Distance Learning

Prehistoric Species of the Niobrara River

Grade Level:
High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
Subject:
Literacy and Language Arts,Science

Prehistoric Species of the Niobrara River Lesson Plan

Geology & Paleontology Writing Lesson
Niobrara Scenic River & Nebraska Writing Project

Materials 

Objectives 

  • Students will be able to compose a fictional first-person narrative from the perspective of a prehistoric species of the Niobrara National Scenic River following the guided prompts to examine and articulate its internal and external life experience. 

  • Students will gain knowledge of the Niobrara National Scenic River and its unique geologic and paleontologic resources. 

  • Students will examine their view of the world and expand it to include the lens of pre-historic context. 

Explore

5 minutes 

 

  • Introduction to the Niobrara National Scenic River 

  • 76 miles of river 

  • North Central Nebraska 

  • 6 Ecosystems 

  • Introduction to lesson Road-map 

  • Geology - 5 layers 

  • Paleontology - Mesozoic and Cenozoic 

  • Pairing Geo & Paleo to tell a dynamic story of climate and species over time. 

  • Model how to use thinking tracker  

  • It Says: Putting soils and locations of fossils together can tell the story of climate and landscape change over time. 

  • I Say: (questions/ideas/surprises) I wonder how paleontology and geology tell two versions of the same story. 

  • Invite students to make their own observation on the “It Says” and “I Say”. 

Explain

15 minutes 

  • Tell students the Story of the Niobrara River through Time: 

  • Mesozoic Era 

  • Cretaceous - Sea Bed, Pierre Shale, Mosasaur 

  • Cenozoic Era 

  • Paleocene, Eocene - Topics, Rosebud, Rhino/horse 

  • Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene - Forested Grasslands/savanna, Valentine/Ash Hollow, Rhino/horse/camel/elephant 

  • Pleistocene/Holocene - Ice Age/Modern Age, Sandhills, Elephants/horses/camels, humans/bison  

  • Thinking Tracker Throughout - what surprised you? 

  • Show timeline (in slides) of who lived when and what catastrophic events led to the environmental changes and new soil layers that added these species to the fossil record. 

Elaborate

15 minutes 

  • Let’s tell the surprising story of one of Nebraska and the Niobrara’s prehistoric mammals. 

  • Choose one of the prehistoric species we’ve learned about today to create a 9 minute story. 

  • 2 Minutes: Write about what you see, hear, smell, etc. in Nebraska along the Niobrara River  

  • 2 Minutes: Write about your worries, fears, and/or concerns 

  • 2 Minutes: Write about your strengths and weaknesses? 

  • 2 Minutes: What are your hopes and dreams? 

  • 1 Minute: What do you want history to remember about you? 

  • Have students decide where they would like to put the name of their species. The title or maybe the first line? As a final line? Etc. 

Evaluate 

5 minutes 

  • Share with partners/class 

  • If time allows, edit/rewrite/expand the story. 

Expand 

As time allows. 

  • Individual Resources for Individual Species Deeper Learning: 

  • Describe when it came about, what it ate, where it lived, how it adapted over time to its climate, what threats it faced, when it left/went extinct. 

  • Make these observations in a word-web or create a timeline for that animal. 

  • Teach their animal to the class. 

  • As a class, Create: a Word Web Organizer - create a word web for each era describing the climate, landscape, species, plants, catastrophic events, threats, predators, prey, soil, etc. 

  • Descriptive words 

  • Teacher can record on anchor chart OR students could create an anchor chart for words for each landscape/animal 
Notes from the Creators: 

To access the full playlist of Ever-Changing Currents Lessons, please visit our YouTube page, “Niobrara National Scenic River NPS,” and see our “Lesson Plans” playlist https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyHbU2YEJH9WA_owDStTa1Q/playlists 

Lesson outlines and materials are available on the Niobrara National Scenic River Website, www.nps.gov/niob/learn, or through the Nebraska Writing Project, www.unl.edu/newp. 

With these resources you are allowed to: 

  • Print as many copies as needed for your classroom and for the students under your immediate instruction. 

  • Use in conjunction within a secure and closed online environment, such as Google Classroom or Schoology. 

  • Share with partnering teachers/organizations. 

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO: 

  • Post this resource on any class/personal website or blog. 

  • Edit, redistribute, sell, or post this resource as your own. 
 


 

Tags: niobrara niobrara national scenic river education lesson lesson plan writing english language arts river paleontology geology

Last updated: March 23, 2021