Found 14 resources for:
Teach about fossil evidence
Ancient fossils and modern climate change: The work of Jennifer McElwain
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: 40 minutes
Overview
Wondering how global warming will affect our planet? Scientist Jennifer McElwain studies the fossil record in order to learn more about how global warming has affected life on Earth in the past and how it might affect life on Earth in the future.
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CSI: Olduvai Gorge. The work of Jackson Njau
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: 40 minutes
Overview
This research profile follows paleoanthropologist Jackson Njau as he investigates ancient predators, like crocodiles and large cats, in an effort to understand how these organisms shaped the evolution of our human ancestors.
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Darwin’s “extreme” imperfection?
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 40 minutes
Overview
Darwin used the words "extreme imperfection" to describe the gappy nature of the fossil record - but is this really such a problem? This article delves into the topic of transitional fossils and explores what we have learned about them since Darwin's time.
This article appears at SpringerLink.
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Evo in the news: More than morphology
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from August 2006, describes recent research on T. rex, with a special focus on how paleontologists move beyond the shape of the animal's bones to learn about aspects of its life that don't fossilize very well: its physiology, sensory abilities, and population dynamics.
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Evo in the news: The evidence lines up in early mammal evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from September 2011, describes the discovery of a new mammal species that highlights just how long mammals have been around. Back in the Jurassic, dinosaurs may have dominated terrestrial ecosystems, but they were not alone. Scurrying around their feet and clinging to the trees above them were the fuzzy ancestors of their successors.
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Evo in the news: What has the head of a crocodile and the gills of a fish?
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from May 2006, reviews what is likely to be the most important fossil find of the year: Tiktaalik helps us understand how our own ancestors crawled out of the water and began to walk on dry land.
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Evo in the news: When it comes to evolution, headlines often get it wrong
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Newly discovered fossils are prompting some scientists to consider a minor revision of the relationships shown on the human family tree. This news brief from September 2007 clarifies the occasionally misleading news coverage of the story.
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Evo in the news: Where species come from
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Lush tropical ecosystems house many times more species than temperate or Arctic regions. This news brief from November 2006 discusses the evolutionary explanation for this diversity trend and reveals why threats to tropical ecosystems may threaten diversity on a global scale.
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Hominid Cranium Comparison (The “Skulls” Lab)
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- ENSI
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: One to two class periods
Overview
Students describe, measure and compare cranial casts from contemporary apes, modern humans, and fossil hominids to discover some of the similarities and differences between these forms and to see the pattern leading to modern humans.
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How to survive a mass extinction: The work of David Jablonski
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: 40 minutes
Overview
Through detailed analysis of patterns in the fossil record, scientist David Jablonski reconstructs the rules that helped dictate who lived and died in past mass extinctions. This research profile describes his surprising discoveries and their disturbing implications for the biodiversity crisis today.
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Names, they are a-changing
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Evolution: Education and Outreach
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
The popular press often describes scientific controversies regarding which species ancient hominin fossils represent and how they are related to one another. How should students interpret the frequent name changes experienced by our extinct relatives? What should they make of headlines that trumpet major revisions of the branching patterns on our limb of the tree of life? This article will help teachers develop instruction surrounding these issues, discourage misconceptions, and help students interpret media coverage in light of the process of science.
This article appears at SpringerLink.
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Stickleback Evolution Virtual Lab
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Online activity or lab
Time: 3 hours
Overview
This virtual lab teaches skills of data collection and analysis to study evolutionary processes using stickleback fish and fossil specimens.
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The genes that lie beneath: The work of Leslea Hlusko
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
- General
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: 40 minutes
Overview
Evolutionary biologist Leslea Hlusko's research takes her from the deserts of Ethiopia, where she hunts for hominid and primate fossils, to a baboon colony in San Antonio where she takes thousands of measurements of the primates' imposing canines. This research profile describes how the two projects are linked by a hunt for genetic variation, a key component of natural selection.
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The Missing Link
Grade Level(s):
- 13-16
Source:
- Strasser, M. Elizabeth
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 45 minutes
Overview
The setting for this case study is a paleontological dig in East Africa, where an undergraduate student has unearthed part of what appears to be an ancestral human skull. Students read the story and then examine a number of primate skulls. They are asked to build a phylogeny based on their observations.
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