The Saplings were presented the lesson The Long Black Strip this week. This lesson acts as both a visual representation of geologic time and is a precursor to the 3rd Great Lesson, The Coming of Humans. As the strip is slowly unrolled, students are read the following story:
This black strip represents the age of Earth, from its very beginning
At first, Earth was a fiery ball.
And this went on for a long, long time.
It rained and rained. And this went on for a long time.
Finally, Earth began to cool. And this went on for a long, long time.
Still, there was no life on Earth. Just rocks and oceans and volcanoes. And this went on for a long, long time.
Just rocks and water and fire. Nothing green or living. And this went on for a long, long time.
Earth is very old. Look how long this strip is!
We are getting near the end of the strip. Finally life begins to develop on Earth. And this went on for a long, long time.
Watch for a change. Something different is about to happen!
Human beings appeared on Earth for the first time. This little strip of red represents the whole time that humans have been on Earth. Compare this to the black strip which shows how old Earth is!
Would you like to hold in your hands the whole time of humans on Earth? From the first humans who lived in Africa, the cave people, Aboriginals, the Egyptians, Native Americans, Mayans, to everyone on Earth today. Here, you can hold all of humanity in your hand.
As you can see in the photos below, the Saplings were eager volunteers to try out holding the Long Black Strip. There were some great responses to the question, "What does it feel like to hold the entire history of Earth in your hands?"
