wildlife of gondwana - museum of tropical queensland/media/documents/learning... · 2013-07-25 ·...

Wildlife of GondwanaUnit of Work: Early YearsMonash Science Centre

WILDLIFE OF GONDWANA EXHIBITIONEarly Years Education Booklet

Monash Science Centre ©20072

This teacher resource booklet has been devised and produced by the following members of the staff at the Monash Science Centre:

Professor Pat Vickers-RichPriscilla GaffDr. Corrie WilliamsSpecial thanks to: Kathy Smith, Dr. Sanja Van Huet and Cindy Hann - for the education framework and contentSpecial thanks to: Peter Trusler - for the artwork

The cliparts used in this kit are from CorelDraw 7.No part of this document may be copied or distributed without the written permission of the Monash Science Centre. This excludes the use of handouts for classroom activities in conjunction with this kit.

This education kit is suitable for the following year levels:

Credits

Contact Us

Education Level of this Kit

Prep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Monash Science Centre would like to thank Visions of Australia - an Australian Government Initiative, for their generous support for the 'Wildlife of Gondwana Exhibition'.

The Monash Science Centre would also like to thank the School of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, Monash University, for their support of the scientific research on display in the 'Wildlife of Gondwana Exhibition'.

Monash Science Centre Building 74Monash UniversityClayton, 3800Victoria Australia

Phone: 613 9905 1370Fax: 613 9905 1312www.monash.edu.au/msc

Special Thanks

The Education Team at the Monash Science Centre is proudly supported:

The research on the fossils from the Precambrian included in the exhibition has been generously supported by:

IGCP493

Index

4A fossil is the preserved remains of a once-living organism.4Palaeontologists are scientists who study fossils.4Fossils may provide information about the size and shape of ancient creatures.4Many different kinds of creatures lived on the Earth millions of years ago.4Palaeontologists use fossils to reconstruct ancient animals, plants, and climate.4By studying fossils palaeontologists can begin to determine information about their diet, behaviour,

how they died, and how they were preserved.

EARLY YEARS - Key Understandings



LEVEL 1: Life & Living - Biodiversity change & Continuity1.9: Identifies features and those of animals and plants that change over time.2.9 Compares and contrasts similarities and differences within and between groups of familiar living things.Working Scientifically-1.15 Talks about observations and suggests possible interpretations.2.13 Formulates questions to guide observation and investigations of familiar situations.

National Statement in Science

Item Page

Credits 2How to Contact Us 2Index 3Key Understandings 3National Statement in Science 3Part 1: What do we know? 4Part 2: What do we want to find out? 5Part 3: How can we find out more information? 9Part 4: Processing the experience 9Activities 1 - 8 9-19Part 5: Linking activities 20Background Information 21-22Glossary 23-24Resources 25



The experiences outlined in this initial aspect of learning invite students to think about ideas and information related to the topic area. In many cases simple stimuli, both visual and auditory, such as picture charts, multimedia images from internet sites, pictures from books, texts, story telling, etc., have been selected to provide a vehicle to promote discussion and prompt children to recall any existing relevant knowledge they may have to contribute to the exploration of the topic in the classroom.

PART 1: What do we know?

1. Locating the boundaries of experience.

Creating a thinking a board

TEACHER BACKGROUND: 4Act as scribe for your class and create a “Thinking

Board”. 4To find out what the students prior knowledge is on

the topic of fossils, ask the students "What do you know about fossils?"

4Use the board to record the students ideas and information.

4It is also the place to record any questions that have been raised during or as a result of sharing ideas.

4Alternatively students ideas can be written in outlines of dinosaur shapes on the board.

4In this activity all student ideas and contributions are valued and important.

4This board represents the children's areas of interest in relation to this topic and is therefore useful as a 'working display' in the classroom.

4The board can be returned to on a regular basis, it may be used many times; as a starting point for research work, to inform the selection of activities used in the classroom, to revise topic language, the list may be expanded by adding new pieces of information as appropriate and relevant, to contribute information when constructing a glossary of terms, etc.

4This input forms the basis for future direction and topic exploration within the unit.

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Follow Up: Student Journals Throughout the topic, students write entries on a regular basis in their journals. The focus of these entries is to enable the student to record a new piece of information or an observation they made that was of particular interest to them. These entries may be shared. At the completion of the first session related to the Thinking Board, students are encouraged to record such an entry in their journal. Encourage the use of drawings and key words. Journals may be an effective strategy for encouraging students to reflect on new information and consider how this may link with their existing ideas. These entries are also a useful tool when assessing student involvement and interest in the unit topic and may determine the future direction of unit planning.

