Geologic Time Plans – Jan 2017Objectives: E5.3 Earth History and Geologic Time

The solar system formed from a nebular cloud of dust and gas 4.6 Ga (billion years ago). The Earth has changed through time and has been affected by both catastrophic (e.g., earthquakes, meteorite impacts, volcanoes) and gradual geologic events (e.g., plate movements, mountain building) as well as the effects of biological evolution (formation of an oxygen atmosphere). Geologic time can be determined through both relative and absolute dating.

E5.3A Explain how the solar system formed from a nebula of dust and gas in a spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy about 4.6 Ga (billion years ago).

E5.3B Describe the process of radioactive decay and explain how radioactive elements are used to date the rocks that contain them.

E5.3C Relate major events in the history of the Earth to the geologic time scale, including formation of the Earth, formation of an oxygen atmosphere, rise of life, Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) and Permian extinctions, and Pleistocene ice age.

E5.3D Describe how index fossils can be used to determine time sequence.

11 Jan 2017: Volcano Test. Begin Geologic Time – complete initial “I Can” for Geologic Time.

11 Jan: Classwork: Test - Volcanoes. Classwork/Homework: Begin Geologic Time and Radioactivity – Pick up the “I Can” after your test and have a look at it, make your initial answers for tomorrow. Also pick up the vocab sheet for Geo Time and look it over, fill in the ones you know. Anything in bold print is a vocab term for your online Greek/Latin vocab sheet (only in bold print on the copy on my site in 2016-17)

12 Jan: Log: Watch the Simpsons Geologic Time and Evolution short video clipClasswork: Tidy up your binders!Classwork, part 2: Complete Geologic Time and Radioactivity pre-test.Classwork, part 3: Go out in hallway and complete the geologic timeline gallery walk.

13 Jan: Classwork: Watch Geological History video from school collection. Complete the video questions on the back of your lesson plans.

16 Jan – MLK Day

17 Jan – Snow Day

18 Jan: Classwork: Rock Outcrop lab – complete and get graded in class today (or tomorrow, if extra time is needed). Be sure to check off the last item on your “I Can” sheet – index fossils.Vocab: Index fossil, relative dating, absolute dating

19 Jan: 8th grade absent for 1st hour for high school scheduling presentationsClasswork: Discuss Rock Outcrop lab after students complete the work and it is graded. Complete 9.2 RSG in class. In any spare time, work on the vocab lists - both online Latin/Greek/Other (https://goo.gl/4zJ8aD ) and for Geo Time.Vocab: Index fossil, relative dating, absolute dating

20 Jan: Classwork, OLD WORK: 1. Finish Geologic Timeline Questions using the hallway timelines as needed. 2. Finish and get the Outcrop lab graded as needed due to absence, etc. 3. Work on 9.2 RSG as needed from yesterday.

Classwork, NEW WORK: *Complete the following after you obtain Geo Time Packet #1. 1. Label the front page “Geo Time Packet #12. Number all 10 pages3. Get my help with #10 and #12 on page 2.4. Cross out the “Reading Check-Up on page 75. Cross out the “Review” on the bottom of page 86. Complete pages 8-9 from the thin red I.R.E. text (classroom set of textbooks).7. Complete pages 1-2, 7, 10 using your intellect and the internet, as needed.

DONE? Work on the vocab again! (not due until at least Jan 31, probably longer.)

23 Jan: Classwork: Discuss results of pre-test. Form groups to either work on periodic table and structure of the atom or Geologic Timeline “Short Projects” – see below.Due tomorrow: 9.2 RSG from last week. Will be happy to put it in the gradebook today if I can find the time.

GEOLOGIC TIMELINE “SHORT PROJECT” QUESTIONS for the kids who already understand the atom and structure of the periodic table. Each student or pair of students will answer 1 question while using this class period to create an easy to read, factually accurate display for the bulletin board. Ultimately, the resources you make will allow EACH PERSON to answer all 11 questions on a separate page to get graded by Mr. Calkins: DUE on 26 or 30 Jan (TBD), but should be done today!1. When did life 1st appear on earth? (type of organisms, how long ago & which eon?)2. When did various major life forms appear – bacteria, dinosaurs, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles?3. Why did bacteria appear at the beginning?4. When did an oxygen atmosphere form and what did it do for life on earth?5. Why did dinosaurs and mammals arrive after fish, since all of them have backbones (vertebrae)? As part of your

answer, you will explain what had to happen before each of the 3 groups arrived.6. What was the Permian extinction and what might have caused the Permian extinction? The Permian extinction

also had another name – the Great ____________.7. What extinction occurred around the K-T boundary and what 2 things are possibly the causes of the extinction?

