identify patterns in the history of life, showing how certain species and environments existed over different time periods.
● Cause and Effect: Fossils are evidence of how environmental changes (e.g., climate or geological events) caused changes in species and ecosystems.
● Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: Fossils represent a record of life over vast timescales, helping students understand the timeframes involved in evolutionary processes.
● Stability and Change: Fossils show both stability (e.g., the persistence of certain life forms over long periods) and change (e.g., the evolution of new species and extinction of others) in Earth's biological history.3. Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs)
● Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Students use data from fossils to make claims about the history of life and changes in environments.
● Engaging in Argument from Evidence: Fossils serve as evidence in making scientific arguments about past life forms, extinction events, and the changing environments of Earth.
● Developing and Using Models: Students can build models of Earth's history using fossil evidence to understand the evolution of life and past ecosystems.
● Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions: Students explain how fossil evidence informs our understanding of Earth's past and the evolution of species.4. Performance Expectations (PEs)
● MS-ESS1-4: Construct an explanation for how fossil evidence can provide insights into past environments and the changes that have occurred over time.
● MS-LS4-1: Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of how life on Earth has changed over time.
● MS-LS4-2: Apply scientific ideas to explain how anatomical similarities and differences among species provide evidence of common ancestry, supported by fossil data.
● MS-LS4-3: Use fossil evidence to explain how species have changed over time and how new species evolved.