PART 2: What do we want to find out?There is research evidence (Biddulph 1990, p.68) that when children have that opportunity in science they prefer learning from their own questions and value learning about other children's questions as this often challenges them to think about aspects of a topic they had not considered.Fleer, M. Hardy, T. 1996

Pinning Questions on the Wall

4Return to the Thinking Board constructed in the last session. Review the information.

4Working with students, discuss the information on the board.4Encourage students to write one or two questions they hope will

be answered during the unit. 4These questions can be written in large print and pinned on the

walls of the classroom. 4Questions are removed only when the author of the question feels

it has been answered, such as after their visit to the exhibition. In fact, students could bring their question along to the exhibition, and write the answer on the back.

This activity has the possibility to set the agenda for the unit, to involve the students in the structure and focus of the unit, to identify any gaps in information to be taught, to focus on a particular task each lesson and to reflect on what has been achieved and learned throughout the unit of work.

Reference: Learning from the PEEL (Project for Enhancing Effective Learning)) experience.

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Preparation for Visit to Exhibition

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Pairing Up!

þ Cut out the squares, and then try and match the word with the picture.þ Next, check if you got it right when the teacher calls out 'The Clues'.þ Keep these cards safe in an envelope for special games.



Preparation for Visit to Exhibition4Photocopy the previous sheet for each student. Each of the pictures is of an

animal they will see in the exhibition. 4Have the students cut out the boxes, and then try and match the picture with the

word. 4The students can work in pairs and discuss which they think match.4Once they have matched their pairs, read out the CLUES. Students should check

to see if they need to make changes to their original matches. 4Allow students to make any changes.

Trilobites extinct marine arthropods like insects and crabs, they are covered in an exoskeleton.their bodies of trilobites divided into three parts; head, thorax and pygidium (tail). lived from 542 to 245 million years ago.

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4

4

Ammonite:4 extinct marine animal4 covered in a shell, and its soft

parts look a bit like an octopus4 lived in the sea more than 400

million years ago to 65 million years ago.

Graptolites:4 extinct marine animal4 their name means 'writing in rock'4

44

each graptolite consists of a stick- or twig-like colony of tiny animalsthey look like little 'branches of saw blades'lived between 542 to 250 million years ago.

Coral:4tiny marine animals that live in

cone-like cells, commonly in warm water.

44

often live in colonieshas an external skeleton

Bullockornis:4extinct flightless bird4was approximately 2.5 meters tall4lived in Australia, about 15 million

years ago4closest living relatives are geese!

Wombat:4Australian marsupial4has a backbone4walks on 4 legs4is a herbivore and digs burrows

Tasmanian tiger:4meat-eating marsupial4is now extinct, but lived in

Australia until 19334has stripes on its back4had a pouch

Dinosaur:4 extinct animals that had a

backbone4 lived on the land 230 to 65

million years ago, except for their relatives - birds - who survive today.

4 ancient reptiles, who walked with their legs under their body, not out to the side.

Amphibians:4animals that had a backbone, 4they live in the water and on

land4most have soft skin,4they must lay eggs in the water or moist

places.

Insects:4amongst first animals to live on dry

land4they have a hard exoskeleton4their body is divided into 3 parts -

head, thorax and an abdomen4they have 3 pairs of jointed legs



Wombat

trilobite

coral

dinosaur

amphibian

ammonite

graptolite

Tasmanian Tiger

insect

Bullockornis

This animal lived on water or land?

This animal is extinct?

water

water

water and land

water

water

land

land

land

land

land

yes

yes

yes

yes

yes

yes

no

no

no

no

The cards can be used for grouping games for the students to find out more information about each animal.

Group 1: Group the animals according to whether you think they lived in the water or on the land? Let students work together and talk about their answers. Ask the students why did they group the animals the way they did.

Group 2: Using the same method - ask students to group the animals according to whether they think the animal is extinct or still alive.

Part 2: Grouping games

Visiting the Exhibition and the students complete Scavenger Hunt Sheet.

PART 4: Processing the Experience.TEACHER BACKGROUND: Exploring individual children's understanding of and feelings about science is an important component of science teaching, as these ideas have direct implications for their learning and the teaching of science. Providing a range of ways for students to express their understandings is also crucial. Exposing students to a variety of alternative ideas and interpretations may encourage them to consider alternative viewpoints to their own and this may enhance learning. It can also expose the students to how science really works: hypothesis, testing, and refinement of ideas.

