Laetoli Trackway Puzzle
This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection
This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the process are
- Scientific Accuracy
- Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
- Pedagogic Effectiveness
- Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
- Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page
For more information about the peer review process itself, please see https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/activity_review.html.
This page first made public: May 24, 2017
Summary
Using the Laetoli Footprints, students will explore how scientists use current patterns to understand the past. Students will answer the questions:
What do the footprints tell us?
How do scientists find that out?
Students will measure and correlate their foot lengths and body heights and use that data to estimate the height of the Laetoli hominid.
Topics
Sustainability Grade Level
High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)
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Learning Goals
Understand that observations of present life can provide clues to life in the past.
Understand how observations leads to scientific explanations and interpretations of ancestor of humans and what information can be gathered from the fossil record.
Context for Use
Description and Teaching Materials
HomininTrackwayAnalysis (Acrobat (PDF) 1.2MB May24 17)
foot topo (Acrobat (PDF) 539kB May26 17)
footsteps (Acrobat (PDF) 503kB May26 17)
Teaching Notes and Tips
Assessment
References and Resources