Earths

history and
Geological
time scale

standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.1 Cite specific
textual evidence to support analysis of science and
technical texts, attending to the precise details of
explanations or descriptions.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.2 Determine the
central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the
text's explanation or depiction of a complex
process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an
accurate summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.3 Follow precisely
a complex multistep procedure when carrying out
experiments, taking measurements, or performing

Overview
And
Purpose

In this exercise students will

create a 460-foot long geologic
time scale using toilet paper roll
in a nearby hallway and use
textual and previous
Powerpoints and reviews to
create a geologic time line. By
making each square of toilet
paper section represent 100
million years and placing a
series of Earth history events
along the way, students get an
idea for how long 4.6 billion
years really is, and how
insignificant our lives are within
that history.

objectives
Knowledge: After completing this exercise, students should know how
old the Earth is, how scientists know this, timing and duration of
major events in Earth History, timing of significant events in the
earth evolution, and how comparatively small the human time
period is.
Skills:During class time students will work on their teamwork skills
and communication skills as they construct the timelines and
answer questions in a group about the timelines and the evolution
of life on Earth. Students will need to use ratios to determine at
what point in their new timescale will something happen.

MATERIALS

Toilet paper Roll

Black/ Blue Markers
Scissors
Measuring tape
Scotch tape
Powerpoint lectures

WARM UP
Explain how Earth was formed (Nebular Hypothesis) and
has changed/evolve.
To assess students preconceptions, as well as introduce
students to the geologic time scale, distribute one
blank geologic time scale to each group. As a team,
have they will place several key events where they
think they occurred in Earths history. Oldest Rocks
Found on Earth (4,400 million years ago) First Evidence
of Life (3,850 ma), Dinosaurs Become Extinct (65 ma),
Modern Humans (100,000 years ago).

Introduction
&
Presentation

Students will watch a short film the

briefly describes Earths geologic
time scale.
https://youtu.be/r10oh1NHKv4
Explain the concept of geologic time
(Relative and Numerical Dating,
lengths of geologic time (Eon, Eras,
Periods, etc.)
Explain how Earth was formed (Nebular
Hypothesis) and has changed/evolved
in 4.6 billion years.
Explain how fossils provide evidence for
how Earth has changed/evolved in
4.6 billion years biologically and
geologically
Powerpoint Presentation
The teacher will go over vocabulary
words that were in the video. Once
the teacher has discussed the new
vocabulary words she will present the

Practice
activity

Provide each group of students with a full roll of

toilet paper
Have students unroll their full roll of toilet
paper down the hallway. A typical roll contains
about 400 squares, and each square is slightly
over 11 cm long. The earth is about 5 billion
years old. That makes each toilet paper square
equivalent to 12.5 million years; each billion
years of earth's history takes up 80 squares of
toilet paper.
On this scale, one year is represented by
0.00000088 cm ... a width too tiny to see.
Once the paper is completely unrolled, you can
mark these important events in earth's history
at the appropriate points.
Explain how fossils provide evidence for how

Student Evaluation
Evaluation will be based on in-class work, appropriate use of time,
teamwork, and completion of the Geologic Time scale assignment.
In-class work will be graded primarily on completion of the questions
asked, and discussion/input of all team members.
Responses will be graded on their thoroughness and demonstrated
ability to incorporate a variety of ideas.
Class time is given for the students to construct their timescales
according to the directions supplied.

Contingen
cy plan
In case things dont go
accordingly a Power point
will be printed and
presented and be saved on
a USB drive.

Teacher self evaluation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What went well in this lesson? Why?

What problems did I experience?
Was it Student Centered? Should it have been?
What could I have done differently?
What did I learn from this experience that will help me in
the future?

. Also take notes during the lesson (teaching journal) to

improve and track students participation and track who
needs more attention or help.