Get a Clue

FALL, 2007-2008

Shhh. The unfolding of this expedition is meant to create a sense of mystery for our young scientists. The first grade team hopes that parents honor the scientific process of making inferences and allow the children to make their own discoveries. Please don’t let the cat (or dinosaurs) out of the bag!

Throughout their “Get a Clue” expedition, the first grade class investigates the answers to the following questions: What lived here (around Rochester) long ago? How do we know? How can fossils be clues to the past? The expedition consists of in-depth investigations of living and non-living things in prehistory using fossil evidence, including specific local fossil finds. These investigations focus on three time periods of prehistory: Warm Seas, Dinosaur Times, and Ice Age. Children work with a partner to research a living or non-living thing from prehistory and write and illustrate a book page highlighting their topic and scientific evidence of its existence. Their final product includes their research in a book on tape format.