The activities below are designed to encourage students to process and make sense of information they have covered in classroom research and through their visit to the exhibition. The following activities focus on visual representation of information providing students with a vehicle for expressing their understandings and conveying these to others.



PART 3: How Can We Find Out More Information?

A Period of TimeCreate a class mural depicting the periods of geological time. Use one colour as a background coding for each period of time. Students contribute to the mural by constructing representations of plant and/or animal life from each time period. Include bubbles of background information composed by students. Display mural across the back of the classroom or in a prominent display area.

Fossil Diorama Have students select a fossil of their choice. Students share with the class their choice and their knowledge of this animal or plant. Working independently, in pairs or small groups, students construct a diorama in a shoe-box depicting an interesting scene of this fossil's existence. Students may need to undertake further reading and research to find out more about the fossil they have selected to determine what other animals and plants are suitable for inclusion in their diorama.

Fossil Vote Create a class room graph where each student votes for their favourite fossil. Each student must write their name on a piece of paper (all pieces of paper need to be the same size) with the name of their fossil, these pieces of paper can be used to create a bar graph in the classroom.



The body of the dead dinosaur falls to the bottom of the river.

The muscles and flesh of the dead dinosaur rot away leaving only the skeleton.

The skeleton is covered by layers of mud and sand.

Activity 1: Fossil sequence

Cut & paste the following pictures into sequence next to the sentences to tell the story of how the dinosaur became a fossil.

Pressure from the earth above makes the layers of mud and sand become rock.

The rock is eroded away by weather e.g. wind and rain.

The fossil is found by a palaeontologist.



Activity 2: Creatures of the SlimeCreatures of the Slime - these animals (if they are indeed animals!) - predated the dinosaurs by millions of years! They lived in the oceans on Earth during a time know as the PreCambrian, from around 600 to 542 million years ago. Some of the best fossils of these creatures are from Australia, Namibia and Russia. The Flinders Ranges in South Australia is one of the best places on Earth where these kinds of fossils have been found. The following activities allow students to become familiar with these early multi-cellular creatures - some of which are our ancestors!

Fossilised creatures of the slime!Fossilised creatures of the slime!Background informationThe Ediacaran animals are all soft bodied creatures (a bit like a worm or soft coral). This means they had no hard-parts such as a skeleton, like you and I have, nor a hard shell on the outside like a crab or insect. It is much easier for the hard-parts (like bones and shells) to end up as fossils than the soft-parts - which usually wear away or rot before they have a chance to be fossilized. This experiment explores how difficult it is for a soft-bodied animal to end up as a fossil.

Equipment:4soft jelly lollies - like raspberry lollies or jelly beans (to be your 'soft

bodied animal)4shells (to be your 'hard bodied animal'4plastic cups4sand or mud

Procedure:ª The students work in groups of 4.ª Each group has a 2 cups, a 'soft animal' and a hard animal.ª They need to place sand or mud at the bottom of each cup.ª Then they lay an 'animal' at the bottom of the cup.ª Next they fill each cup with water.ª This is left for a few days, and checked each day to see what

happens to their 'fossils'.ª Extra: one group might like to 'cover' their animals in sand and

then pour water over.

Discussion Questions:What happened in your experiment?Which animal lasted the longest? Why do you think so?Can you think of any soft bodied animals you have met?Can you think of any animals with hard parts?What does this experiment tell you about how fossils are formed?

raspberry lolly in water

hard shell in water

Life in the ocean 555 million years ago!



Activity 3: Creatures with no eyes!Ediacarans lived in the dark because they had no eyes. We rely on sightto identify objects, to find out way, to appreciate changes in our environment and just to get through our life each day. Imagine what it would be like to live in a world where you could not see.

Procedure:4Put students in groups of 4.4Give each group a picture of one of the Ediacaran animals (pictured below).4Each group, or student, first needs to make a model of their animal in play-dough or

plasticine.4Check their animals with the picture - make sure they didn’t add any eyes to the animals.4Next each group needs to brainstorm how they think each animal survived in its

environment if they couldn’t see.They might like to brainstorm the following questions:Is it possible, and how would it:

ð find food?ð tell when it found another one of its own kind if it couldn’t see the other animals?ð tell if it is night or day? And would it matter?ð tell if it is winter or summer?ð tell if other animals are nearby?

