Welcome! We know great science teaching is challenging, demanding of your time and resources. The Paleontology Portal can help you efficiently enhance or launch a high quality paleontology explanation. What follows is a quick summary of what you can find here:
-
An interactive map that provides an overview of the paleontology and geology of each state, province, and region of the United States, Canada, and Mexico through geologic time
-
A map showing the shapes and positions of land masses and oceans during that time period
-
Descriptions of the world geography and climate, and North American geology and paleontology, for that time period
-
Images of fossil organisms from a specific taxonomic group, state and/or time period
-
Information on significant fossil finds in North America
-
Links to general resources, information on careers and upcoming events, and data from fossil collections
-
Access to a searchable database that includes data from multiple museum collections
In addition, we recommend:
Prerequisites for student use
Students should be familiar with several topics before beginning an exploration of this site.
Plate tectonics:
Evidence for Plate Tectonics
Geologic time:
Understanding Geologic Time
Fossils:
Getting Into the Fossil Record
Cladistics and phylogeny:
What Did T. rex Taste Like?
Background information for teachers
Geologic maps:
Map Layer Info
Colors of the geologic time scale:
USGS Tapestry of Time and Terrain: explanation of the legend
Evolution:
Understanding Evolution
Nature of science:
Understanding Evolution's Nature of Science
Sample activities for using the PaleoPortal
A set of inquiry-based activities that make use of the data within the PaleoPortal
- The Life Story of a Fossil (for grades 6-8)
In this lesson, students select an organism that existed during a specific geologic period in a specific
state in the United States. Students then imagine themselves as that organism and use resources to write
a story that describes their life, death, and entry into the fossil record.
- A Cross-Country Trip in the Old Days (for grades 6-12)
In this lesson, students examine the fossil and geologic records across a transect of the United States
during a single period of time. By examining the evidence, they make inferences as to the paleoenvironment
of that time and predict what additional evidence they might find in neighboring states.
- Paleoenvironmental Booklet (for grades 6-12)
In this lesson, students will use information about rock types and fossils found in a particular state to
make inferences about the paleoenvironment of the location throughout Earth's history. Students will produce
a booklet with information about the paleoenvironment during each Period, as well as an illustration of the
location during that time.
About the Paleontology Portal
Take a Tour of the Paleontology Portal
|
