Take a journey through Earth’s 4.6 billion-year history with this engaging storyline on the geologic time scale. Students will explore the organization of eons, eras, and periods, discovering major events and life forms that shaped our planet. They’ll learn how radiometric dating works, using concepts like radioactive decay and half-life to understand Earth’s age. Activities include building a hands-on timeline to visualize geological time. Designed to meet middle school Next Generation Science Standards, this resource includes both a Teacher Edition and Student Edition, making it an invaluable tool for the classroom.
Optional, but Recommended Activity:
Scott Resources 567 - Geological Fossil History Chart with 21 Plastic Fossils
Storyline: Geological Time (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):
MS-ESS1-4:
● Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history.
○ Connection: The text explains how scientists organize Earth's history using the geologic time scale, including eons, eras, and periods, supported by radiometric dating methods.MS-ESS2-2:
● Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.
○ Connection: The timeline activity and references to geologic changes (e.g., the formation of life, changes in Earth's surface) connect to this standard.MS-PS1-1:
● Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
○ Connection: The explanation of radioactive decay, parent and daughter isotopes, and half-life provides a conceptual model of atomic transformations over time.Crosscutting Concepts
● Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: Highlighted by the vast timescales of Earth’s history and the half-life calculations for radioactive decay.
● Stability and Change: Demonstrated through the slow yet steady process of radioactive decay and the transformation of Earth's surface and life forms over billions of years.