Remind the students that these animals couldn’t talk like you and I - they had no voice box!

DickinsoniaThis animal lived about 550 to 570 million years ago. It was a kind of worm-like creature, and moved slowly along the ocean floor eating the slimy microbial (like algae) mats.

CharniodiscusThis animal lived 540 to 553 million years ago. It most likely lived like a modern 'Sea Pen', attached to the ocean floor and filter feeding food from the water.

PteridiniumThis creature lived in the oceans about 565 to 545 million years ago. It lived partly buried in the ocean floor. Palaeontologists still need to keep studying this creature to really understand it!

All of these creatures lived in oceans that covered Australia 555 million years ago!



Carnivore

skeleton

extinct

Fossil

dinosaur

herbivore

Palaeontologist

skull

teeth

Leaellynasaura

eats mostly meat.

A small plant eating dinosaur named after Leaellyn.

someone who studies fossils.

eats mostly plants.

A type of extinct reptile that held their limbs under their body.

the remains or impressions of past life.

no longer living on Earth.

Match the word with the correct meaning or picture by drawing a line to connect the two.

Activity 4: Word Detective



Some dinosaurs were really big. Others were not so large, but they all left footprints in the sand and soil when they walked. Some of these were fossilised and have been found by palaeontologists both amateur and professional.

On the back of this page are several drawings of a real Australian dinosaur footprint. The original track was found at near Winton in southwestern Queensland.

Photocopy the track-way for each student.Let them know that they are know 'palaeontologists' as they will be studying fossil footprints, much like a palaeontologist would who studies 'trace fossils'.

Discuss the following questions with the class:1. How many animals made the trackway?2. What kinds of animals do you think they were? How can you tell?3. How many legs did each of the animals walk with? How can you tell?4. In what direction did the animals move?5. Did they change speed or direction? How can you tell?6. What do you think might have happened to produce this trackway?

Students could either:$ write their own story$ work together and roll play their story$ draw a cartoon of the story

Remind students that they can interpret the track-way however they like, so long as they can justify their story using the evidence. Alternative stories might be: the animal leaving behind the small footprints was a bird and it flew away, or a baby dinosaur and it got on its mother's back, or maybe one of the dinosaurs was eaten!

Activity 5: Dinosaur Footprints

Interpreting the fossil footprints



Activity 5: Dinosaur Footprints



Aim:To get familiar with the names of bones in the vertebrate body of a dinosaur.

Equipment:ð coloured pencils or textasð photocopy of this sheet

Procedure:1. To get to know the names of dinosaur bones, colour the different bones of the dinosaur using the colour chart or make up one of your own.

Orbit (eye socket)

Nostril Temporal fenestra

Cervical vertebra

Dorsal vertebra

Sacral vertebra

Illium

Caudal vertebra

Ischium

Pubis

TibiaFibula

Femur

MetatarsalClaw

Phalanyx

Mandible

Scapula

Humerus

Ulna

Radius

HAND(manus)

Phalanx

Claw

Colour chart:Vertebrae- greenHumerus and femur- redUlna, radius, tibia and fibula- yellowSkull and jaws- blue

Activity 6: Body Bits

Phalanges (bones of the fingers and toes)- orange

Neck and tail- pinkRibs- black



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8

6

16

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To make this flick book cut around the squares and put them in order to assemble the dinosaur. Once they are in order hold one side of the assembled pieces and flick through them to make your own animation.

Activity 7: Dinosaur Flick-book



Activity 8: Before and AfterBelow is a picture of Megalania and Genyornis, two exinct animals. Both of these animals lived about 50,000 years ago, and lived in Australia. This drawing was reconstructed based on the fossil bones of these animals. Rather than making a static picture of the animals, the artist, Peter Trusler, chose to depict the animals in an interaction that very possibly would have happened more than 50,000 years ago in Australia. This image can be used to brainstorm what life would have been like for both of these animals in the past.

Procedure:4Photocopy of the picture onto an overhead sheet, or photocopy the next page and it give

it out to each of the students.4Brainstorm with the students what is happening in the picture. You could ask questions

like:* Why is Genyornis running?* What do you think Megalania might eat and why do you think so?* How can you tell Genyonris is a bird?* Do you think Megalania could run fast? How do you know? (Hint: look at the legs)* Do you think Genyornis could defend itself? Why do you think so?

