The History of Life

Activities

• “Whose on First? Relative Dating” introduces relative dating.
• “Determining Age of Rocks and Fossils” explores radioactive dating techniques.
• Try this “History of Life” online matching game.
• “The Mystery of the Far-Flung Fossils” is a very good kit for investigating plate tectonics as the grounds for the similarity of fossils on the continents. The kit can be ordered here and from most science catalogues. I recommend that the continents be laminated before use.
• The “Becoming Human” website has a documentary along with several classroom activities. Tom Wanamaker of the NSTA Listserve contributed this worksheet (doc), “Becoming Human Questions,”  to go with the website.
• Have students do this “The History of Life” (doc) crossword puzzle.
• Teacher’s Domain’s “Deep Time” lesson (You must register for free to access.) includes a Flash interactive segment, html reading, and “Live-Action Student Timeline” activity.
• Watch the “Radiometric Dating” video and answers the questions in this Teacher’ Domain lesson.
• Check out this PowerPoint presentation, “Teacher’s Guide to: Fossils,” that has been converted to a YouTube video.

Labs

• Try this”How can you simulate radioactive half-life?” lab (doc).
• This “Examining the Fossil Record” lab uses pictures of imaginary fossils.
• Try the “Re-creation of Pasteur’s Experiment” (doc).

Links

• A PBS “Human Evolution” Shockwave activity: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/evolution/#
• Explore this PBS geologic timeline: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/change/deeptime/index.html
• “Life Has History” modules sponsored by the NSF: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/. . .
• “Fossils, Rocks, and Time” by USGS: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/
• Geologic timeline from Smithsonian: http://paleobiology.si.edu/geotime/main/ 
• Glencoe Section Launcer video on spontaneous generation: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/biology/bio2000/. . . 
• NOVA’s “A Brief History of Life” interactive timeline: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/brief-history-life.html 
• How did life begin? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/how-did-life-begin.html 
• Spontaneous Generation and the Origin of Life: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/abioprob/spontaneous-generation.html