Which time period ended, which one started, and what were the dominant groups of animals before and after the extinction? (for help with part of the answer, read “A Giant Volcanic Eruption” in these plans).

8. What sort of climate and environment changes occurred during the Pleistocene ice ages and what impacts did they have on life on earth/the spheres of the earth? When did the Pleistocene start? Has it ended?

9. When did our genus arrive on the scene here on earth? Based on new information, we have this new time span: http://www.livescience.com/50032-earliest-human-species-possibly-found.html?utm_source=notification . Also, what is our genus and species, and what do they mean when translated into English? Name 2-3 other members of our genus who are now extinct, and state when they were living. Add a picture of what we think they looked like, based on fossil evidence.

10. Explain the concepts of evolution and adaptive capacity of organisms and why they are necessary responses to natural and unnatural mechanisms that cause changes in the biosphere.

11. Create or find a diagram to explain relative and absolute dating and then detail their similarities and differences with a Venn diagram. Suggestion: use the MACAT square Venn to make this easier.

A Giant Volcanic Eruption! (This paragraph is from a great collegiate resource that is easy to read and describes data and theories about the K-T boundary and death of the dinosaurs about 65 MA ago: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/events/cowen1b.html )

Exactly at the K-T boundary, a new plume (Chapter 6) was burning its way through the crust close to the plate boundary between India and Africa. Enormous quantities of basalt flooded out over what is now the Deccan Plateau of western India to form huge lava beds called the Deccan Traps. A huge extension of that lava flow on the other side of the plate boundary now lies underwater in the Indian Ocean (Figures 18.3 and 18.5). The Deccan Traps cover 500,000 km2 now (about 200,000 square miles), but they may have covered four times as much before erosion removed them from some areas. They have a surviving volume of 1 million km3 (240,000 cubic miles) and are over 2 km thick in places. The entire volcanic volume that erupted, including the underwater lavas, was much larger than this (Figure 18.5).

Furthermore, the Deccan eruptions began suddenly just before the K-T boundary. The peak eruptions may have lasted only about one million years (± 50%), but that short time straddled the K-T boundary. The rate of eruption was at least 30 times the rate of Hawaiian eruptions today, even assuming it was continuous over as much as a million years; if the eruption was shorter or spasmodic, eruption rates would have been much higher. The Deccan Traps probably erupted as lava flows and fountains like those of Kilauea, rather than in giant explosive eruptions like that of Krakatau. But estimates of the fire fountains generated by eruptions on the scale of the Deccan Traps suggest that aerosols and ash would easily have been carried into the stratosphere. The Deccan plume is still active; its hot spot now lies under the volcanic island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean (near Madagascar off of Africa’s east coast).

24-25 Jan: Log: Answer the question to the right of the picture located above. Use the vocab terms from last week.Classwork: “Pennium” Lab: An Isotopic Discovery. Complete in class.

26 Jan 2017 Classwork: “How the Earth was Made” – Part 3, with discussion – and PowerPoint presentation. Vocab: Stromatolite, protoplanet, cataclysm

with the shape of the strata in this image of the San Andreas fault, along highway 14 near Palmdale, California? http://strike-slip.geol.ucsb.edu/KESSEL/palmdaleroadcut.html

Finding a second earth? (protoplanet, 4 spheres review?)

http://www.sandatlas.org/rock-types/ - use it to redirect kids who ask me things like "which type of rock is this cool one I found?"

Mar 2015: Log: Classwork: Due: Homework: Vocab:

Classwork: Discuss pre-video ques, related objectives. Watch “Heavy Metals” video (my copy) and answer video questions (e.e.). Discuss video as we go along – add vocab and nuclear power info. Vocab: Smelting, Malleable, Ductile.

Log: What is the difference in purity between uranium for nuclear power and uranium for nuclear weapons? Can yellowcake (uranium ore) and nuclear fuel pellets be handled without killing you?

Classwork: Finish Watching Heavy Metals video and discussing related questions as we go along. Vocab: Yellowcake, Alloys, Semiconductor, NIMBY, others TBD.

Log: Post-Video Question: What were the main ideas of the video and how do they relate to our curriculum?

Log: How did this huge desert get to look like this? Picture is from ISS from 250 miles above the earth, just so you understand it’s big:

NASA’s Best Images of Earth From Space in 2014 BY BETSY MASON  12.25.14  |  7:00 AM  |  PERMALINK

Kavir Desert, IranThe lack of vegetation in the Kavir Desert beautifully exposes the geology of the area. The stripes and swirls are layers of rock that have been folded and deformed by tectonic forces and flattened by wind erosion over time. This image was taken by an astronaut aboard the ISS on Feb. 14. NASA

13 Mar: Log: Read the worksheet that goes with our video on “Geological History” today, and begin filling out the answers from your pre-existing knowledge.

