Teaching Tools--The Web Of Life 1: Touching The Past





The Web Of Life 1 Touching the Past: Fossils of Southwest Ohio The four lessons below use the Hefner Zoology Museum's fossil collection. These lessons include playing fossil games, storytelling, and creating "modern" fossils.
Go Diggin' For Fun With Fossils!		In this lesson, students read a story to learn about fossil formation and then play a game to help them remember the fossil types commonly found in the Southwest Ohio area.
Fossils Of Today		This lesson familiarizes students with commonly found fossils. It also helps students understand how fossils are formed and why they are important to science.
Recreating An Ancient Sea Floor		In this lesson, students recreate an ancient sea floor using fossils from a specified time period.
Fossil Concentration		This lesson consists of a story and a memory game to help students distinguish the different fossil types commonly found in the Southwest Ohio area.


Go Diggin' For Fun With Fossils!

Grade Level		2-4
Theme		Fossil types can be grouped by name, according to similar characteristics.
Activity Description		This lesson is comprised of two activities. The first is reading aloud the book, Fossils Tell of Long Ago, to introduce the topic of fossil formation. The second part, “Go Diggin’,” is a game patterned after "Go Fish!" that helps students familiarize themselves with the fossils they may find in exposed sites in the Southwest Ohio area.
Materials Needed	Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki (see Literature Connections for complete reference) 5 each of at least 6 different fossil types (not fragile specimens) Fossil Facts chart (one per student) Pencils (one per student) “Go Diggin’” box (can be borrowed from the Hefner Zoology Museum or made according to instructions in the lesson) Art box or a similar box (one for each player) Modeling clay Several small, modern artifacts (for example: erasers, rocks, etc.)
Teacher's Guide		Go Diggin' For Fun With Fossils.pdf PDF files require Acrobat Reader. Reference Materials: Bedrock Geology Of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.pdf Geologic Time Periods For Some Common Ohio Fossils.pdf Short Geological Fact Sheet.pdf Download entire teaching packet : Go Diggin' For Fun With Fossils.zip

*Fossils Of Today*

Grade Level		2-5
Theme		Given that fossils found today tell us about the past several million years, we can speculate about what fossils made today would tell finders millions of years from now.
Activity Description		Students first listen to a story, either Fossils Tell of Long Ago or The Magic School Bus: In the Time of the Dinosaurs and examine a few fossil specimens. They then create their own fossils using modern artifacts and speculate what these fossils would tell future discoverers about the present time.
Materials Needed	Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki and/or The Magic School Bus: In the Time of the Dinosaurs by Joanna Cole Several different fossil specimens (not fragile specimens) Quick-setting clay An assortment of modern objects, such as shells, tools, leaves, bones, etc. Toothpicks Wax paper Fossil Facts chart (one for each student) Pencils (one for each student) For Optional Activity: Fossil Book
Teacher's Guide		Fossils Of Today.pdf PDF files require Acrobat Reader. Reference Materials: Bedrock Geology Of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.pdf Geologic Time Periods For Some Common Ohio Fossils.pdf Short Geological Fact Sheet.pdf Download entire teaching packet : Fossils Of Today.zip

*Recreating An Ancient Sea Floor*

Grade Level		2-6
Theme		Modeling, recreating past events
Activity Description		Students recreate an ancient sea floor using the materials provided. The fossils are from a specified geologic time, such as the Ordovician Period.
Materials Needed	Fossils for imprinting Hydrocal (a faster-setting type of plaster of paris) Clay 2 flexible plastic containers per student (for example, Gladware or Ziploc sandwich cartons) Crayons and watercolors, for use when the hydrocal dries For Optional Acitvity: Fossil Book
Teacher's Guide		Recreating An Ancient Sea Floor.pdf PDF files require Acrobat Reader. Reference Materials: Bedrock Geology Of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.pdf Geologic Time Periods For Some Common Ohio Fossils.pdf Short Geological Fact Sheet.pdf Download entire teaching packet : Recreating An Ancient Sea Floor.zip

*Fossil Concentration*

Grade Level		3-6
Theme		Observations, note-taking
Activity Description		This lesson uses a game that helps students to familiarize themselves with some of the fossils they might find at exposed sites near school or home. The students create their own fossil fact sheets from the information presented to them. Students will use information about fossils from the story, Jill’s Ordovician Dream, to fill in missing information on their fact sheets.
Materials Needed	Fossil Facts chart Jill’s Ordovician Dream Pencils Concentration cards Fossils
Teacher's Guide		Fossil Concentration.pdf PDF files require Acrobat Reader. Reference Materials: Bedrock Geology Of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.pdf Geologic Time Periods For Some Common Ohio Fossils.pdf Short Geological Fact Sheet.pdf Download entire teaching packet: Fossil Concentration.zip