Global Ups & Downs: Changing Sea Level (6-12)
Overview of the box
Concepts and Standards
Lessons:
1 Consequences
of global warming
2 Experimenting
with ice melt
3 Glacial evidence
4 Fossil evidence
Activities:
1 Reefs, limestone, &
sea level change
2 What about fossils?
3 Foraminifera &
changing sea level
4 Foraminifera &
climate change
5 Using isotopes to track
sea level change
6 Sea level change &
mass extinctions
5 Impacts of topography
6 Impacts on ecosystems
Online resources
Student Web Page
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Lesson 4: Fossil Evidence

Fossil Evidence for Sea Level Change

This lesson consists of six web-based explorations. Students explore the formation and distribution of limestone and fossil reefs as evidence of sea level change. Students investigate how fossils are formed and what they can tell us about past conditions on Earth. Students learn what foraminifera are and conduct an activity using foraminifera to study changing shorelines and ocean depths and to investigate changing ocean temperatures. Students examine the isotopic compositions of foraminifera as evidence of past glaciations. Students explore mass extinctions as a result of sea level change.

Concepts and learning outcomes

The students will understand that:

  • Fossils provide evidence of past life and past environments.
  • The distribution of fossils provides evidence of past changes in sea levels.
  • Isotopes provide evidence of past changes in temperature, glaciation and sea level.
  • Changes in sea level affect habitats and the flora and fauna they support.
  • Sea level changes may have been responsible for mass extinctions in the past.
  • Scientists use multiple lines of evidence to learn about the past.


Time requirements


Six 50-minute classes


Vocabulary


Isotopes, foraminifera, benthic, planktonic, paleontology, mass extinction, flora, fauna, Cambrian, Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, Cretaceous, topography, bathymetry


Activities


1. Reefs, Limestone, and Sea Level Change: Students use a web-based exploration to investigate the formation and distribution of limestone reefs as evidence of changing sea level.
2. What about Fossils?: Students use a web-based exploration to investigate how fossils are formed and what they can tell us about past conditions on Earth.
3. Foraminifera and Changing Sea Levels: Students learn what forams are and then conduct an activity that uses a real foram data set to study changing environments and ocean depths.
4. Foraminifera and Climate Change: Students conduct an activity using forams to investigate changing ocean temperatures through time.
5. Using Isotopes to Track Sea Level Change: Students explore the isotopic composition of forams to study past glaciations.
6. Sea Level Change and Mass Extinctions: Students explore the evidence for mass extinctions in the past and examine the possible relationship with of changes in sea level.


Resources used