Field Trips
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- State Standards:
- Arizona State Science Standards
7.E1U1.6
8.E1U1.6
NGSS
MS-ESS1-4
MS-ESS2-2
MS-ESS2-3
AzSS & NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
Patterns
Scale, Proportion, & Quantity
Essential Question:
What evidence is present in the rock layers of the Grand Canyon that indicate different environments in deep geologic time?
Field Trip Overview:
Throughout this field trip, students analyze rock and rock layers to establish relative ages of major events and environments that form the stratigraphy of Grand Canyon. Students start by making observations of Grand Canyon rocks and generate rock properties. Students start to identify patterns related to weathering, erosion, and deposition that can provide evidence of how different rock and rock strata form. Students also investigate the layers of the Grand Canyon, model different formations in deep time, and illustrate the depositional environments of several layers.
On this field trip, students will be able to:
- Explore the landscape of Grand Canyon and find evidence for how it has and continues to change.
- Work together with peers and small groups.
- Make micro-level observations of rocks to look for evidence of its formation.
- Illustrate a timeline of events that formed a rock strata in Grand Canyon.
- Break down the macro-level concept of “deep time” as it relates to the stratigraphy of Grand Canyon.
- Investigate evidence of weathering, erosion, and deposition in the sedimentary rock layers, and make connections and meaning to current day evidence of these processes.
Ties to Arizona Education Standards and NGSS Standards
Arizona State Science Standards:
- 8th Grade Earth and Space Sciences: Students explore natural and human-induced cause-and-effect changes in Earth systems over time. (Supports Standard 8.E1U1.6)
- 7th Grade Earth and Space Sciences: Students develop an understanding of the patterns of energy flow along with matter cycling within and among Earth’s systems. (Supports Standard 7.E1U1.6)
Next Generation Science Standards
- MS-ESS1-4: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old history
- MS-ESS2-2: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.
- MS-ESS2-3: Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
AzSS & NGSS Grade Band Middle School Crosscutting Concepts
- Patterns: Patterns can be used to identify cause-and-effect relationships.
- Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: Time can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.
Last updated: November 21, 2023