Performance Tasks

Student will complete a graphic organizer while viewing a video about current fossil excavation in Utah. Student will create a flow chart describing the process of fossil excavation and connect the process to scientific research.

Vocabulary

Fossil, Excavate, Prehistoric

Warm-Up

Pass out charts to students (or have them create the chart on their own). Student will fill in the chart while viewing the video This American Land: Digging for Dinosaurs. Lead student discussion after viewing the video using the chart as a starting point.

Instruction

Teacher will review the process of excavating a fossil, focusing on key terms: fossil, excavate, prehistoric. Teacher and student will discuss how a fossil provides evidence of pre-historic life. Teacher will show photos of dinosaur fossils (easily found online) and have students analyze the type of evidence they are viewing.

Student Practice

Student will create a flow chart describing the process of fossil excavation. Student will draw each step, or use available computers to illustrate each step. The steps are: Choosing a Site, Walking the Area, Digging and Excavating, Transport to the Lab, Reconstruct, Analyze for Information. Student will write a brief summary of what happens during each step on the chart.

Summarization

Student will write a concluding statement connecting the excavation of fossils to gathering evidence of prehistoric life. If needed, students can use the starter sentence: Fossils provide evidence of prehistoric life because_________________.