4Nest take the students beyond the picture by brainstorming what they think could have happened before the picture. Encourage students to write their own story of what they think happened before. Remind that we don't know, so there may be many things that could have happened - so long as they can justify their answer according to the evidence in the picture.

4Next allow the students to brainstorm what they think happened after, 4and write their own stories. (Again, students need to 'stick to the evidence' - for example

Genyornis has very tiny wing bones - so this bird could not fly away).

This procedure was developed by Jo Osler and Jill Flack as part of the PEEL (Project for Enhancing Effective Learning).

Megalania

Genyornis



Look at the picture, write about what happened before:

Look at the picture, write about what happened after:

Megalania

Genyornis

Before and after Name:



Planning for learning requires the inclusion of explicit activities that 'focus on building a richer meaning for the knowledge presented by the teacher by linking it to elements of memory.” (p.187 Baird.J & Mitchell,I. 1995).

In this unit, concept mapping is used as a strategy to provide valuable feedback about the effectiveness of the processing activities outlined earlier in the unit. The activity outlined below allows the students to work in groups and explore all the possible links they can think of between key concepts covered to date. How well students understand the content covered to date may be reflected in the types responses each group composes.

Part 5: Linking activities

Concept mapping is a procedure that assists students in their understanding of the connections between the major concepts in a content area. (Baird.J & Mitchell,I. 1995).

«Using key words from the topic list select 5 and paste on large cards. «Place these cards on the floor in a random arrangement. «Place students in teams of at least 4. Each team is given a piece of

streamer. «The team must select two words from the floor and when it is their

turn they must place their strip of streamer between these cards and explain their understanding of how these words could be linked. «On a sheet of paper record the main ideas expressed (in key words)

and place this sheet on the piece of streamer. «Continue until all groups have had a turn. If there are further ideas continue again for

another round. This can also be completed on a pin board and the results can be left on display.

This activity provides informative feedback for you the teacher about how students are making sense of the information that has been covered through the unit and also exposes students to other student's ideas.

Activity: Group Concept Maps

Students complete responses to sentence stems. Some examples include:$ We know about animals that lived in the past because……………..

$ Some fossils tell us that……………….

$ My favourite fossil was _________ because …………………

Students complete sentences and these are shared with rest of the class by displaying them in a special area of the room. Students can be encouraged to go on a print walk and read other students responses. For the younger students the sentence stem may be written on the board and the teacher can list for the students all the ideas they have for sentence endings.

Activity: Completing statements from the stem

dinosaur

fossil



Background InformationWhat are fossils?Fossils are the remains of once living organisms.

How do fossils form?Fossils are usually found in sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks are often made up of particles sand, silt or gravel. When an organism dies, it may be covered by layers of sediment, which later consolidate into sedimentary rocks. Sediments are usually deposited in the bottom of lakes, rivers or in the sea, or even from wind-blown sand dunes. These layers can sometimes enclose the remains of the organism. If conditions are right, the layers will consolidate (solidify) into rocks, and the preserved remains of the dead organism will become fossils.

How old is the Earth?The Earth began to solidify and divide into its layers, and have a solid surface, about 4.6 billion years ago, or in other words that's 4600 million years ago long, long ago!

When did life begin?The oldest records of life on Earth are 3.8 billion years old that's 3800 million years ago!

What did the first life look like?Very small! Microscopic. The oldest life forms on Earth were so small, to see them you would need a microscope. These organisms were single celled - made up of only one cell. We are multicelled animals, made up of many cells.

When did the first vertebrate animals appear?The first fossils of backboned (vertebrate) animals are Cambrian in age, dating back nearly 530 million years. These first vertebrates were fish but fish that had no jaws.

Can fossils tell you the age of a rock?Fossils can give a relative date, not a date in years. Trilobites are found in rocks that lie below those that contain dinosaurs, and so trilobites lived before the dinosaurs. Trilobites became extinct approximately 245 million years ago, so if you find a rock with a trilobite in it you know the rock must be older than 245 million years old.

When did the biggest extinction event occur?The extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous time period (some 65 million years ago) was nothing when compared to what happened on Earth at the end of the Permian about 245 million years ago. Some palaeontologists have suggested that up to 97% of life was wiped out at that time. Life was almost lost at the end of the Permian.

