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Science lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 30 minutes

Use rock layers to put events in order

Earth and rocks

CCSS NGSS.MS-ESS1-4CCSS NGSS.SEP 6England: KS3 Chemistry: Earth and atmosphere

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Use rock layers to put events in order.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: How fossils form and what they reveal

Leads to: Earth's 4.6-billion-year history on a timeline

Materials: Rock samples, Hand lenses, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (How fossils form and what they reveal). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Why are fossils usually found in sedimentary rock, not igneous rock? (Sedimentary rock is magnetic / Igneous rock is too young / Igneous rock forms from molten rock that would destroy remains / Animals never lived near volcanoes) → Igneous rock forms from molten rock that would destroy remainsPrompt: Think about the temperature of magma.
  2. Fossils: which statement is NOT true? (Fossils show that many species have become extinct. / Insects can be preserved in amber (fossilised tree resin). / Fossils in deeper rock layers are usually older. / Fossils are the actual bones, unchanged.) → Fossils are the actual bones, unchanged.Prompt: Did people ever meet a living T. rex?
  3. Footprints and burrows preserved in rock are called… (body fossils / minerals / crystals / trace fossils) → trace fossilsPrompt: They show the traces of activity, not the body itself.

Hook · 3 min

  • Pass round different rocks and ask how each one might have formed.
  • Share the objective: Use rock layers to put events in order. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Undisturbed rock layers, listed from the bottom up: D, C, E. Which layer is the youngest?
  • Step 1: In undisturbed layers, the lowest is oldest and the highest is youngest.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: E
  • Answer: E
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Undisturbed rock layers, listed from the bottom up: B, E, D, A, C. Which layer is the youngest? (B / A / C / E) → CPrompt: Sediment settles on top of what is already there.
  2. A crack filled with igneous rock (a dyke) cuts through layers A, B and C. What can you say about its age? (Its age cannot be compared / It is the same age as layer B / It is older than all three layers / It is younger than all three layers) → It is younger than all three layersPrompt: A layer must exist before something can cut through it.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. The same unusual fossil is found in a layer in Spain and a layer in Morocco. What does this suggest? (The layers are different ages / The fossil travelled by boat / The two layers formed at about the same time / The layers are on the same continent) → The two layers formed at about the same timePrompt: Index fossils lived for a short time but were widespread.
  2. Undisturbed rock layers, listed from the bottom up: C, A, D, B, E. Which layer is the oldest? (C / E / A / D) → CPrompt: Sediment settles on top of what is already there.

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: How fossils form and what they reveal.
  • Use concrete materials: rock samples.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Earth's 4.6-billion-year history on a timeline.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-6.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Use rock layers to put events in order

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Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    The same unusual fossil is found in a layer in Spain and a layer in Morocco. What does this suggest?

    • A. The fossil travelled by boat
    • B. The two layers formed at about the same time
    • C. The layers are on the same continent
    • D. The layers are different ages

  2. Question 2

    Undisturbed rock layers, listed from the bottom up: E, A, C. Which layer is the oldest?

    • A. E
    • B. C
    • C. A

  3. Question 3

    Rock layers are found tilted and folded. What does this tell you?

    • A. They are igneous rock
    • B. Forces moved the rock after the layers formed
    • C. They were laid down tilted
    • D. They formed on the Moon

  4. Question 4

    Undisturbed rock layers, listed from the bottom up: C, B, D, E, A. Which layer is the oldest?

    • A. E
    • B. C
    • C. A
    • D. D

  5. Question 5

    Undisturbed rock layers, listed from the bottom up: E, C, A, D, B. Which layer is the youngest?

    • A. D
    • B. B
    • C. C
    • D. E

  6. Question 6

    A crack filled with igneous rock (a dyke) cuts through layers A, B and C. What can you say about its age?

    • A. Its age cannot be compared
    • B. It is the same age as layer B
    • C. It is older than all three layers
    • D. It is younger than all three layers

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Answer key: Use rock layers to put events in order

  1. 1. B. The two layers formed at about the same time

  2. 2. A. E

  3. 3. B. Forces moved the rock after the layers formed

  4. 4. B. C

  5. 5. B. B

  6. 6. D. It is younger than all three layers