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TEACHING INPUT

Think-Pair-Share

 

Vocabulary Game

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You will construct your own concept map and identify relationships between key terms with appropriate propositions. 

You will determine and define key terms related to the topic of fossils. 

You will explore key ideas and topics of fossilisation and determine  answers to investigation questions that will build upon your understanding.

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Introducing Fossils

ACTIVTY 1: OBJECTIVES

Student Activities

RESOURCES

Fossil Hunters: Table

Fossil Hunters: Sample Sets

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You will explore index fossils and various principles of rock deposition. 

Relative Dating

ACTIVTY 2: OBJECTIVES

You will practise the idea of relative dating of rocks and fossils by working with your classmates in an engaging class activity of ordering yourselves from oldest to youngest.

You will understand relative dating of fossils by sequencing a series of fossil samples from oldest to youngest and record your analysis using a table where you will identify which fossils overlap which specific sets.

You will explore the Law of Superposition by applying relative dating principles to rocks and fossils. You will analyse the placement of fossils in zonation schemes and develop your own diagram to represent the relative age range of the fossils you have analysed.

RESOURCES

LEARNING INTENTION

  • To start discovering fossils and the role they play in evolution.

LEARNING INTENTION

  • To explore and practise the concept of relative dating by engaging in a number of collaborative classroom activities and analyse actual images of fossils within rock layers. Apply understanding of the principles of rock deposition and determine which fossils are index fossils.

Adaptation Vs. Extinction

ACTIVTY 4: OBJECTIVES

Transitional Fossils

ACTIVTY 3: OBJECTIVES

You will work to develop a presentation on your interpretation of a fossil's transition through time.

You will determine and define key terms related to the topic of transitional fossils. 

You will explore key ideas and topics of fossilisation and determine answers to investigation questions that will build upon your understanding.

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RESOURCES

RESOURCES

Picture of Fossil                     

Day-in-the-life of a Palaeontologist

ACTIVTY 5: OBJECTIVES

You will construct your own mock research trip to develop and show your understanding of the role of a paleontologist with the fossils they have discovered.

You will research and utilise your knowledge from the previous activities to develop your own research project.

You will explore and question what happens in the everyday life of a palaeontologist with their research.

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RESOURCES

LEARNING INTENTION

  • To explore and understand what transitional fossils are.

LEARNING INTENTION

LEARNING INTENTION

  • To use the knowledge gathered in this learning sequence to understand the practices of a palaeontologist in the real world.​

LEARNING INTENTION

  • Understand the stages of an organism adapting or becoming extinct due to an extreme situation.

Relative Dating Zonation Schemes

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Relative Dating: Diagram Template

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You will explain why a species could go extinct due to its inability to adapt to its environment.

You will describe an example of a species becoming extinct and what has caused this to occur.

You will understand how certain features are essential for survival.

You will define the term mass extinction and apply your understanding to how a mass extinction event occurs.

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