Classwork: Watch “Geological History” (23 min) and complete/go over the associated sheet while I check in the “Jet Streams, Fronts and Coriolis Effect” PowerPoint. End by going over the sheet. (ran out of time 2015 due to PLC day)

Due: “Jet Streams, Fronts and Coriolis Effect” PowerPoint/Questions

Homework: Study the “Jet Streams, Fronts and Coriolis Effect” PowerPoint/Questions for next week’s quiz (Monday)

Lesson Plans for Mrs. Alles, 18 Mar 2015. I’m at the Webster Science Fair, so call me if you need something!

Hi Hiranthini,

Trying to keep this note short, basically just follow the lesson plans on this page and all will be well. I expect that there will be discussion and noise at times, but they need to learn the info in 9.1 and 9.2, so I want them to do that as their own work as much as possible. If you can check 9.1 RSG in as being complete, I’ll know that they at least did something useful during the hour. Sometimes their answer vary from the answer key, but are still right. Feel free to discuss that with them if one looks totally messed up. The diagrams that get filled out for the RSG’s look complex, but the directions for how to do them are in the back of the RSG (kids should already know this, but you could remind them)

If there is plenty of time, you can have the kids discuss the answers to the RSG’s near the end of class.

Thanks for your help! Carim

18 Mar: Mr. C Absent at the Webster Science Fair

Log: Alone for 5 minutes, and then in your groups of 4, Complete pages 8-9 of your packet “Earth’s Past”.

Classwork: Complete the 9.1 and 9.2 Reading Study Guides. It should be relatively quiet while you are doing that work. Mrs. Alles has the answer keys up front, if there is an issue. Show 9.1 to Mrs. Alles so that she can mark you down as having completed that part of your classwork. It’s very important, since there are only a few grades in the classwork part of your grade.

QUIZ PREP: Look at the white board and notice that tomorrow’s quiz can also include “The Water Cycle” sheet that you did last week (has crossword on the back, ant under a leaf on the front). You also can see that in 1 st-3rd hours today, I goofed on the position of the Jet Stream in summer and winter. The winter winds are much stronger and denser (cold air), so they make the jet stream push farther southward, and it also gets bigger “turns” to the north and south. Summer temp differences are not as great, so the wind dies down in the Jet Stream, and it acts somewhat “calmer”. Sorry about the error – brain fog. YOU CAN STUDY QUIETLY TOGETHER FOR THE QUIZ WHEN YOUR CLASSWORK IS DONE.

Due: 9.1 RSG– show to Mrs. Alles

Homework: Study for the quiz

Vocab for this work and “Understanding Geologic Time” on 3-4 of the packet: Fossils, original remains, prokaryotes (no kernel), trilobite, tetrapod (define tetra and pod), arthropod, period, era, Homo sapiens, extinction, uniformitarianism, paleo-environment, law of superposition, flora, fauna, meso (as in Mesozoic), zoic (same

reason), ceno/Cenozoic, paleo/Paleozoic, Permian extinction, Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction and KT boundary (that’s a ton of vocab)

19 Mar: Classwork: Review, then take quiz on the water cycle, Coriolis effect, weather fronts and precipitation.

Homework: Complete pages 3-4 (already assigned), pages 10-11and pages 14-15 (as much as possible with your current knowledge) by next Wed.

20 Mar: Classwork: Starlab visit – day one – Mr. Reina. Hand out review sheet after students have visited the Starlab so that they can write down info while it is fresh. We’ll finish the sheet on Mon.

Vocab: Nebula, Vega, Rigel, Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice)

Note from Mr. Reina: “I meant to offer kids and their families the opportunity to sign up for the astronomy e-blasts I send out. If any students seem interested to get involved in stargazing events, or just basic info of what's going on in the sky, they can sign up with parental permission, or a parent's email address. Simply email me at kreinaskyguy@gmail.com with the subject "sign me up"

23 Mar: Log: Work with other students to complete the Starlab worksheet related to Mr. Reina’s visit.

Classwork: Go over selected questions from the Starlab worksheet. Go to Starlab and discuss horoscopes, the 13 signs of the zodiac, and the difference between science and folklore, tie up loose ends from last Friday’s presentation.

NOTE: Ignore the lessons plans in the back of the Starlab Packet, as I’ve changed my mind since we have it for more time this year.

