Earth Science Lesson Plans
The Archaean

Notes for the leader/teacher for The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Archaean: The purpose of the individual Era lessons is to show the differences between each Era and the one that came before. Emphasis during the lessons should be on the characteristics as they contrast with the previous Era. Avoid giving too much data. By limiting the amount of detail, you leave room in the students’ thoughts for creation of a mental picture. This will encourage students to follow-up with their own research to more fully develop their pictures. Dialogue is included in bold and italics. Things you would do during the lesson are in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Prerequisites for The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Archaean: Intro to Clock of Eras; Hadean Time presentation

Materials for The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Archaean:

A clock of eras chart.Click here for a printable version.
A blank or non-colored chart Click here for a printable version
Loose pieces for each of the Eras (You’ll use the first two sections in this lesson: The Hadean and The Archaean)
An arrow to use as the hand on the Clock of Eras
(Optional: A large, black poster board or construction paper to use as a background.)
(Optional: Bubble / Thinker Model) Download the PDF file here for a free printable version of The bubbles and thinkers coloring page with description
Templates for student follow-up

Presentation of The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Archaean:

Review the Previous Lessons (SHOW THE COLORED CLOCK OF ERAS) We’ve been talking about this special geologic clock. Do you remember what it’s called? The Clock of Eras. It is a clock the shows us time that has passed since the earth was formed. (SHOW THE ARROW FOR THE ERA HAND) Do you remember what the hand measures? It measures the Eras that have passed.
(REMOVE THE COLORED CLOCK OF ERAS AND REPLACE IT WITH THE BLANK CLOCK. NOTE:YOU MAY USE THE BLACK PAPER FOR A BACKGROUND, REVIEWING THE NOTHINGNESS OF THE TIME BEFORE THE BIG BANG.) We were using this special form of the clock to learn about each era. (PLACE THE HADEAN SECTION ON THE BLANK CLOCK.) This section represents the Hadean Time. It was the time of the volcanoes, when the earth was forming its crust. There was no life on the planet during the Hadean time, so it is black-the absence of life.
The Archaen Time (PLACE THE ARCHAEN SECTION ON THE BLANK CLOCK.) Today we are going to learn about the second period: The ArchaenTime. At the end of the Hadean time, the Earth was covered with newly formed seas. These seas were a think liquid, more like pea soup than the watery oceans that cover the Earth today. The air that surrounded the Earth was different, too. Instead of oxygen, this atmosphere had ammonia and methane. This is the Archaean time. In the pea-soup seas different chemicals were meeting each other. Some were attracted to each other and formed new combinations.
(OPTIONAL: SHOW THE THINKERS MADE OF BEADS.) There were little empty bubbles in the seas. (OPTIONAL: SHOW THE CLEAR, EMPTY BUBBLE CONTAINERS.) The bubbles had an inside and an outside. Some of the chemicals were tiny thinking acids. They had figured out how to copy and make more of themselves. At some point, one of these thinkers got inside one of the bubbles. (OPTIONAL: PUT ONE OF THE THINKERS INSIDE ONE OF THE BUBBLES.) It copied and copied itself until the bubble got so full it popped! Eventually the thinkers taught the bubbles how to make more of themselves, too. Now the bubbles and thinkers were partners. The bubbles provided a space for the thinkers to live and together they produced more bubble-thinker partnerships. These were the first “sort-of” cells. They were the earliest form of life on the planet. These cyanobacteria were able to use the sun’s energy to make oxygen. The rocks that tell about this time are found in Western Australia. You can see fossils of these cells with a microscope. On the Clock of Eras, the Archaean time is colored gray. There is no real life on the planet yet, but the bubbles and thinkers are working hard to make it happen! Follow up for The Earth Science Lesson Plans The Archaean: Bubble - Thinker Model: Provide the materials for the students to create the model. Download the PDF file here for a free printable version of The bubbles and thinkers coloring page with description Bubble-Thinker Coloring page Color or Cut & Paste the clock parts with labels for the two Eras studied so far. Illustrate the Era. Have books available for students to read about the Archaen Time. Done with Earth Science Lesson Plans The Archaean? The next Lesson is The Proterozoic

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