Introduction

Scope & Sequence

Course Outlines

Assessment

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Main Topics & Concepts

Introduction to what fossils are.
How something from the past becomes a fossil.
Factors that prevent us from finding all the evidence from past life.

Standards

There are no district standard for 9th grade about what fossils are and how they form.

Science Probe Text

Science Probe II Chapter 12 introduces fossils as evidence for determing the relative age of rock layers, with a very brief explanation of what a fossil is.

Activity	Access	Description
Science Probe II: Activity 12A Questions About the Past		This activity generates students' questions about a fossil, then encourages them to determine how to find answers to their own questions.

Activities & Lessons

Activity	Access	Description
Getting Into the Fossil Record Museum of Paleontology		Coming Soon! In this on-line module, students gain a basic understanding of what a fossil is, why some organisms become fossils and others do not, and where paleontologists find fossils.
Fossil Formation Brett Pyle Grady Middle School, Houston, TX (adapted from NSTA lesson materials)		This set of 4 activities allows students to "fossilize" dead insects in resin, make casts and molds from shells, infer speed of motion from footprints, and preserve animal tracks. Sample assessment questions, reading materials, and tips for activity leaders are included with the lesson. Internet access is not required for the activities themselves.
VRML Fossils The Natural History Museum, London		Students use virtual reality software ("plug-in" available for download) to view and manipulate 3-D images of real fossils.

Resources

Resources	Access	Description
Museum of Paleontology Web Site Museum of Paleontology		This web site contains online exhibits about fossils and living organisms, time periods, phylogeny, geology, evolution, and more. Includes many good images and descriptions of past life.
Palaeontology & Fossils Dr. Ian West's Geology Directory School of Ocean and Earth Science, Southampton University		An excellent resource! Contains many links to websites for general and specific fossil types, as well as some nice pictures and descriptions of various fossils. Dr. West has rated some of the links with stars and provided descriptions of their target websites to simplify users' searches.
Invertebrate Paleontology Image Gallery Peabody Museum of Natural History Yale University		Great photographs of invertebrate fossils organized by taxon and source region. Links open in new browser window.
Fossil Collections of the World Simon Biggs		A very long list of links to sites about fossils (including hominids), famous collections and collectors, general geology information, maps, and museums. Not recently updated; some broken links, but still quite a bit there.
Fossil Sites Erick J. Swearengin		Links organized by state and country, as well as more general fossil and museum links. Nice photo near bottom of page comparing size of human skull to size of large dinosaur skull.