Homework: Page 1 of the Starlab packet – horoscopes.

Vocab: Horoscope, Zodiac, Nebular Hypothesis, __________________________________

24 Mar: Begin Day 2 lessons in Starlab packet.

Log: Complete page 2 of the Starlab packet in your small groups.

Classwork: Discuss log. Compare “November Evening Skies” on page 3-4 of the packet with “March Evening Skies” that was handed out yesterday. Go to the Starlab and use the iPad to see the Southern Cross and other items using Starwalk app. Use the starfield to show what it looks like at the North Pole, our location, and the equator. See if students can locate stellar items like Aries, Sirius, Big Dipper, North Star, their own zodiac sign. (In 2015 we didn’t use Starlab today. Instead, we read “Milky Way Galaxy: Facts About Our Galactic Home” and added details to #9-10 on Starlab worksheet and #11 on page 6 of the packet.

Question: Can we see the Southern Cross from our hemisphere? Why or why not?

Homework: Don’t forget to finish pages 3-4, 10-11, and as much as possible of 14-15 in the packet.

Vocab: Zodiac, Aries, Sirius, Big Dipper, North Star/Polaris, latitude, longitude, M31/Andromeda Gxy

25 Mar: Mr. C Will Be At Central Office All Day

Due: “Understanding Geologic Time” on 3-4 of the packet.

Classwork, Part 1 (Log): Complete RSG 9.3 while the sub walks around to check-in “Understanding Geologic Time” on pages 3-4 of your packet.

Classwork, Part 2: The sub will hand out the CLASS SET of answer keys to “Understanding Geologic Time” – go over your papers in your groups of 3-4 people. Continue by going over pages 10-11 in your packet. PASS BACK THE CLASS SET OF ANSWER KEYS AS SOON AS YOU ARE DONE WITH THEM!

Classwork, Part 3: Use the class set of red books “Inside the Restless Earth” to go over/finish pages 14-15 in you packet.

Classwork/Homework: Read and summarize “Which is Greater, The Number of Sand Grains on Earth or Stars in the Sky?” (due tomorrow, the space to write the summary is in the back of the Starlab packet)

Vocab: uniformitarianism, geologic time, period, era, eon, epoch, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic, “Paleo”, “Meso”, “Ceno”, “Zoic”

26 Mar: Log: Finish page 9 in the packet and turn it in. Then work on pages 5-6 in the Starlab packet.

Classwork: Finish and discuss pages 5-6 in the Starlab lessons.

Classwork, Part 2: Go to the Starlab and watch the PPT in my Google Drive: “Images of Astronomy”. Show this site for our position in the Milky Way Galaxy: http://earthsky.org/space/does-our-sun-reside-in-a-spiral-arm-of-the-milky-way-galaxy

30 Mar: Classwork: End Starlab lessons. Return to Nuclear Chemistry, Radioactive Dating, and Geologic Time. Watch “How the Earth Was Made” up to the 55 minute mark. Discuss Rodinia/Snowball Earth, Carboniferous Period, Formation of the Ozone Layer and UV light blockage.

Homework: “Take a Tour Through Time” – pages 5-7 of the packet – Due on Thursday

Vocab: Carboniferous, fossil fuels (oil and natural gas), Rodinia, Snowball Earth, Ozone

31 Mar: Log: On pages 10-11 of the packet, you read about Leonardo, one of 4 mummified dinosaurs that were recently found.

1. He was alive about 77 MYA; was that before or after the asteroid killed the dinosaurs?

2. Name the boundary that has the iridium in it and coincides with the death of the dinosaurs.

3. What’s the difference between a mummified dinosaur and a fossilized dinosaur?

4. Define paleo-environment and explain how we estimate what it was like.

Classwork, Part 1: While students complete the log, find 2 (or more) students for YMAD from Enviro Club and from blanket-making activity. They are needed for:

1. The district-wide YMAD celebration on Tuesday April 21st, Stevenson, 6-8 p.m.

2. The school PTSA recognition on Wednesday April 22nd, Frost LMC, 7-8:30 p.m.

Classwork, Part 2: Discuss log and 9.3 RSG. Return and go over the Jet Stream/Coriolis Force/Weather quiz.

Classwork/homework: Complete the section review in your textbook for section 9.2.

