The Clock of Eras is an iconic material that helps students visualize the length of the different periods of the Earth. Part of its impressionistic appeal is to see how long different animals have lived throughout Earth’s history and realize that humans have been on Earth for a tiny fraction of it. Even ancient animals like dinosaurs have only existed for a relatively small chunk of Earth’s existence. By playing the Clock of Eras game, your students will play games representing the periods in intervals that are proportional to the time on the clock. Instead of visually seeing the clock as a fractional piece, they will temporally experience switching from one period to another. They will feel how relatively short or long a period is compared to another. During the Phanerozoic Era (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic, and Neozoic), they listened and acted out cues instead of playing games because the time intervals went so quickly. By the end of the game, the students will be shocked when they get to be humans for a couple of seconds of the whole game!

Materials: 

·      This game absolutely requires at least two adults

·      An ample open space (such as a gym or field)

·      Lots of basketballs or large bouncy balls

·      Handmade cards with CO2 on one side and O2 on the other side

·      Hula hoops

·      Small balls (tennis balls or dodge balls)

·      Basketballs

·      Soccer balls

Minimum Number of Students Needed: While you might be able to do this lesson with as few as six students, this series of lessons does best with an entire class (20+).

Age: Lower Elementary