Chronological History of the World Unit-Studies for Homeschoolers

This is Earth's infancy; She was created when the Sun fairly exploded with nuclear fusion to give off light and heat, and the cloud of gas and dust surrounding the Sun were heated until they were molten. The heavier elements, like iron, sank, to become our planet's core, and the lighter elements rose to the surface.

During this time the planets were bombarded with asteroids, meteoroids, and comets, left-over debris kicking around the new solar system. When the asteroid-showers had ceased, and the planet cooled and hardened, then the geologic time-line of our Earth begins.

The Hadean Eon
Fossils-Facts-and-Finds provides an excellent reference, suitable to a wide age range, I think. Personally, we're using these as our texts, since our history text-book does not cover so early a time-period. I just print them right out, and we read the synopsis together at the start of each new time-period.

The Hadean Eon
Palaeos seems to provide detailed explanations of each time period, a bit heavy for the younger learners, but for those with older students ( or those teaching who need to understand the information better before presenting it to pupils--like me!) this aught to prove useful.

Introduction to the Hadean Eon
This is short, simple, and concise, go ahead a take a peek.

Geological Eras
From Kidipede, this is a nice resource, with a video, too.

Geologic Time: The Story of a Changing Earth
An extensive resource from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Hadeon Eon
This has become a trusted resource for us: Kidipede's Science for Kids.

This section is a great place to include a study of volcanoes and plate tectonics! Check out the companion science-lens for this segment, which includes plenty of links, resources, and ideas for your science studies:
Kids Investigate Volcanoes

In exploring Earth's History, it is easy to incorporate Earth-Sciences along the way.
Follow your child's natural curiosity and 'investigate' in further detail whatever it is he show interest in. Incorporate science experiments, field trips to natural geological landmarks in your area, was documentaries. Earth is fascinating!

INCORPORATE:
Abiogenesis
Astronomy
Climate change
Evolution
Fossils
Geology
Plate Tectonics
Rocks & Minerals
Volcanoes

USGS Educator's Resources
A long list of resources provided free by the United States Geological Service focus on each of the different earth sciences.

For Kids Only Games
These are earth-science based educational games for kids, provided by Nasa.

How Stuff Works: Earth Science
How Stuff Works is a great resource that I find myself using a lot. It has a whole earth science section to explore, and even a search engine if you want to find something specific. It's worth a try.

Science Inquirer
Lots of free science resources here.

Kid's Geography Online Resources
This is a really super resource for Earth Science studies.

Archeological Power-Point Presentations
This is a really terrific resource with all sorts of free power-point presentations related archeology, and lots of other resources to play with. But you don't have to take my word for it; go ahead and take a look!

Altapedia
This is a great resource with free maps, dates, and more to add to your presentation materials.

Geography Resources
Mr. Donn provides great resources, and power point presentations; worth a look.

Probably the most important events in the history of earth, of life, occured during the Proterozoic Era. Land-masses formed, and oxygen built up in Earth's atmosphere.

Before this time, oxygen had been released through photosynthesis, but because of chemical sinks, could not accumulate. Once oxygen could exist inside our atmosphere, then protists, eukaryotic algae, and fungi could live here.

The Proterozoic Era
From Fossil-Facts-and-Finds, another very good reference of the time.

The Proterozoic Era
Provided by the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
A brief, but efficient look at the era that brought us life on Earth, with links to more in-depth looks at eukaryotists, and more.

The Proterozoic Era
Another great resource, this one has a nice look at the geography of Earth during this time period, and a close-up look at some of the life-forms that existed then.

Proterozoic Eon
From Kidipede's History for Kids, this is a brief and age=appropriate explanation of the proterozoic eon.

This segment is a good place to include a study of microscopic life! Dig out the microscope and examine all things small as part of your science explorations. Take a look at my accompanying science-lens:
KIDS INVESTIGATE MICROSCOPES!

The biggest things your kids should take away from your study of the Cambrian Period is the vast explosion of diversification that occurred. In just a few million years animal groups, from worms to fishes, appeared. There was rapid plate movement, as Gondwana assembled, and shallow seas were prevalent. This was an ideal environment for a rapid evolutionary event that saw the birth of plankton, the base of the oceanic food chain, and the 1st wave of new creatures led to the 1st Vertebrates.