Vocab: Paleo-environment, fossil, mummy, iridium, KT Boundary, Uniformitarianism, index fossil, original remains, eon. epoch, carbon films

1 Apr: Log: Look at the mass extinctions that you wrote into the chart on “Take a Tour Through Time” (page 7 of packet) Explain/describe any pattern(s) that you see in the mass extinction data. (it’s one of our learning targets)

More info on the “Great Dying” at end of Permian Period: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/2/l_032_02.html

Scientific, but easy to read info on the KT boundary and the end of the dinosaurs 65 MYA. (Asteroid + Deccan Traps in India): http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/events/cowen1b.html

Classwork: Begin Geologic Timeline Project – Due on 16 April. hand out “Geologic Timeline Project AKA ‘Lab The History of the Earth’”

Vocab: Fossils, original remains, prokaryotes (no kernel), trilobite, tetrapod (define tetra and pod), arthropod, period, era, Homo sapiens, extinction, uniformitarianism, paleo-environment, law of superposition, evolution, flora, fauna, meso (as in Mesozoic), zoic (same reason), ceno/Cenozoic, paleo/Paleozoic, Permian extinction, Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction and KT boundary (that’s a ton of vocab)

Classwork/Homework: Work on your project! Work plans are due tomorrow.

2 Apr: Log: What’s wrong with the picture on this page?

Classwork: Work on Projects. Class will be shorter due to assembly schedule.

Vocab: Snowball Earth, Holocene, Precambrian, eon, era, period, epoch, stromatolite, cyanobacteria

Homework: Finish classwork for tomorrow (as needed - most students will finish everything in class).

SPRING BREAK! (3-12 Apr)

13 Apr: Classwork: Work on projects. Discuss snowball earth – new info as of 2014-15: http://www.snowballearth.org/when.html

14 Apr: Classwork: Work on projects (hours 3-4, many students absent for band event)

Due: Check in pages 19 and 20 of packet (Early – due Thurs) and questions 1-7 (Early - Due Fri)

15 Apr: Classwork: Work on projects.

Homework: Complete page 21 of the packet, read page 22 of the packet and write a summary of the article, then answer the 3 questions on the bottom of page 23 while referring to your notes. (due next Tues)

16 Apr: Classwork: Work on projects

Due: Check in pages 19 and 20 of packet

17 Apr: Classwork: Watch “The Big Bang and Formation of the Planets and Solar System in 2 hours” video (Question 24, through minute 24) and complete related worksheet (questions 1-24)

Due: Check in questions 1-7 from the Geo Timeline Project.

20 Apr: Classwork: Score and discuss Geologic Timelines

21 Apr: Classwork: Complete pages 16-17 of Geo Time Packet using Ch.3 of the I.R.E. textbook (class set). When done, complete “The Origin of Oxygen in Earth’s Atmosphere” sheet (classroom set – 11 questions).

NOTE: all of these types of conformities will be discussed as unconformities on tests/quizzes.

Vocab: Intrusions, unconformities, fold, fault, tilt

Due: Pages 21-23 of Packet

22 Apr: Classwork, part 1: Teach about tree cross-sections and their use in determining climate-related events for the past 5-10,000 years. Use tree cookies from Ash Borer, draw 1st 3 years on the board, explain springwood and summerwood, xylem, phloem, and cambium. Label tree on page 26 as we go along.

Classwork, part 2: Complete outcrop cutout lab. Relate the lab to the law of superposition, law of original horizontality, non-deposition and disconformities, erosion, and deposition. Use page 60 in the text to get students started.

Due: Today’s lab

Vocab: Relative age, index fossils, law of superposition, law of orig horizontality, erosion, deposition

Homework: Summary of page 25 in the packet, answer ques. about tree cross-section on p. 27 of packet.

23 Apr: Log: Small groups discuss pages 21-23, 25, and 27 of the packet while I give credit for the work. Also try to answer #2-3 on page 63 w/o using the book (thin red book – class set).

Classwork: Finish discussing and/or grading yesterday’s lab. Go over answers to “The Origin of Oxygen in Earth’s Atmosphere”. Take “Radioactivity Pre-test” and start “Geo Time Quiz Review” sheet in class.

Due: pages 21-23, 25, and 27 of the packet

Vocab: Uniformitarianism, Phanerozoic, Lamarck, Darwin

Homework (Test review!): Work on the review sheet. Answer 4-6 on page 309 of the textbook

24 Apr: Log: Read “The Ice Age” located on this page and the next.

1. When did the Holocene start in relationship to the last ice age? 2. How deep, long and wide is the sediment at the end of the Mississippi River? Note that size includes most

of Louisiana and Mississippi, and that 10,000 years of additional sediment has created the mess that is under New Orleans, as we discussed in class.

3. What are the similarities and differences between an ice age and snowball earth? 4. Explain the relationship between uniformitarianism and the laws of superposition and original

horizontality. 5. Complete “Analyzing a Diagram” on page 315 of your textbook.

