Benchmark 4C
The Physical Setting: Processes that Shape the Earth
Grades 6-8, page 73

Thousands of layers of sedimentary rock confirm the long history of the changing surface of the earth and the changing life forms whose remains are found in successive layers. The youngest layers are not always found on top, because of folding, breaking, and uplift of layers.
 

NSES Content Standard D 
Earth and Space Science: Earth's history 
Grades 5-8, page 160 
The Earth processes we see today, including erosion, movement of lithospheric plates, and changes in atmospheric composition, are similar to those that occurred in the past. Earth history is also influenced by occasional catastrophes, such as the impact of an asteroid or comet. 

NSES Content Standard D 
Earth and Space Science: Earth's history 
Grades 5-8, page 160 
Fossils provide important evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed. 

NSES Content Standard D 
Earth and Space Science: Origin and evolution of the earth system 
Grades 9-12, page 189 
Geologic time can be estimated by observing rock sequences and using fossils to correlate the sequences at various locations. Curent methods include using the known decay rates of radioactive isotopes present in rocks to measure the time since the rock was formed.