Fossils Web Quest

Fossil Web Quest

                                          Introduction
        The picture above should look familiar to you. It was
taken at the last dig you completed. Of course you know all
about it, this was the dig that helped make you famous.
            Paleontologists from around the world know you are the best at what you do, and so do the members of your community. Because you are a leader in your field of study, the local school system has invited you to speak to a group of middle school students. You excitedly accepted their invitation, eager to share your love of fossils and science in general.

Task
When someone asks you what you do for a living, your proudly say that you are a paleontologist. Unfortunately, most people are unaware what that really means. To make things worse, they mistakenly think that the fossils you excavate are all just dried up, meaningless old bones. If you have anything to do with it, you are going to help these students understand what you really do and that fossils can take on many forms and tell us of Earth's unknown history. You develop a course of action, and decide to use the time with the students to share the details of your favorite fossil along with two fellow paleontologist friends of yours. You want them to know how it alone can amazingly tell us a little about how the Earth has changed in its 4.6 billion year existence. You hope that this will help them appreciate the importance of study fossils and Earth's past.

                                       Process
       To help the prepare the class for your visit, you suggest two websites for the classes to use to become more familiar with fossils. You must first answer some questions you created for the two sites so that the students will be able to check their answers. Questions 1-18 can be found at the first site which discusses how fossils are formed, preserved and discovered. Questions 19-30 can be answered using the second site that explores how fossils can tell us how the Earth's climate and surface have changed . Information about The geologic time scale can be filled in using this site. You, along with your two partners are having trouble deciding on your groups favorite fossil, so you review some information found at this site (scroll down to sections VII &VIII) and this site. You remind yourself that you can also use the fossils your read about while answering the questions.
         Your next job is to justify why this fossil is important and tell how it gives scientists clues on how Earth's surface and climate have changed in the past. This can be done by using an internet search engine or the provided texts to research more detailed information about the fossil you are going to present to the students. You have decided to make your presentation using PowerPoint, and in it you are going to include the following:
-when the organism lived and along with charted dates on the geologic time scale
-where the organism lived on Earth along with labeled map showing the location.
-general information about the organism (size, type, interesting facts, etc)
-what information its fossils are able to tell scientists about how the Earth's surface or climate has changed in the past.
-pictures of the fossil
           In addition, you are going to use modeling clay to make a replica of what your fossil looks like because your fossil is too fragile/too small/too rare to pass around among the students.
           After your presentation, you would like for the students to remember what you have shared with them, so you also decide to create an activity to help review what you have discussed. You are currently in the process of deciding between a song, game for students to play, skit, crossword puzzle, comic book strip, and a few other ideas. Use the checklist below to make sure you are fully prepared!

T eacher R esources

Conclusion
Answer these questions in your science journal:
1. What have we learned about the importance of fossils through this
activity?
1. How did this assignment change how you thought about fossils and
paleontology?
3. In what ways did you work well and work poorly with your group?
4. What do you feel you did the best on during your presentation? The worst?

Evaluation C hecklist