Lesson Info

  • 20-30m
  • 1482
  • 14

Lesson Resources

Middle School Classroom Unit

Alignment Documents

NGSS Middle School NRC Framework Middle School CCSS Middle School

Technical Details

Latest browser version supported

  • browser icon

    Chrome

  • browser icon

    Safari

  • browser icon

    FireFox

Device support

  • Android Phone / Tablet

  • iPad / iPhone

  • Mac

  • PC

  • Chromebook

Languages

  1. English

Lesson Description

Travel back in geologic time to explore some of the major historical events of Earth in an attempt to understand the search for life among other planets in the universe. Explore the third chapter of the search for life in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia.

There, you'll explore the key features of the Ediacaran environments that gave rise to the first multicellular organisms on Earth. Learn about deep time and the key events that occurred from the formation of Earth to the era of humans. Identify fossils in the Parv fossil bed at Nilpena and then construct an ecosystem that replicates the conditions of the Ediacaran period.

View the collection.

Central Question

What does the rock record tell us about the search for life in the universe?

Instructional Objective

Construct an argument about the constraints and limitations regarding the search for life in the universe using evidence from Earth’s rock record.

Topics

Learning Outcomes

  1. Explain how scientists piece together the story of life from the fossil record.
  2. Construct an argument that explains the significance of the K-Pg boundary and the evidence contained in Hell Creek that demonstrates the significance of this boundary.
  3. Construct an explanation for what evidence points to the existence of stromatolites in North Pole Dome, Australia and how they are significant in the story of life on Earth.

Prerequisites

  • Photosynthesis 
  • Rock Cycle 
  • Natural Selection 
  • Adaptation

Teach with This Lesson

There are three ways to teach with this lesson. Select the option that best fits the needs of you and your learners.

Do you want to

  • open this lesson?
  • preview this lesson?
  • use this lesson with your learners?

Do you want to

  • enroll your learners in the lesson?
  • collect data on your learners?
  • monitor your learners’ progress?
  • integrate the lesson into your pre-existing online course?
* Login Required

Do you want to

  • customize the lesson for your learners?
  • enroll your learners in the customized version?
  • share your customized version with the infiniscope Teaching Network?
* Login Required