'Shell shake – survival of the toughest; why is the fossil record incomplete?'

Video link

Pupils deliberately smash a variety of seashells to see which ones are strong enough to remain recognisable, and which ones are so weak that they would leave little or no evidence of their existence. This leads pupils to realise that the fossil record is often biased. Many organisms are destroyed by being eaten or by being broken up into tiny fragments by moving water, or by processes of lithification of the host sediment. This lesson demonstrates that a slab of apparently well-preserved fossils may not present a true record of all that lived there, so caution is needed in reconstructing the ancient environment in its entirety.
Many more activities in the Evolution of Life category can be found on our website.

Deformed Trilobites

The new ELI today is 'Deformed Trilobites; using fossils to estimate the distortion of rocks'.

Geologists can work out the stresses that rocks have undergone by looking at the ways in which fossils have changed shape. This activity can be used as an introduction to the concept of principal stress orientations as part of a scheme of study on rock deformation.

Other Earthlearningideas related to metamorphism and rock deformation can be found on our website,

Plate tectonics - an introduction

Plate tectonics - big picture, 'facts', earthquake and volcanic evidence.

These three video clips give an excellent introduction to the theory of plate tectonics. More video clips about the topic can be found on our website.

Make your own sedimentary structures

New ELI today - 'Which sedimentary structures can you make? Making sedimentary structures in the classroom using simple apparatus and materials'.

This ELI is a revision activity, involving investigations into how sedimentary structures are formed in loose sediment. Pupils are given a choice of simple apparatus and materials to work out how they can best demonstrate the formation of a particular sedimentary structure.
Many activities related to sedimentary structures can be found on our website either by using the search engine or the alphabetical index.

ELI now has eleven videos to explain the structure of the Earth.

There are video question scripts and ELI activities associated with each video. Also you will find a comprehensive workshop 'Investigating Earth's structure'.

The amazing journeys of rubber ducks around the world

New ELI today 'Lost at sea – the amazing journeys of rubber ducks around the world; studying ocean currents following the Friendly Floatees ocean spill'.

Our new ELI uses a real case to study ocean surface currents. The activity provides an opportunity to address the topic of ocean circulation by means of a real case reported by the media. It also promotes awareness of the connections between local and global sea pollution.
Many more interesting case studies can be found on our website by putting the topic into the search engine or by using the alphabetical index.

Earth's structure and Plate tectonics videos

NEW online videos. As well as the rock cycle, there are now videos about Earth's structure and Plate tectonics  All are fun to watch and to do.

Also there are two new professional development workshops, Investigating the Earth's structure and the plate tectonics story.