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

How fossils form and what they reveal

Earth and rocks

CCSS NGSS.MS-LS4-1CCSS NGSS.MS-ESS1-4England: KS2 Y6 Evolution and inheritanceEngland: KS3 Chemistry: Earth and atmosphere

Objective and success criteria

Students will: How fossils form and what they reveal.

  • 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; Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks

Leads to: Use rock layers to put events in order

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; Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What type of rock is shale? (igneous / sedimentary / metamorphic) → sedimentaryPrompt: Did it form from cooled magma, from layers of sediment, or from heat and pressure changing another rock?
  2. In how a fossil forms, what happens straight after "an animal dies"? (the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered / the soft parts rot away / it is quickly buried by mud or sand / minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years) → it is quickly buried by mud or sandPrompt: Only the hard parts usually become fossils.
  3. What type of rock is chalk? (igneous / sedimentary / metamorphic) → sedimentaryPrompt: Did it form from cooled magma, from layers of sediment, or from heat and pressure changing another rock?

Hook · 3 min

  • Pass round different rocks and ask how each one might have formed.
  • Share the objective: How fossils form and what they reveal. 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: Why do we have very few fossils of jellyfish?
  • Step 1: Soft-bodied organisms rarely fossilise, which is one reason the fossil record is incomplete.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: They have no hard parts, so they usually rot before being preserved
  • Answer: They have no hard parts, so they usually rot before being preserved
  • 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. Footprints and burrows preserved in rock are called… (minerals / body fossils / crystals / trace fossils) → trace fossilsPrompt: They show the traces of activity, not the body itself.
  2. Fossils: which statement is NOT true? (Fossils show that many species have become extinct. / Most living things that ever lived did not become fossils. / Insects can be preserved in amber (fossilised tree resin). / Humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time.) → Humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time.Prompt: Did people ever meet a living T. rex?

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 5 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. Fossils: which statement is NOT true? (Fossils are the actual bones, unchanged. / Fossils in deeper rock layers are usually older. / Most living things that ever lived did not become fossils. / Fossils show that many species have become extinct.) → Fossils are the actual bones, unchanged.Prompt: Did people ever meet a living T. rex?
  2. Why do we have very few fossils of jellyfish? (They live on land / They are too big / They have no hard parts, so they usually rot before being preserved / Jellyfish never existed in the past) → They have no hard parts, so they usually rot before being preservedPrompt: Most fossils are bones, shells or teeth.

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.
  • 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: Use rock layers to put events in order.
  • 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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How fossils form and what they reveal

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Score/ 5

  1. Question 1

    Fossils: which statement is NOT true?

    • A. Fossils are the actual bones, unchanged.
    • B. Most living things that ever lived did not become fossils.
    • C. Fossils in deeper rock layers are usually older.
    • D. Fossils show that many species have become extinct.

  2. Question 2

    Fossils of tropical ferns have been found in Antarctica. What is the best explanation?

    • A. Antarctica was once in a warmer location, before plate movement carried it south
    • B. The fossils were carried there by penguins
    • C. Antarctica has always been tropical
    • D. Ferns grow in ice today

  3. Question 3

    Why are fossils usually found in sedimentary rock, not igneous rock?

    • A. Animals never lived near volcanoes
    • B. Igneous rock is too young
    • C. Igneous rock forms from molten rock that would destroy remains
    • D. Sedimentary rock is magnetic

  4. Question 4

    Footprints and burrows preserved in rock are called…

    • A. trace fossils
    • B. minerals
    • C. crystals
    • D. body fossils

  5. Question 5

    Why do we have very few fossils of jellyfish?

    • A. Jellyfish never existed in the past
    • B. They live on land
    • C. They have no hard parts, so they usually rot before being preserved
    • D. They are too big

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Answer key: How fossils form and what they reveal

  1. 1. A. Fossils are the actual bones, unchanged.

  2. 2. A. Antarctica was once in a warmer location, before plate movement carried it south

  3. 3. C. Igneous rock forms from molten rock that would destroy remains

  4. 4. A. trace fossils

  5. 5. C. They have no hard parts, so they usually rot before being preserved