Students will be able to construct explanations from evidence for how catastrophic events (including volcanic activities, earthquakes, climatic changes, and the impact of an asteroid/comet) may have affected the conditions on Earth and the diversity of its life forms. 8.E.6A.3
Content Knowledge Support
- Read and compete interactive science workbook pages 508-519.
Discussion Topics
- Each era of Earth's history has ended as a result of a catastrophic event that caused a mass extinction. Will the Cenozoic Era be any different? What do you predict will trigger the end of the current Cenozoic Era? Use specific details from the content knowledge resources about catastrophic events and previous extinction events to support your answer.
- The greatest extinction occurred at the end of the Paleozoic Era where approximately 96 percent of all marine species and about three of every four species on land died out. What catastrophic event(s) do you think caused this mass extinction? Use specific details from the content knowledge resource(s) provided to support your answer.
- What really caused the dinosaurs to go extinct? Use specific details from the content knowledge resources(s) provided to support your answer.
- Will another extinction event in Earth's history ever occur? If so, when and what specific extinction factor(s) do you think will occur? Use specific details from the content knowledge resource(s) provided to support your answer.
Recommended Exercises
(Level 4) Evaluation
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(Level 3) Analysis
Research and complete a mass extinction graph to accurately explain what caused each of the 5 major mass extinctions and describe how each mass extinction changed conditions on Earth using this assignment TEMPLATE. |
Additional Exercises & Extensions
(Level 1) Comprehension
- Research and summarize using 25-50 words why the Paleozoic Era ended in terms of extinction factors.
- Research and summarize using 25-50 words why so many dinosaurs at the end of the Mesozoic Era went extinct.
(Level 2) Application
- Escape Extinction! (Escape Room) - It is often said that history repeats itself. Do you know enough about the five major mass extinctions to escape the next mass extinction?
- Escape Extinction Google Slides
- Escape Extinction Google Form
- Research and find evidence to support whether or not any of the 5 catastrophic events (including volcanic activities, earthquakes, climatic changes, and the impact of an asteroid/comet) are causing the extinction of any species alive today.
(Level 3) Analysis
- Research the top 5 extinction events in Earth's history and determine which catastrophic event had the greatest impact on the conditions of Earth and the diversity of its life forms. Justify your answer using 2 or more specific sources of evidence.
- Research and complete a mass extinction graph to accurately explain what caused each of the 5 major mass extinctions and describe how each mass extinction changed conditions on Earth using this assignment TEMPLATE.
(Level 4) Evaluation
- Research the top 5 extinction events in Earth's history. Using this information rank each of the 5 major catastrophic events (including volcanic activities, earthquakes, climatic changes, and the impact of an asteroid/comet) in order from most to least significant in terms of its impact on Earth's biological history. Use 2 or more specific details for each catastrophic event to justify your ranking system.
(Level 5) Creation
- Using what you learned about the catastrophic events of Earth's history create your own infographic summarizing Earth's history that includes the 5 major extinction events.
- Infographic creator (optional resource)
- Visme (optional resource)
Additional Explorations
- A huge crater off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula is dated to about 65 million years ago, coinciding with the Cretaceous extinction. Did this really cause of the great dinosaur extinction? What evidence do scientists really have?
- What caused the Triassic-Jurassic extinction?
- More that 90 percent of all species perished during the Permian-Triassic extinction event about 250 million years ago. What really caused this mass extinction?
- What caused the Ordovician-Silurian extinction, about 440 million years ago?
- What is Paleoseismology?
Future Learning Connections (9-12)
- Construct explanations of how changes to Earth's surface are related to changes in the complexity and diversity of life using evidence from the geologic time scale.
English Language Learners
Module Review Resources
Vocabulary Practice
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