Cambrian Period
Fossil-Facts-and-Finds entry on the Cambrian Period.

The Cambrian Period
This is a link to University of California's Museum of Paleontology and their entry on the Cambrian Period and their various resources.

Paleozoic: Cambrian
This is Palaeos' references on the Cambrian Period under the Paleozoic Era; great for more advanced students.

Cambrian Period
A lengthy article on the Cambrian Period from National Geographic, with various resources available (wallpaper, time-line, various links).

Even if you're not working from DK's Prehistoric Life, this is an ideal segment in which to include a study of Vertebrate vs. Invertebrate, or, for older students, you might think about studying the animal kingdom, classification, and animal phyla.

This is the companion science-lens for this segment:
Kids Investigate the Animal Kingdom

At my website I have included free downloadable PDF files for a Vertebrate/Invertebrate BINGO, Vertebrate Matching, and Invertebrate Matching worksheets that I made myself. Just click on the link below:
The Earth-Studies Units

During this time period, the nature of marine faunas changed dramatically. Cambrian faunas were replaced by a more diverse assortment in the mid-Ordovician. Animals, in the form of arthropods first colonized the land. Then, at the end of the Ordovician Period, the first of five major mass-extinction events took place, killing off both flora and fauna, including trilobites, echinoderms, brachiopods, graptolites, bryozoans, and reef builders.

OCEANS & CONTINENTS
In a remarkable reorganization of the continents and ocean basins the rapid plate movement and volcanism of the Cambrian Period continued into the Ordovician Period. There were four major continents: Gondwana, Laurentia, Baltica, and Siberia; and three main oceans called: the Panthalassic Ocean, the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, and the Iapetus Ocean.

The Ordovician landscape was one of barren continents where there were frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. In wide shallow-seas there were extensive coral reefs and diverse marine invertebrate life-forms.

Life in the Ordovician Seas
This is a visually appealing resource offered by the American Museum of Natural History, all about life in the ancient oceans, including information about vertebrates and invertebrates in these early seas.

CLIMATE
The Ordovician Period began as very warm, with ocean temperatures around 108-degrees Fahrenheit. However, by the end of the early Ordovician a prolonged period of cooling began. Temperatures dropped to around 73-degrees Fahrenheit. Greenhouse conditions became more like those of modern equatorial oceans. It remained this way for a good 25 million years.

A period of rapid temperature decline followed, due to extensive Glaciation close to the end of the Ordovician. It was this intense, and short-lived glaciation event that brought about a mass extinction event.

Palaeos Paleozoic: Ordovician Period
Reference resource regarding the Ordovician from Palaeos.

The Orovician
From UC Museum of Paleontology is a more simplified reference resource containing links and resources to utilize.

Ordovician Period
Another good reference from National Geographic.

Ordovician Period
This link will take you to one of my favorite on-line resources--the Kidipede.

The Ordovician Period
Here's another of my favorite resources, geared toward the younger students, provided by Fossils-Facts-and-Finds.

Following the Ordovician Extinction Event the Silurian saw rapid recovery of invertebrate faunas, and while some species never recovered, for the most part the Silurian saw even greater diversification of plant and animal life. Huge coral reefs flourished in tropical seas, and new genera of fishes appeared in the oceans and freshwater bodies. The first small, vascular plants began to colonize land and by the end of the Silurian the diversification of plants on land and the creation of new kinds of land ecosystems were well underway.

OCEANS & CONTINENTS
The Silurian Period saw the continents clustered around the equator, with Gondwanaland slowly drifting south. Siberia, Laurentia and Baltica converged at the equator--forging a new supercontinent: Laurussia. Closing ocean basins and rapidly melting ice sheets brought a significant rise in sea levels, which helped to expand the shallow-sea environment for corals and fishes.

CLIMATE
The Silurian Period is thought to have been very warm and is even called a "Greenhouse Period", with warm tropical seas, rich with diverse faunas. From the Ordovician's glaciation event there were a number of short-lived glaciation that carried on into this time period, but gradually the ice melted, sea levels rose, and the oceans became warmer.

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