What happened to cause such a massive wipe out of species at the end of the Permian? There are many theories, but for the moment this is one of the big mysteries that is not so well explained. In the millions of years before the end of the Permian, there had been a lengthy glaciation big ice sheets moved from the north and the south affecting many continents. So, times were cold. But during the Permian, glaciation subsided and at the end of Permian times there were great volcanic outpourings and Earth may have been blasted by a large meteorite!

With all the water tied up in ice, the sea level was lowered and many of the areas of the world that form the shallow marine waters around the continents were laid bare. These are areas where most marine animals today thrive and would have in the Late Permian. So, those shallow marine animals would have been under great stress.

We know that the was vast volcanic activity at this time would have thrown ash up in the air which would have caused climatic change that affected animals and plants the world around.

And the recent evidence that a gigantic meteorite hit Earth and caused rapid and catastrophic climatic cooling, wildfires, acid rain may well have also contributed to the mass extinctions that occurred at this time. Thankfully life survived - but maybe only just!



Background InformationWhat killed the dinosaurs?The debate still rages between palaeontologists as to what killed the dinosaurs, some 65 million years ago, it may have been instantaneous or prolonged over a period of hundreds of thousands or possibly even a few million years. At present, there are two main ideas about what wiped out the dinosaurs.

Asteroids and comets?One theory suggests that the extinction of the dinosaurs was brought about by the impact of an extraterrestrial object, a comet or an asteroid. Such an impact could have brought about an immediate rise in the surface temperature of the Earth, causing widespread wildfires, dramatic increase in global ocean temperatures, and a short period of terrible acid rain. This short-term event may have then been followed by a longer term cooling of Earth temperatures because of the dust particles kicked up in the atmosphere by the impact, restricting the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface.

Volcanic activity? A second theory about dinosaur extinction suggests that intensive volcanic activity filled the atmosphere with particles and reduced the amount of energy reaching the surface of the Earth from the Sun. Effects of even small volcanic eruptions such as Krakatoa, Pinatubo or Mount St Helens have shown a temperature drop due to volcanism.

Or a double whammy? Some scientists have suggested that perhaps the impact of a comet or asteroid triggered massive volcanic activity on Earth, such as that in India at about this same time. In any case, the biological consequence of one or both of these events brought about a relatively rapid turnover in the vertebrate and invertebrate fauna of the Earth.

Were mammals living during dinosaur times?Yes, mammals lived and developed at the same time as the dinosaurs. But as long as dinosaurs were around, mammals were relatively small, and probably nocturnal. Once the dinosaurs were gone, mammals took over the world!

What happened to life on Earth after the dinosaurs become extinct?During the last 65 million years, once most of the dinosaurs became extinct, the world changed a great deal. From the warm Greenhouse conditions of the Cretaceous some 100 to 65 million years ago, the Earth's climate began to cool. It was during this time, without the dinosaurs that mammals and birds, insects and teleost fishes exploded into many different kinds of new species.

The flora changed too. Plants bearing flowers became dominant and so the whole smell of the world changed from that of the green conifer forests of the Mesozoic to the blossom-bearing shrubs and trees that are typical of today.

What is megafanua?Megafauna is defined as reptiles, birds, and mammals over 40 kilograms in weight. During the Plesitocene Period (1.8 million years to 10,000 years ago), Australia supported a diverse assemblage of megafaunal mammals such as Diprotodon, megafaunal birds such as Genyornis, and megafaunal reptiles such as Megalania.

Why did the megafauna in Australia become extinct?A few theories have been suggested as possible explanations of what caused the extinction of the megafauna of Australia. Natural climate change is one theory, habitat change resulting from human burning of the bush is another, and hunting of the megafauna by humans is yet another theory.



Glossary Absolute date: a method which determines the time order in rock sequences, measured in years by radiometric techniques that is, those techniques which depend on the regular and statistically predictable decay of radioactive elements

14(Carbon for example).

Amphibian: animals that live in water and on land during their life. However, some amphibians were completely aquatic and some were completely terrestrial.

Ancient: old

Aquatic: living in water.

Bacteria: microscopic single-celled organisms, they lack chlorophyll, and they reproduce by fission.

Biostratigraphy: ordering of rock sequences, to determine their approximate age, based on the fossils found in the rock.

Carnivore: an animal that eats mostly meat.

Cell: the smallest living unit that

Conifer:a plant that reproduces through the production of seeds in cones.

Cycad:an ancient type of seed plant that was around at the dinosaurs, and still lives today.

Deposit:to lay down in one place, eg: sediments are deposited in lakes.

