Jacquelyn C. Olson

SLM 521 - Dropin #4

Fourth Grade Science Lesson

June 25, 2009

Fossils: What are They and Where are They Found?

Scientists excavating dinosaur fossils from a quarry wall in Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado.

National Park Service

Students will discover the basic characteristics of fossils, how paleontologists locate them, and how museums classify and maintain them.

Objectives:
Upon completion of this lesson the student should be able to:
1.	Define the terms fossil, paleontologist, and excavate.
2.	Discuss the different types of fossils, where they are most likely to found and approximately when they were created.
3.	Compare and contrast the differences in the types of fossils in the different eras of history.
4.	Create a virtual representation of a dinosaur dig.

Did you ever wonder how museums obtain dinosaur remains and fossils? To begin today’s lesson, we will read an article written by Alfred Fisher called “Fossil Record” on the Scholastic Website

(http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=5007)

to learn more about how fossils are formed and discover where scientists have uncovered dinosaur remains. Click on the link above, and read the article. Look for the answers to the following questions and record your answers on a separate piece of paper:

1.	What types of fossils are most likely to be found in limestone? What are large deposits of vertebrates’ bones and teeth called?
2.	In the world’s “red beds” found in mostly in sedimentary rocks, what might scientists find?
3.	What are entire or partial bodies of organisms called?
4.	Name several other types of fossils and describe them.
5.	Name one of the areas where the accumulations of sediment reveal bodies of plants and animals that have retained their general form? Why would fossils found in these areas be of greatest value to the paleontologist?
6.	Name two other periods in history, the types of fossils typical in these eras, and where fossils from these eras have been found.
7.	Who was Robert Hooke and why did he believe that fossils might be a chronological guide to geologic history?

Our second activity for today will be a visit to the National Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian Institution. We will discover the top ten misconceptions about dinosaurs and take a virtual museum tour where you will see pictures of actual fossils, learn when and where they were found, and how paleontologists take care of the fossils at the museum. Lastly, we will all get to participate in our own dinosaur dig.

First, click on the link to discover the top ten misconceptions (http://paleobiology.si.edu/dinosaurs/info/misconceptions/main.html) about dinosaurs. As you read through them, I would like you to think about how many items you believed before participating in these activities.

The exhibit “Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur,” which opened June 30 at the Burpee Museum in Rockford, Ill., featured a notable well-preserved specimen that the museum identified as a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex. It stood about 2.3 m (7.5 ft) high at the hips and was about 8.5 m (28 ft) long.

Next, follow the link to the virtual museum tour (http://paleobiology.si.edu/dinosaurs/info/misconceptions/main.html) at the National Museum of Natural History. Follow the prompts to view the information and images included in the tour. Be sure to complete the entire tour which includes a visit through the Curator’s office. Does the tour include any of the fossil remains that you learned about in the “Fossil Record” article which you read at the beginning of these activities? If so, which ones? Were you surprised to see what actual fossils look like in 3D, instead of merely viewing pictures of them? What questions would you ask paleontologists at the museum? Please record your answers on the same paper as the answers to the “Fossil Remains” questions.

Fossilized footprint of an unidentified dinosaur. © Getty Images

To complete our virtual dinosaur activities, we will each participate in a virtual dinosaur dig (http://paleobiology.si.edu/dinosaurs/interactives/dig/dinodig.html) on the National Museum of Natural History’s website. We will imagine that we are in the year 1891 in Wyoming and we have located a site where dinosaur remains from the late Jurassic Period have been found. Please click on the virtual dinosaur dig link above to begin your fun! As you move through the dig, pay attention to the prompts. They will guide you through finding and excavating your fossil. You will learn important information about the anatomy of your fossil and general information about where the animal or plant lived and when. You will also view a short slide show to illustrate what your fossil may have looked like with skin and muscle tissue.

Now that you have experienced first-hand what it is like to be a paleontologist, on a separate piece of paper, I would like you to make a list of five dinosaur facts that you have learned from this lesson. I would also like for you to provide me with your reaction to these activities. What was your favorite part of the lesson? What other activities would you like to have included as we studied dinosaurs and fossils? Lastly, has your perception on fossil remains changed since you began these activities? In other words, prior to this lesson did you believe that actual fossils existed or did you believe fossil stories were tall tales? Please explain your answer.