Lesson: Paleoecology

Author: Lydia Pyne

Area: Anthropology

Grade Level: 6-8

Overview:

In this activity, students complete three stages of a “Research Cycle” as they work to explain how environments change over a period of time and what possible reasons might explain those changes.
 

Standards:

Science as Inquiry

• 1SC-E1:Defend conclusions drawn from analysis
• 1SC-E2:Construct a model that demonstrates change within a system
• Describe variables that cause change
• Explain cause and effect of variables within a system
• 1SC-E3:Construct a representation of data
• Interpret patterns in collected data

History and Nature of Science

• 2SC-E3:Analyze different theories to explain a phenomenon
• Defend or refute the explanation of a phenomenon
• 2SC-E4:Describe scientific processes: observing, relating, inferring, applying, etc.

Earth and Space Science

• 6SC-E3:Compare and contrast the life and environmental conditions within
  geologic time periods.