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Teacher Page		                                   PROCESS

 
     (And Group Work)  
          
PART I:  Your group needs to:

a.  Agree on an extinct organism to represent.
b.  Develop a statement to explain what a scientific theory is.
c.  Assign roles to group members.

     Roles:  All group members play the role of a paleontologist.  But paleontologists have                        specialized tasks with more specific roles.
                  Below is a description of the three specific roles involved in this task.

Geologist     The geologist will gather the following evidence:
1.  dates of the species existence
2.  geologic time period in which the species existed (era, period, epoch) (timeline)
3.  general description of the Earth during this geologic time period (sketch)
4.  fossil of the organism; including date found and location (sketch)

Biogeographer     The biogeographer will gather the following evidence:
1.  where on Earth the species lived during its existence (map)
2.  how the species came to be in that location and any migrations of that
     species
3.  description of the environment in which the species thrived during its
     existence (sketch)

Biologist     The biologist will gather the following evidence:
1.  physical and behavioral characteristics of the species from the fossil record
2.  changes in the species over time (sketch)
3.  sketches/ pictures of the species


**** Check in with the teacher before you move on.


PART II:  Research for the information specific to your role.  Use the links below.

 Theories:

http://wilstar.com/theories.htm

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=theory

http://www.astronomynotes.com/scimethd/s2.htm


Geologic Time Links:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/Geologictime.html

http://www.prehistory.com/precambrian.htm

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/paleo/geotime/main/index.html

http://www.palaeos.com/Timescale/default.htm

Fossil Records:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/horse/Eohippuscoloring.shtml

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/7841/horse_evol/eohippus.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/cgi-bin/paint/mG/subjects/mammals/horse/Eohippuscoloring.shtml

http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/woollymammoth/

Other Resources:

http://www.naracoortecaves.sa.gov.au/wonambi/animals/extinct/procoptodon.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060406100543.htm
http://www.meta-religion.com/Paranormale/Cryptozoology/Extinct_animals/gallery_extinct_animals.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/darwin/exfiles/ordovician.htm

http://nitro.biosci.arizona.edu/courses/EEB105/lectures/extinction/extinction.html

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/

http://www.davidreilly.com/dodo/

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0512/feature3/multimedia.html

http://www.paleoportal.org/


PART III:

a.  The group will compile and discuss all gathered evidence.
b.  The group will develop a theory based on all evidence, past and present, to explain the circumstances of the species extinction.
c.  The group will create a poster to explain the life story of the extinct species from beginning to end.
d.  The group will present the extinction theory to the class using the poster as a visual aid.
e.  The group will make a conclusion statement answering the essential question, "Why do some species live and some species die?"
f.  The group will create a hypothesis to answer the question, "Could the human species become extinct?"




Mary Ann Handley
handleym@gjps.org
www.itsco.org