Classwork: Return questions 1-7 from the Geo Timeline project, use class set to go over the answers and discuss what might be tested.

Vocab: Clarify that snowball earth and recent ice ages are not the same thing.

Classwork/Homework: Answer the following questions from the review on page 313 of your text: 4, 5, 7-14, also complete #21 on page 314 (change it from “are not divided” to “are now divided” when talking about Archaen and Proterozoic eons). Make sure that you write out each question, with your chosen answer. (these review questions will be checked with the upcoming quiz)

The Ice Age (Pleistocene Epoch) (http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/edresources/pleistocene.html)

Several times in the history of the earth huge sheets of ice, or glaciers, covered large portions of its continents. The most recent episode of glaciation, the Pleistocene epoch, is commonly referred to as the Ice Age and began approximately 1.6 million years ago. During that time there were a number of advances and retreats of the glaciers, which are termed glacial and interglacial stages, respectively. The glaciers of Greenland and Antarctica are remnants of the last glacial advance, and we presently live in an interglacial stage termed the Holocene epoch. With the end of the Pleistocene (and the beginning of the Holocene) about 11,000 years ago, the Ice Age ended in name only. It is very likely that the earth will experience another glacial advance, perhaps in the next 10,000 to 20,000 years, and that the glacial/interglacial cycles will continue. Geologic history shows, however, that ice ages eventually come to a complete end and do not occur again for several hundred million years.

There is debate in the scientific community about what caused the glaciers to advance and retreat, but current theory attributes it to astronomical causes. Because of variations in the earth's orbit, average summer and winter temperatures change with time. There are periods when winters are colder and summers hotter, followed by periods when winters are warmer and summers cooler. The latter are thought to produce glacial advances, because the cooler summers are not adequate to melt all of the previous winter's snow. The result is that snow and ice begin to accumulate from one winter to the next. During periods when summers were warmer, and winters cooler,

the glaciers are thought to have retreated. During the Pleistocene epoch, two or more centers of glaciation in Canada probably joined to form one large sheet of ice.

As the glaciers moved south they scraped and bulldozed rock and soil in front of them, and ground and crushed the material beneath them. Soil and rock that was pushed in front of the glaciers, or dropped as they melted, commonly formed long ridges called moraines. Moraines are a common feature in the midwestern and northern U.S. Many of the boulders scattered throughout the region are granites carried down from Canada. In fact, diamonds that were transported south from an as yet undiscovered source in Canada, have been found in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. Exposed bedrock in many places has long scratches, or striations, that were formed as the glaciers, carrying an assortment of rocks from other areas, ground over the bedrock. This grinding also produced large quantities of gravel, sand, and silt. An unsorted mixture of these materials brought by the glaciers is called till, which forms much of the soil of the northern states.

The southern limit all of the glacial advances, not including the Rocky Mountains, is approximately the present day location of the Ohio and Missouri Rivers, although the last (Wisconsin) advance did not reach as far south as some of the previous advances. The glacial advances and retreats also had a dramatic effect upon the geology and ecology of areas south of the glaciers. It took so much water to form the glaciers that the world sea level fell approximately 140 meters (425 feet). This exposed the flat continental shelves, now covered with water, as dry land. This lowering of sea level has the same effect as raising the land, which caused rivers to begin eroding deep valleys. The Lower Mississippi, Tombigbee-Alabama, and Red River systems formed deep cuts in the existing land surface. As the glaciers melted and sea levels rose again, the valleys were filled with sediment carried by meltwater-swollen rivers. Most of the melt water south of the glaciers flowed into the Upper Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri River basins. This sediment laden water fed into the Lower Mississippi River forming a huge flood plain that is over 500 miles long, and in some places almost 200 miles wide, which is often referred to as the Mississippi Delta. Not all of the melt water ran directly into the rivers. The retreating glacier sometimes left large depressions, which filled with melt water to form lakes. The Great Lakes were formed in this manner, but they are not nearly as large as some that have since drained and disappeared. Lakes Winnipeg, Reindeer, Athabasca, Great Slave, and Great Bear in Canada are also remnants of this glacial lake system.

27 Apr: Log: I have just found an index fossil that is 65 Ma old, and another one that is above it was shown to be 45 Ma old. If I find a fossil between them, from what age range can I interpret it to be, and what have I done with the data – interpolated or extrapolated?

Classwork: Complete and score FA #3. Show “Simpson’s Evolution” video twice – once at normal speed, 2nd time slowly so that students can take notes (3 min x2), students summarize their notes and then discuss items that mirror scientific ideas about evolution and those that are fanciful or inaccurate. Discuss evolution as presented in the state curriculum – use the textbook for support/questions, also relate to back page of packet – “History of the Universe”.

