History+of+Life+on+Earth

History of Life on Earth Unit Adapted from a Unit Design by Barbara Fleming

Unit Overview In this unit, students will study the history of life on earth in preparation for a study of evolution and ecology. They will gain a working understanding of the currently understood time scale of geology, including geologic dating methods and the fossil record. Students will become familiar with several hypotheses for the origin of life.

Purpose of Unit The guiding question for the overall evolution unit is “How did we get here, the way that we are?” This portion of the unit address specifically the very early history of that question: “How and when did life appear?” It is also a very controversial topic that should engage the students’ interest. Main Ideas Section 1 Fossil Evidence of Change Fossils provide evidence of change in organisms over time. Section 2 The Origin of Life Evidence indicates that a sequence of chemical events preceded the origin of life on Earth and that life has evolved continuously since that time.

Identify the different types of fossils and how they are formed. Explain how fossils provide evidence about the nature of ancient life Summarize the major events of the Geologic Time Scale. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Correlate the Geologic Time Scale with biological events. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Analyze early experiments that support the concept of biogenesis. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Relate hypotheses about the origin of cells to the environmental conditions of early Earth. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sequence the steps by which small molecules may have produced living cells. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Compare and contrast modern theories of the origin of life.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Concept Overview <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Instructional Objective //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: Introduce unit and establish purpose. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Procedure //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: Teacher introduces unit. Students locate and identify key terms in the text. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Resource Materials //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: Glencoe’s //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Dynamics of Life // Chapter 14. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Evaluation //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: Have students turn in flashcards when completed. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">﻿ **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Day 2. ** //<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Instructional Objective //<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Identify ** the different types of fossils and how they are formed. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> **<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Explain **<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> how fossils provide evidence about the nature of ancient life <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> //**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Procedure **//**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Teacher presents lecture notes while students complete accompanying handout. Students work on completing a worksheet that will be due for homework. //**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Resource Materials: **//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> PowerPoint notes from Glencoe’s //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Dynamics of Life //, 14.1 with accompanying student handout. Worksheet from 14.1 (Glencoe). //**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Evaluation: **//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Have students explain the differences between different types of fossils and the significance of these fossils for determining the history of the Earth <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">** [|Day 3.] ** <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Instructional Objective //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">: **Summarize** the major events of the Geologic Time Scale. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">: Student Inquiry—Relative Dating. Students mimic relative dating techniques through an interactive activity and relate the task to Geologic Dating. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Resource Materials //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">: [|Relative Dating Activity]. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Evaluation //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">: Have students relate the dating techniques to geology and identify the key events of the history of the Earth.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Day 1. **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Day 4. **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Instructional Objective: //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> **Analyze** early experiments that support the concept of biogenesis. **Relate** hypotheses about the origin of cells to the environmental conditions of early Earth. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Teacher presents lecture notes while students complete accompanying handout (continued from Day 2). Students work on completing a Critical Thinking worksheet about the origins of life. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Resource Materials: //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> PowerPoint notes from Glencoe’s //Dynamics of Life//, 14.2 with accompanying student handout. Critical Thinking worksheet. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Evaluation: //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Have students identify environmental conditions of pre-biotic Earth and explain the most common hypothesis for how life could have begun. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 57pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -57pt;">**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Day 5. **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Instructional Objective: //****<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Correlate **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> the Geologic Time Scale with biological events. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Students watch video linking geology and biologic history while answering questions on an accompanying handout. Students discuss video and go through video questions together. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Resource Materials: //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Video (United Streaming). Guiding questions to accompany video. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Evaluation: //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Have students explain the relationship between major biologic and geologic events. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> [|Day 6] //.// **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Instructional Objective: //****<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Relate **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> hypotheses about the origin of cells to the environmental conditions of early Earth. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Students review conditions of pre-biotic Earth and try to identify the biotic capabilities of a hypothetical meteorite’s originating planet. Students then play a game in which they must identify the home planet of a fictional character by analyzing the characteristics of several planets. Worksheet must be completed for homework. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Resource Materials: //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Meteorite data. Planet information. [|Worksheet]. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Evaluation: //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Students should be able to distinguish conditions supporting life and conditions not supporting life. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 58.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -58.5pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> **Day 7.** <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Instructional Objective: //****<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Sequence **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> the steps by which small molecules may have produced living cells. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Teacher presents lecture notes while students complete accompanying handout (continued from Day 4). Students work on a worksheet to be completed for homework. Assign groups for project beginning the next day. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Resource Materials: //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Lecture notes from Glencoe’s //Dynamics of Life// 14.2 and accompanying handout. Worksheet for homework. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">**//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Evaluation //**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">: Have students explain the major concepts involved in the formation of cells. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">** [|Days 8-10.] ** <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Instructional Objective: //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> **Compare and contrast** modern theories of the origin of life. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Procedure: //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Students work in groups to research different theories of the origin of life and present them to other groups in the form of a mock debate. Discuss and summarize results of each group on final day. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Resource Materials: //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Compilation of resources for each group. [|Assignment] and [|Data Form]. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">

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