 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earth History, Fossils, and Layers in the Earth
Thomas Jefferson Elementary
School, Academic Year 2010-2011
Grade K |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Dr. DeLeo came into our classroom and told us about the history
of the Earth, and how scientists know so much about
the Earth’s past. We already knew that there were
dinosaurs and other animals on the Earth a long time
ago that are no longer around today. Many of us even
knew what the word “extinct” means. It means
that those plants or animals no longer live today -
they all died. The dinosaurs disappeared - went
extinct - a long time ago, about 65 million years ago. |
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. DeLeo used a computer and a projector in our classroom, and he even showed movies! We asked a lot of questions! He began the computer slide show by describing "timelines" to us. A timeline is like a clock or a calendar. In fact, you might call a clock a "time circle" instead of a timeline. The numbers go around in a circle on a clock, but they go in a straight line on a timeline.
|
|
|
|
| |
| These pictures show timelines for a day in school - the one in the middle for morning (AM) Kindergarten, and the one on the far right for afternoon (PM) Kindergarten. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A timeline that goes longer than one day is more like a calendar than a clock. It is like taking the weeks on a calendar, and stringing them together end to end. Most timelines go on for longer than one day, usually much longer than one day! Below are some timelines. The one on the left is for three school days, the middle one is for 20,000 years, and the right one is for the age of the Earth, over four billion years!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| It's fun to make timelines using photos or drawings. The timeline just to the left shows Dr. DeLeo's life in photos and drawings. Can you make a timeline of your life? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In one part of Dr. DeLeo's presentation, we saw a picture of our school from above. The picture was taken by a satellite that circles the Earth out in space. Mr. Craven helped him explain how we could see our school from above. And we asked even more questions!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Dr. DeLeo told
us that we could tell a lot about what happened in the
past by digging underground. We learned that the Earth’s
surface is made of layers of dirt. The deepest layers
are the oldest because they were laid down first. This
is just like making a sand bottle using layers of colored
sand. The bottom layer goes in first. We knew that –
we’re really smart!! So, if you dig down deep into
the Earth, you are actually looking back in time. Often,
we don’t need to dig since nature sometimes carves
away the ground for us. You can often see the layers easily.
We find the remains of plants and animals (fossils) in
the ground. And the ones that lived a really long time
ago leave fossils really deep underground.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Dr. DeLeo showed us a fossil of an animal called a trilobite, and we all got to pet it. Trilobites no longer live today; they are extinct like the dinosaurs. To the right are pictures of Mr. Craven and Ms. Steigerwalt petting the trilobite, and below are pictures of us. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Dr. DeLeo set up special magnifying glasses in the room. They make things look real big when you look through them. Dr. DeLeo tried to scare us by looking at us through one of the magnifiers, but we don't scare that easily! We used the magnifiers to look at the fossils, rocks, and animals bones that Dr. DeLeo brought in. When plants and animals that lived a long time ago die, they sometimes become hard like rock. These are called fossils. Below are some pictures of us looking at fossils, rocks, bones, and other things in the classroom.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our teacher, Mr. Craven, and our Principal, Dr. Campbell, had fun looking through the magnifiers as well. These are pictures taken during the morning kindergarten class.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
And, here are pictures taken during the afternoon kindergarten class.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| If you click the play buttons on the pictures on the right, you will see VIDEOS of us looking through the magnifiers at fossils, rocks, and all sorts of things. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
We had lots of fun learning about layers
in the Earth, timelines, and fossils!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I hope you have enjoyed this web presentation as much as we enjoyed sharing the actual learning experience with your son or daughter. Although we have endeavored to exclude photographs where permission has been denied, it is possible for errors to occur. If you would like us to remove a photograph of your son or daughter for any reason, please send me an e-mail message at lgd0@lehigh.edu or call me at 610-758-3413, and we will remove it promptly. Please note that we will never associate a child's full or last name with a photograph except in circumstances where special permission was explicitly provided. Thank you. Gary DeLeo. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
aSm.jpg)
