In order to reinforce the concepts of geological time, a short field trip to a nearby site of geological significance will be undertaken. Most schools will have such an area within a reasonable distance- a road cutting, a railway embankment or a coastal environment are some common sites.
At the cliff site, students are shown the orientation of the layers, the similarities or differences between layers, and the presence or absence of different colours, textures, and substrate size within each layer. Ideally, the same section of cliff will be avaiable for observation a few hundred yards away, even a few kilometres, so that students can be shown how relative dating works over a long distance in the field. The field trip will be limited to the teacher pointing out the main items of interest, with the students being expected to study the layers and make field notes about the similarities and differences of a few of them. Ideally, a layer will fall within the sequence which has some significance to evolutionary history- a layer corresponding to the time of the first appearance of hominids, or the Cambrian explosion, etc.
Assessment:Field trip participation and field notes
Students will be required to attend the field trip and engage with the concepts of geological dating and sequencing. Students are also required to hand in their field trip notes at the end of the trip- these are to be constructed as a fill-in-the-answer style sheet for ease fo field use.
CURRICULUM MAP (Links to VCE Biology Study Design)
Learning Activity
Skills
Assessment
Field trip to Exposed Cliff
'...collect, process and record information systematically; analyse and synthesise data; draw conclusions consistent with the question under investigation and the evidence obtained'
As above
Area of Study
Key Knowledge
Learning Outcomes
2 - Change Over Time
'Geological time: scale; relative and actual dating techniques; evidence of evolution: fossil record, biogeography'
'...analyse and evaluate evidence for evolutionary change and evolutionary relationships, and describe mechanisms for change'
Field Trip to Exposed Cliff
In order to reinforce the concepts of geological time, a short field trip to a nearby site of geological significance will be undertaken. Most schools will have such an area within a reasonable distance- a road cutting, a railway embankment or a coastal environment are some common sites.
At the cliff site, students are shown the orientation of the layers, the similarities or differences between layers, and the presence or absence of different colours, textures, and substrate size within each layer. Ideally, the same section of cliff will be avaiable for observation a few hundred yards away, even a few kilometres, so that students can be shown how relative dating works over a long distance in the field. The field trip will be limited to the teacher pointing out the main items of interest, with the students being expected to study the layers and make field notes about the similarities and differences of a few of them. Ideally, a layer will fall within the sequence which has some significance to evolutionary history- a layer corresponding to the time of the first appearance of hominids, or the Cambrian explosion, etc.
Assessment: Field trip participation and field notes
Students will be required to attend the field trip and engage with the concepts of geological dating and sequencing. Students are also required to hand in their field trip notes at the end of the trip- these are to be constructed as a fill-in-the-answer style sheet for ease fo field use.
CURRICULUM MAP (Links to VCE Biology Study Design)