MONTESSORI GEOLOGY : Fossils - Bryozoan

Fossils



Bryozoan

These fossils, also called moss-animals, 
were the apartment builders of the ocean floor.
 Even though moss-animals look like twigs or 
coral, they were really several tiny animals 
which built houses around themselves.

 

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Montessori Geology

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MONTESSORI GEOLOGY : Fossils - Gastropod

Fossils



Gastropod

This fossil looks just like the modern day
 snail that you may see in the water. These
 snails carried their homes on their back and
 moved about by a board, muscular foot.

 

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Montessori Geology

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MONTESSORI GEOLOGY : Fossils - Trilobite

Trilobite

You can easily tell this fossil by the 
two grooves on its back which divide this
 creature into 3's. The trilobite looked much 
like a roly-poly bug and sometimes it can be 
found rolled up, with its head and tail close
 together. The trilobites were related to modern
 day insects, spiders, lobsters, and crabs. 
They crawled about on the ocean floor and
 also shed their hard outer coverings.

 

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Montessori Geology

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MONTESSORI GEOLOGY : Fossils - Crinoid

Fossils

Crinoid

The Crinoid, also called "sea lily," had a stem 
that held this animal to the bottom like a plant,
 although some would float. The stems look like 
layers of doughnuts one stacked on the other.
 The Crinoids were related to the starfish and 
if you look at the broken end of this animal,
 you may be able to see a small five-point star.

 

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Montessori Geology

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MONTESSORI GEOLOGY : Fossils - Cephalopod

Fossils

Cephalopod

These fossils are in the Octopus Family and
 looked much like the octopus that we have 
today. Of course, the Cephalopod had a hard 
cone-shaped shell, like an ice cream cone, 
over its body and only its head and arms stuck
 out. Because they could fill their chambered 
shelf full of air, these octopus could shoot the 
water back out thrusting themselves forward.

 

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Montessori Geology

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MONTESSORI GEOLOGY : Fossils - Brachiopod

Fossils

Brachiopod

This fossil looks much like sea shells that 
you find on the beach. They are also very 
easy to find. Some of these animals would 
live attached to the bottom by a small 
"foot," some drifted free and others 
even burrowed into the mud.

 

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Montessori Geology

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MONTESSORI BIOLOGY : The Gift of The First Plants

The Gift of The First Plants

The first plants changed the entire history of
 the earth. They made it possible for all future
 life to develop. They not only changed the
 face of the earth, they even changed the 
atmosphere surrounding the earth. 



At first, the earth's atmosphere consisted 
of a mixture of gases: hydrogen, ammonia, 
methane and water vapor. Later, after the great
 rains, a new atmosphere came into being. 
This atmosphere consisted of water vapor,
 Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide.



Living things could not emerge from the oceans 
onto the land. Even if they could have breathed 
this atmosphere they would probably have been
 destroyed by the burning ultraviolet rays of the sun. 



Carbon Dioxide, though is soluble in water. 
Some of the Carbon dioxide became 
dissolved in the oceans. The first plants used 
this dissolved Carbon Dioxide to make their 
food by photosynthesis. At the same time, 
they released oxygen into the atmosphere.



Very, very gradually, the Carbon Dioxide in 
the atmosphere was consumed by the plants and
 then replaced by the Oxygen that was released. 



Once again, a new atmosphere came into being. 
This was the third atmosphere in the history of the 
earth. Nearly 4/5 was Nitrogen, and nearly 1/5
 was Oxygen. Only a little was Carbon Dioxide, 
but it was enough for the plants.



Then another remarkable change 
took place. High in the atmosphere
 some of the Oxygen turned into a 
special form of Oxygen called Ozone. 



The Ozone acted like an invisible blanket 
around the earth, preventing most of the 
ultraviolet rays of the sun from reaching the 
earth's surface. This is important as ultraviolet 
rays are harmful to most life forms.



At last, perhaps 350 million years ago, living things
 could safely come out of the oceans onto the land.
 Simple plants and tiny simple animals crept
 out onto the shores and began the task 
of making the earth green and fertile.
Life on earth was made possible by those 
first plants which developed photosynthesis.

   

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MONTESSORI BIOLOGY : The Gifts of The Phyla

Gift of The Plants

The gifts of the Plants are oxygen, 
land, life, food, and energy.

Gift of The Protozoa

The gift of the Protozoa is a cell 
which is the basis of all living things.

Gift of The Porifera

The gift of the Porifera is a colony 
of cells which allows complex life.

Gift of The Cnidarias

The gift of the Cnidarias is the 
specialization of cells which allowed 
the formation of ectoderm and endoderm; 
this made a cavity to form a digestive system. 

Gift of The Platyhelminthes

The gift of the Platyhelminthes
 is the mesoderm which allowed
 muscles amd bilateral symmetry.

Gift of The Nematodes

The gifts of the Nematodes are blood and 
a tube body to allow for continuous digestion. 

Gift of The Annelids

The gifts of the Annelids are segmentation, 
hemogloblin and blood vessels.

Gift of The Mollusks

The gift of the Mollusks is an exoskeleton.

Gift of The Arthropods

The gift of the Arthropods is 
stiffened jointed legs to allow walking.

Gift of The Echinoderms

The gift of the Echinoderms is a cartilaginous 
endoskeleton which is the basis for bones.

Gift of The Fish

The gift of the Fish is a backbone.

Gift of The Amphibians

The gifts of the Amphibians are the 
ears, lungs for breathing oxygen.

Gift of The Reptiles

The gift of the Reptiles are the 
developed egg and inner body fertilization.

Gift of The Birds

The gifts of the Birds are the warm blood, 
care of the young and love.

Gift of The Mammals

The gifts of the Mammals are a free hand, 
stereoscopic vision and intelligence.

   

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Montessori Biology

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SEEDS OF KNOWLEDGE : Herbs -Catnip

Herbs

Catnip

Catnip is a hardy perennial plant that grows
three to four feet tall. The heart-shaped
 leaves are green above and gray below. 
The plant has purple flowers. Catnip
 leaves are used for tea and seasoning
 and also are attractive to cats.

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SEEDS OF THE KNOWLEDGE : Herbs - Tarragon

Herbs

Tarragon

Tarragon is an herbaceous perennial
 that grows to about two feet tall. It has 
multibranched growth with narrow,
 somewhat twisted, green leaves. Tarragon
 leaves have a distinctive flavor similar to
 anise and are used in salads, marinades,
 and sauces. Leaves yield flavor 
to vinegar when steeped.

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SEEDS OF THE KNOWLEDGE : Herbs - Caraway

Herbs

Caraway

Caraway is a biennial plant that grows 
about thirty inches tall. The flowers appear
 in flat, white clusters and, like the finely cut 
leaves, resemble those of carrots Caraway 
seeds have a warm, aromatic odor and
 flavor and are popular in cooking.

      Seeds of Knowledge 

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