| CareerZone Lesson Plan Registry
http://www.nycareerzone.org/resources/lessonplans |
| Discovering Fossils |
| Author(s): The CareerZone Team |
| Grades: 5 - 6 |
| Subject: Mathematics, Science and Technology |
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| Learning Context:
Students will: 1. Discover what a paleontologist is and how he/she digs up fossils. (ELA 1), (CDOS 1), (MST 6) 2. Become familiar with famous paleontologists and archeologists. (CDOS 1), (MST 6) 3. Become aware of the similarities between paleontologists and archeologists. (CDOS 1) 4. Use the Internet (CareerZone) to learn about careers, such as paleontologists and archeologists. (ELA 1), (CDOS 1), (MST 2) 5. Illustrate their knowledge of the material from CareerZone by responding to a journal topic. (ELA 1), (CDOS 1) 6. Demonstrate their writing skills by writing in their journals. (ELA 1) 7. Read their journal responses to the class. (ELA 4) |
| Procedure:
(This lesson is ideal for a unit on dinosaurs. It also can be used to explore different careers, such as paleontologists and archeologists.) 1. After students have learned about what a fossil is, how they are formed, and types of fossils, students will learn about the men and women who discover fossils and conduct research to reconstruct past life - paleontologists and archeologists. 2. Discuss what a paleontologist is and how he/she digs up fossils. 3. The teacher will now go to www.enchantedlearning .com/subjects/dinosaurs and choose "Paleontologists" to show the students famous paleontologists. (The computer needs to have a projection device so that the whole class can view the Internet.) 4. Next, the teacher will explain to the students how paleontology and archeology are related. 5. The teacher will ask the class if they think being a paleontologist or archeologist would be an interesting job. The class can discuss their answers. 6. The teacher will now tell the class that they are going to learn more about a career in archeology. They will learn about the skills, abilities, education, duties, etc. of an archeologist. The teacher will go to CareerZone and search for archeologists. 7. After the class discusses the information at CareerZone, the teacher will have the class write a journal entry. The topic will be: What have you learned throughout your education that you feel could help you become an archeologist or paleontologist? The students need to write at least a page and they need to support their answers with examples. 8. The students can share their responses with the class. |
| Instructional/Environmental Modifications:
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| Materials and Supplies:
1. A computer with a projection device for the whole class to view the Internet. 2. Pens/pencils 3. Journals |
| Time Required:
This lesson should last approximately 50 minutes. |
| Assessment Tools and Techniques:
1. Did the students participate in the class discussion? 2. Did the students respond to the journal topic using examples from www.nycareerzone.org and www.enchantedlearning.com? |
| Reflections:
Extension Activity: To demonstrate what paleontologists do, the teacher can have the students extract chocolate chips (the fossils) from chocolate chip cookies (the rock) using a toothpick and a small paintbrush. |