Answersheets for Completing the Case

The "CSI Devonian" case is set up as a virtual forensics style self-paced activity. It takes about 1-2 hours to complete depending how in depth you want students to go. The answersheets below are useful for students to keep track of the (10) clues they will collect as they work through the case. They will need the clues to solve the Final Challenge.

Need the answer key to the CSI Devonian activity? Contact Marta Toran (toranml@appstate.edu)

LONG VERSION of Answersheet (pdf)

The more in depth version of the answersheet.
Students answer questions on the sheet that are the same as those on the website, in addition to recording the passkeys.
Great if you want to stretch out the activity or assign as an assignment and collect.
8 pages- Recommended printing: double sided booklet
Takes about 1 - 1.5 hours to complete

SHORT VERSION of Answersheet (pdf)

This version is only for recording the passkeys as participants work through the case (no questions).
2 pages- Recommended printing one double sided page
For completing within one class period, ~1 hour or less.

The following, related activities were developed as part of the educational module and tested at tabling events, afterschool science clubs, and within formal classrooms. They are usually set up as stations and students rotate through them.

If you have any questions or require additional materials, please contact Marta Toran at Appalachian State University Geological and Environmental Sciences (toranml@appstate.edu)

Bioturbation Activity

Students learn what bioturbation is and how it is used as a clue to understand the level of oxygen in ancient ocean environments.

Teacher Instructions

Devonian Time Activity

This sequencing activity will help students think about when the Devonian Period fits in relative to other geologic time periods, and some examples of fossils found at the time.

Teacher Instructions

Framboids Activity

Student learn what framboids are, and how they are used as geochemical clues in rocks that might indicate presence or absence of oxygen when the rocks formed.

Teacher Instructions

Rock Layers Activity

Students explore and compare stratigraphic column diagrams and learn to infer conditions of ancient ocean reefs based on fossil and chemical evidence in rock layers.

Teacher Instructions

Fossilization Methods

This concept-sorting activity introduces students to types of fossil based on fossilization processes (ie. true/ preserved, cast, mold, carbonized, petrified, trace).

Teacher Instructions

Fossil ID Activity

The Devonian Period was a time of great biodiversity in oceans. In this activity, students practice identifying Devonian marine fossils.

Teacher Instructions

Build a Devonian Reef

This activity can be used for outreach (eg. as a "tabling" event) or within a unit on fossils at the K-12 level to help students understand the type of organisms that lived during the Devonian and how organisms become fossils.

Teacher Instructions