The Magic School Bus The Busasaurus - Dinosaur and Fossil Worksheets

Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Examples of structures could include thorns, stems, roots, colored petals, heart, stomach, lung, brain, and skin. Assessment is limited to macroscopic structures within plant and animal systems.

Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time. Examples of evidence from patterns could include rock layers with marine shell fossils above rock layers with plant fossils and no shells, indicating a change from land to water over time; and, a canyon with different rock layers in the walls and a river in the bottom, indicating that over time a river cut through the rock. Assessment does not include specific knowledge of the mechanism of rock formation or memorization of specific rock formations and layers. Assessment is limited to relative time.

Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. Examples of data could include type, size, and distributions of fossil organisms. Examples of fossils and environments could include marine fossils found on dry land, tropical plant fossils found in Arctic areas, and fossils of extinct organisms. Assessment does not include identification of specific fossils or present plants and animals. Assessment is limited to major fossil types and relative ages.

Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.

Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly. Examples of events and timescales could include volcanic explosions and earthquakes, which happen quickly and erosion of rocks, which occurs slowly. Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of timescales.