Erosion: wearing away of the land surface by the transportation of debris by wind or water.

Evolution:changes over generations in the characteristics of plants and animals.

Extinct: no longer living on the Earth.

Fauna: animals living in one area or at a particular time.

Flora: a group of plants living in on area or at a particular time.

Fossil: From the Latin word meaning to "dig up". The remains or impressions of life, that lived in the past.

Gondwana: a massive supercontinent of the past, that included South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, India, and perhaps parts of China.

Glacier: a large mass of ice on the land or over a water body, which moves in a definite direction.

Habitat:a place where an animal or plant lives.

Herbivores:an animal that eats mostly plants.

Hibernate:to pass the winter in a torpid state. During this state, the animal's metabolism slows down and there is no need to eat.

Invertebrate: animal that has no backbone.

Labyrinthodont: crocodile-like amphibians that lived before and along side the dinosaurs.



Glossary Lungfish: most of these fish breathe in oxygen from the air rather than taking it from the water. They are a particular group.

Mammal: a group of vertebrates that usually give birth to live young. Mammals usually have hair, are warm-blooded, and feed their young with milk.

Marsupial: a mammal that gives birth to its young at a very early stage. The baby marsupial crawls into the pouch and grabs onto a teat where it stays, drinking milk, for a while, until developed enough to get about on its own.

Megafauna: very large animals, generally animals that weigh more than 40 kilograms.

Vertebrate: Animals with a backbone.

Meteorite: a solid body from outer space; there are two kinds; - those that are mostly stone and those that are mostly iron.

Multicelled: many cells, an animal that is multi-cellular is made up of more than one cell.

Nocturnal: active at night.

Organism: a living bacteria, plant, fungi or animal; they can duplicate itself.

Omnivore: an animal that eats both plants and meat; thus has a varied diet.

Plesiosaur: an extinct group of sea-dwelling reptiles. Plesiosaurs had a barrel-shaped body, a short tail and paddle-like limbs perfect for swimming.

Placental Mammal: mammals that give birth to highly developed young, with a specialised tissue - the placenta - which nourishes the developing embryo.

Reptile: a group of vertebrates (have a backbone), which are covered by scales, and lay eggs on land to reproduce.

Sedimentary Rocks: rocks formed of sediments deposited by water or air, e.g.: claystone, sandstone, siltstone or conglomerates.

Sediments: the grains and organic debris that are the result of rocks weathering (breaking down) and the 'debris' being transported by wind and water, laid down in some kind of sedimentary environment (e.g.: a lake, ocean or sand dune).

Skeleton: the bones that make up the internal structure of a vertebrate animal, or the external covering of an invertebrate animal (such as a crab shell).

Solidify: to become solid or firm.

Species:a unique kind of animal or plant, e.g.: Homo sapiens (the scientific name for humans).

Weathering: the break down of rocks into smaller pieces by exposure to wind, water, sun, heat, cold and chemicals.

Vegetation: plants growing in a place. e.g.: all of the plants growing in Southeast Australia.



http://www.sci.monash.edu.au/msc

http://www.sci.monash.edu.au/msc/dinodream/index.html

http://www.abc.net.au/dinosaurs/

http://www.nhm.ac.uk

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/fosrec/Learning.html

http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/dinosaurs/

http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/fossils/games.htmhttp://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/mystery/education.html

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/evolution/what-is-the-evidence/extinct-evidence/extinct-evidence.html

http://www.abc.net.au/beasts/

http://www.geosci.monash.edu.au/precsite

This is the website for the Monash Science Centre at Monash University.

This is the official site of the dinosaur dig in Victoria. This site gives excellent information about the Inverloch dinosaur dig and the dinosaurs found there. It also has links to other dinosaur sites around the world.

This site has more information about Australian dinosaurs from around the world.

The Natural History Museum, London site has data files on the most well known dinosaurs, plus it has great suggestions for classroom activities on dinosaurs.

This sites lists classroom activities on dinosaurs and fossils. It also has excellent interactive lessons online, including topics such as geological time.

The Museum Victoria fossil project web site. This site contains lots of information on fossils, fossilisation, megafauna and dinosaurs.

Interactive activities for students about fossils.

Watch a short video on the evidence for evolution

Information and games about Megafauna.

Information about Precambrian life and environments.

Resources

Web Sites

wildlife of gondwana - museum of tropical queensland/media/documents/learning... · 2013-07-25 ·...

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