DE Science Elementary “5-Minute Prep” For Earth History Clues to Earth’s History Frozen in Time
Frozen in Time – The Big Ideas Some organisms have been found completely intact, frozen in glaciers. Ice cores from the Arctic and Antarctic contain evidence of living things and climate conditions from tens of thousands of years ago.
Frozen in Time – Prior Knowledge Students may have a some background knowledge about the ice age due to recent media and movies. However, they may have misconceptions and probably have never received formal instruction. It would also help if students have: –a good understanding of Earth’s timeline. –seen or heard of a wooly mammoth. –reviewed the vocabulary for this unit in advance using the interactive glossary.
Frozen in Time – Common Misconceptions There were no animals before, or during the ice age. –Reality: During the last ice age, there were many large, interesting mammals, like the saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, mastodons, and mammoths. These animals have long since gone extinct and are known mostly from fossils, or from frozen, mummified carcasses. There was only one ice age in Earth’s history. –Reality: There have been at least four major ice ages in the Earth's past.
Frozen in Time – Using DE Science Content When you close this presentation, you can review the following recommended resources for Frozen in Time. Exploration: Frozen in Time Reading Passage: Drilling Back in Time E Book: Wooly Mammoths in the Ice Video: The Wooly Mammoth Use the PowerPoint version of this presentation for hyperlinks to these resources or you can get to them through the browser or search feature.
Frozen in Time – Instructional Ideas After students read the e-Book about the Wooly Mammoth, have them work with a partner to write a breaking news story about the discovery of the frozen animal. Students can pretend to be news reporters and perform their news report for their classmates. Students will watch the video on the discovery of the wooly mammoth. Using a strategy called carousel brainstorming, students go around the room to summarize main points from the video. As students go to different areas of the room, they read information posted by other classmates and add new information of their own.
State Standards: If you wish to review your state standards about Frozen in Time, click here to get to the curriculum standards search feature of DES. You can click on any standard to see what resources are available to teach it. Additional Information: For additional content, check the Extend section within the concept.