Rocks on the Move UBD (Understanding By Design)
Radiolarian Chert: Planktonic Landscapes 
Framework: Grades 7-12
	
Desired Results	
Goals of the Program	

Students will...

•	Enrich their understanding of a place through inquiry.
•	Experience National Parks as places for learning and recreation and develop a personal connection with their local National Parks. 
•	Gain first-hand experience with the effects of plate tectonics and active geologic processes.
•	Appreciate the Golden Gate Headlands as an epicenter of plate tectonic theory.
	
Transfer	

•	Analyze the geologic processes evidenced in a landscape.
•	Engage in an informed discussion of the possible future of a landscape.
•	Consider how communities adapt to global climate change.

Meaning	

Essential Question:

How do I recognize geologic change in my environment?

Enduring Understandings: Students will understand that... 

•	The physical characteristics of rocks influence landscapes.
•	Landscapes change due to a variety of natural and human factors, both local and global.
•	Every landscape contains clues to its past and future.
•	Past and future climate change is part of every landscape’s story.

Acquisition	

Students will know...

•	Physical characteristics of radiolarian chert in the Golden Gate Headlands.
•	Tectonic forces that formed the chert rocks and landscapes of the Golden Gate Headlands.
•	Agents of weathering that form and change the chert rock and landscapes of the Golden Gate Headlands.
•	Climate information that is derived from fossil evidence found in the chert.

Students will be able to...

•	Identify the environments of formation of radiolarian chert.
•	Calculate the amount of time recorded in a piece of chert rock.
•	Describe the possible impacts of climate change on a landscape.

Evidence	

Students will show their learning by...

1.	Completing the post-visit reflection provided at the end of the field program. 

...and by doing one of the following: 

2. Completing the biostratigraphy graph during the classroom presentation.
3. Use evidence to identify the timespan represented in a specimen of Headlands chert.
4. Use evidence to answer their own geology question during the field program

CA Next Generation Science Standards	

MSESS1-4:  Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic timescale is used to organize Earth's 4.6 billion-year-old history.
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. 
MSESS3-5:   Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.  
HS-ESS1-5:  Evaluate evidence of the past and current movements of continental and oceanic crust and the theory of plate tectonics to explain the ages of crustal rocks.  
http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/ngssstandards.asp	
CA Common Core Standards	

LACC.68.RH.3.7:  Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

LACC.68.RH.3.8:  Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

Source:
www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf 	
Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction	

Before NPS pre-trip presentation:  Teacher reviews basics of plate tectonics.  The Beach Ball Earth lesson may be used for this. The lesson plan is included in the materials provided during the teacher workshop, or on the NPS website.
Pre-trip presentation (1):  NPS staff introduce the scientific value of radiolarian chert research. NPS staff show a short slideshow to anchor the research to the field trip location (Marin Headlands). 
Pre-trip presentation (2):  NPS staff guide students through construction of a biostratigraphic graph derived from recent chert analysis by local geologists. Students pose questions related to landscape formation and climate change, and offer initial explanations for the gap in the fossil record seen in their graphs.
Field trip:  NPS staff facilitate student in-depth observation and exploration of an impressive chert outcrop in the Marin Headlands. Students collaborate to offer explanations of how the outcrop formed as seen today. Students use their new knowledge to offer new or different explanations of the gap in the fossil record evidenced in the rocks.
Cookie Tectonics: NPS staff guide students through a tactile demonstration that helps students explain the current chert landscape.
Chert Math: Students learn how to calculate the amount of time represented in a piece of local chert rock. Students then calculate the amount of time represented in the entire sequence of chert rock mapped in the Marin Headlands.
Post trip:  Students complete the post visit reflection assignment provided by NPS staff at the end of the field program. 
Teacher returns the post visit reflections via NPS postage-paid envelope.

	

Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction	

Before NPS pre-trip presentation:  Teacher reviews basics of plate tectonics.  The Beach Ball Earth lesson may be used for this. The lesson plan is included in the materials provided during the teacher workshop, or on the NPS website.
Pre-trip presentation (1):  NPS staff introduce the scientific value of radiolarian chert research. NPS staff show a short slideshow to anchor the research to the field trip location (Marin Headlands). 
Pre-trip presentation (2):  NPS staff guide students through construction of a biostratigraphic graph derived from recent chert analysis by local geologists. Students pose questions related to landscape formation and climate change, and offer initial explanations for the gap in the fossil record seen in their graphs.
Field trip:  NPS staff facilitate student in-depth observation and exploration of an impressive chert outcrop in the Marin Headlands. Students collaborate to offer explanations of how the outcrop formed as seen today. Students use their new knowledge to offer new or different explanations of the gap in the fossil record evidenced in the rocks.
Cookie Tectonics: NPS staff guide students through a tactile demonstration that helps students explain the current chert landscape.
Chert Math: Students learn how to calculate the amount of time represented in a piece of local chert rock. Students then calculate the amount of time represented in the entire sequence of chert rock mapped in the Marin Headlands.
Post trip:  Students complete the post visit reflection assignment provided by NPS staff at the end of the field program. 
Teacher returns the post visit reflections via NPS postage-paid envelope.