Prehistoric Climate Change and Why It Matters Today

• Through this lesson and experiment, students make observations and draw conclusions about what the climate was like 55 million years ago.
• Students are introduced to combining math, science, and paleontology to better understand the history of the Earth and how it has changed over time.

Positives

• This is a great way to introduce students to fieldwork, data collection, and analysis.
• The lesson plan includes in-depth background information on prehistoric climates, the greenhouse effect, fossil records, an answer key, and a step-by-step guide to the exercise.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• It is easiest to view the materials by downloading the PDF.
• Although not specified in the lesson plan, playing the videos may be best to provide students with context before the activity.
• Unfortunately, the link to the interactive activity does not work, but it is not necessary for the activity.

Differentiation

• Teachers can use this lesson as an opportunity to introduce climate models.
• The background information available in the lesson plan can be given to students for more advanced classes as extra reading.
• This other activity can be used to learn more about analyzing past climates through paleontology, and this similar activity can be used to learn about other ways of looking at past climates.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.