The History of Planet Earth

Grade Level: 4th

Subject: Science

Time Frame: 4 weeks (November/December)

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Essential Questions

 

- what can rock formations teach about the history of Earth?
- how can fossils help determine the age of rocks and rock layers?
- what are tectonic plates?
- what causes many of Earth's surface features and where do these features tend to exist?

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By the end of the unit, students will know:

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- the layer of Earth that tells us the most about Earth's history is the crust
- sedimentary rocks form in layers and fossils in these layers can help geologists determine how old the rocks are relative to one another
- Earth's crust is made up of tectonic plates that float on the mantle and interact at their boundaries
- many of the features on Earth's surface exist at tectonic plate boundaries

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By the end of the unit, students will be able to:

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- create a model of sedimentary rock formation
- create a model of fossils in sedimentary rock layers
- identify rock layers in a sedimentary rock model and use this information to determine the step-by-step process of rock formation
- determine what the youngest and oldest layer of a rock is based on the Law of Superposition
- collaborate to build a model of one type of plate boundary
- map earthquakes and plate boundary locations and determine the connections between their locations 

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Topics

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- the structure of Earth
- rock layers
- fossils and relative time
- rock formations
-Earth's forces
- tectonic plates

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Standards

4-ESS1-1, 4-ESS2-2