Homework: Summarize “The Sins of The Fathers” on page 12 of your packet. In the summary, use the vocab from today as is appropriate. (due Thursday)

Review question: Explain the concepts of evolution, natural selection and adaptive capacity of organisms, and why they are necessary responses to natural and unnatural mechanisms that cause changes in the biosphere. How does the fossil record show these processes in action?

Vocab: Lamarck, Darwin, Theory of Evolution, Adaptive Capacity, Natural Selection, Interpolate, Extrapolate.

28 or 29 Apr: 8th grade watches “The Big Bang and Formation of the Planets and Solar System” and related video from Hawking or we complete the following lesson, depends on when 7th graders are absent for M-Step.

Log 1: Explain how the events on the geologic timeline support the theory of evolution. Use at least 3 pieces of data from the timeline and our class discussion to support your explanation.

Log 2: Go back on the front page of this set of plans and put these items on the timeline:

1. Permian extinction (with reason it happened and nickname, plus reason for nickname)2. K-T boundary and extinction of the dinosaurs (with a date and explanation)3. Carboniferous period, with a reason why it’s important (more log questions on next page)4. Recent ice age, with an approximate end date and epoch name5. Snowball earth (do the best you can in space provided)6. Formation of ozone layer (only happened due to presence of oxygen in the air)7. Are 3D index fossils that are found in the sedimentary rock casts or molds of the organisms?

Classwork: Discuss log and explain the diagram on this page.

Vocab/vocab review: cast, mold (use green pin/acrylic thing for demo), 4.6 Ga/Bya, K-T boundary, iridium, Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, Permian extinction, Pleistocene ice ages (and when they ended).

30 Apr: M-Step disruptions continue, some students will be absent again.

Classwork: Review day, complete the following in your groups while I look at the summaries from “The Sins of The Fathers”:

1. Discuss answers to questions on pages 313-315 of the text 2. Share your answers to the 27 April Review Question3. Complete the 4 questions on page 72 of the red textbook.4. Help each other with Geologic Time review sheet Also, discuss the review question from yesterday while

I look at the summaries from “The Sins of The Fathers”5. Work on pages 1-2 of the packet – vocab page, especially the past 2 days of vocab.

1 May: Log: Write 3 questions that are not currently included in the geo time review, but should be.

Classwork: Watch 20 more minutes of “The History of the Earth in 2 Hours”. We will stop at 45 minutes. The rest of the video is great. Feel free to watch it from the YouTube link on my website. Discuss the correct answers to the movie worksheet and the Geo Time Review Sheet. Explain what other items may be on the quiz – collect log questions after discussion in each group of their “best 3”. Essay will be about Darwin and Lamarck (27 April Review Question).

Classwork/Homework: Answer the following questions in your head or any place that seems good:

1. What scale was used for the paper timelines? In other words, what distance represents one billion years? One million years? One hundred thousand years? Ten thousand? One thousand? 1 year?

2. When did life first appear on earth?

3. When did various major forms of life appear? (bacteria, dinosaurs, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles)4. What evidence do scientists use to back up the dates for question #2?5. When did an oxygen atmosphere form and what impact did it have on life on earth?6. When was the Permian extinction, and what do we think caused that extinction?7. What do iridium and the K-T boundary have to do with the end of the Cretaceous period, Mesozoic Era?

4 May: Log: Answer the questions that I took from last Friday’s log to add to the quiz on Wed.

Classwork, Part 1: WAIS Ice core video. Finish reviewing and discussing what is in the log.

Homework: Study for the quiz!

5 May: No School – PD day.

6 MAY: Classwork: MOVE TO RADIOACTIVITY PLANS Quiz on Geo Time

Log: Read “Shark Bay” fact sheet about stromatolites, take notes – at least 2 items per section.

Classwork – Part 1: Discuss log, then pass around my stromatolite sample and watch two minute video of fossilized stromatolites in New York: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-cDtOqd16Y&safe=active. Note: They can be found all over the world as fossils (Chile, NY, NJ, Australia, Bahamas, etc) They also currently live and grow in both the Bahamas and Australia. Define stroma and lite, explain structure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olTMKF0QsDU Explain blue-green algae: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D73TgyHQFE As needed, use this site for additional info and a short video: http://www.sharkbay.org/stromatolites.aspx

****Important info to note about the structure of stromatolites: sand grains stick to the cyanobacteria (Blue Green Algae) in the stromatolite structure, and are cemented in place to make additional layers of sedimentary rock, layer after layer. The tiny cyanobacteria then can burrow through the soft, new sediment layer while “reaching for the sky”

