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Colorful echinoderms

lesson plans

Organized by Phyla

Lesson Plans

Science Process

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    Lesson Plan
    MODELING EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS WITH TREES
    In this lesson, students will address misconceptions about phylogenetic trees before completing a modeling activity to give them a better understanding of how trees are used to model evolutionary relationships.

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Paleontology

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    Lesson Plan
    The Secrets of Fossils
    In this lesson students make connections between fossils and modern day organisms. Using the information about the Cambrian Explosion, they explore theories about how and why organisms diversified. Students hypothesize what evidence might be helpful to connect fossil organisms to modern organisms to show evolutionary connections. Students use three videos from shapeoflife.org.

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    Lesson Plan
    Ages Of Rock
    This collection consists of six lesson plans designed to help students construct an explanation of the geologic time scale based on personal connections, science concepts and nature of science ideas.

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    Lesson Plan
    Who Was "Hunter Eve?"
    The paleontological evidence of the first animal to hunt is tiny trails that have been fossilized in rocks. To start this lesson, students will consider the tracks and traces left by modern animals and what they can learn about an animal from its tracks.

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    Lesson Plan
    Cambrian Explosion
    In this lesson, students will watch a short film about the Cambrian Explosion and the extraordinary fossils of the Burgess Shale. Students will address preconceptions and misconceptions about early Cambrian life, and complete a timeline activity that will enable them to better appreciate just how recently—relatively speaking—multicellular life evolved on Earth.

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