Format
1. This program begins with an introduction to what paleontology is.
2. We then show skeletal examples and discuss with students how paleontologists are able to determine characteristics from remains.
3. We show a slideshow featuring original artwork from the Museum of the Rockies.
4. We walk students through their fossil impression project.
5. If time allows, we take questions.
Objectives
Students will
- define paleontology and fossils and give examples
- use skeletons and other fossil evidence to interpret dinosaur characteristics
- gain understanding of how large dinosaurs were, how we can determine what they ate, whether they were prey or predator, and if they cared for their young
Standards Alignment
National Standards
ESS1C 3-5 -- The history of planet Earth
ESS1C K-2 -- The history of planet Earth
LS1A 3-5 -- Structure and function
LS1A 6-8 -- Structure and function
LS1A K-2 -- Structure and function
LS1B 3-5 -- Growth and development of organisms
LS1B K-2 -- Growth and development of organisms
State Standards
New York State
NGSS Learning Standards
P-LS1-1. Observe familiar plants and animals (including humans) and describe what they need to survive.
P-LS1-2. Plan and conduct an investigation to determine how familiar plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive in the environment.
K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
2-ESS1-1. Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.
3-LS2-1. Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
3-LS4-1. Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.
4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
MS-LS4-1 Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.
MS-LS4-2 Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.