(they require sunlight to do photosynthesis) and this process repeats. Eventually you build up a layered rock, called a stromatolite. Unlike other fossils, their shape is not determined by their DNA, but rather their interaction with the sediments. (these layers, which are due to sedimentation and regrowth, can be seen in my spherical sample in our classroom)

A very detailed 8 minute stromatolite video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzwvjOSS2Pc&safe=active

55 minutes collegiate stromatolite presentation, fascinating in its detail, but mighty long: http://www.scivee.tv/node/8060

Classwork: Watch Bill Nye – Fossil Video. Complete page 13 of the packet during the movie. Discuss movie.

: MEET IN LAB 3, Room 227Classwork, part 1: Finish “Exploring Google Earth” (e.e.), on the back of “Earthquake Activity” from last week.Classwork, Part 2: In your test/quiz section, answer “Earthquakes Review” ppt, questions in my outbox. (will also be posted on my website). I need to add questions for Volcanoes.Homework: Finish your Earthquake Review ppt, go over the “Plate Tectonics Test” questions I will use again (question numbers: 2, 5-8, 11-12, 21-23), as well as those used again from “Earthquakes Quiz #1” (#31, 33, 34, 37, 38, 40)

24 Feb: Classwork: Tie up loose ends, discuss info from yesterday as needed. Classwork, part 1: POSTPONED FROM 2-3 Feb due to snow days: Peer editing of the “Exit poll” summaries that you wrote about P and S waves on 29-30 Jan. Items to look for/what to do: 1. Check these items off as you edit your partner’s paper.2. Highlight any items missing from the summary (don’t highlight the “Add today” the ones at end of the list)

□ earthquake□ body waves□ s-p lag time = p wave arrival time□ speed of S waves□ speed of P waves □ transverse/longitudinal□ transverse drawing □ longitudinal drawing□ can only go through solids□ can go through solids and liquids

□ stress□ refraction□ seismometer□ energy vs. direction of wave (parallel or

perpendicular)□ __________________________________□ Add today: surface waves□ Add today: most damaging□ Add today: similar to water waves□ Add today: slowest waves

Classwork, part 2: Add a paragraph for surface wavesClasswork/Homework: On a fresh sheet of paper, make and prepare to share 3 story problems that

will fill in a blank 3-line, 4-column data chart like the chart on “Shake and Quake” – make the blank data chart, too. (Due Fri, 20 Feb, put answers on back of your sheet of paper, or where they can’t be seen by students viewing the questions, the paper itself goes with “Shake and Quake in the e.e. section of your binder). Don’t forget, the equation is d = r x t, with “d” being the epicenter distance, “r” is the P wave speed (typically 5 km/sec) and “t” is the S-P lag time, which can be determined in several ways (most commonly, you just double the time it took the P waves to get to your spot).

Quakes review – check for accuracy of list:

Complete RSG 7.3, play attention to question II.5 on page 50 of the RSG. Complete RSG 8.1 Make sure you can do these probs out of the book (not to be collected):

o P. 217 (all), o P. 225 - #3-5, o p. 234 - #4 and #6 (if you did a good job on your P and S wave paragraphs, you

already answered #4). o Make sure you can do the problems on page 235, and that you know the shaking goes

up by 10, but the energy goes up by 32 for each jump on the Richter and Moment magnitude scale,

o P. 243 - #3 and #5 (both relate to the Great California Shake Out), o P. 260 - #1 and 4 (Don’t worry about 2 and 3, those aren’t part of our objective)

25 Feb (was 2 Feb) Log: While I give you credit for your “Shake-and-Quake-style” story problems from 19 Feb, use them in your groups to quiz each other. Swap the papers so that each person has somebody else’s paper, then make a data chart and then answer the questions on a sheet of your own paper, indicating whose data chart you have copied/questions you have answered. Discuss the results. Help each other as needed!

3 Mar: Classwork: Test on Earthquakes and Volcanoes, plus some repeat questions from Plate Tectonics.

OLD PLANS

Quakes: pick a region and time period: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/search/

Latest quakes:  https://goo.gl/7CLQCz

Collegiate Lake Nyos: http://www.geo.arizona.edu/geo5xx/geos577/projects/kayzar/html/lake_nyos_disaster.html

Quakes – add “Seismologists Surprised by Deep California Quakes”

Jet stream ppt, winter storms, and related lessons (3 days)

Sound (waves and energy – part b)

Plants/organisms

Solar collectors, astronomy, radioactivity in the sun