Back to the lesson plan builder
Lesson length30 min45 min60 min
Questions🔀 New questions

Print the plan for yourself; the student sheet prints on its own page after it.

Science lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 30 minutes

How fossils form

Earth and rocks

CCSS NGSS.3-LS4-1CCSS NGSS.4-ESS1-1England: KS2 Y3 RocksEngland: KS2 Y6 Evolution and inheritance

Objective and success criteria

Students will: How fossils form.

  • 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: Rocks and soils

Leads to: Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks; What fossils tell us about past environments; Compare fossils with living plants and animals

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 (Rocks and soils). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Is this rock permeable or impermeable: marble? (permeable (lets water through) / impermeable (does not let water through)) → impermeable (does not let water through)Prompt: Does water soak in, or run off the surface?
  2. What is soil made from? (only dead leaves / tiny pieces of rock mixed with dead plant and animal material, air and water / melted rock / only sand) → tiny pieces of rock mixed with dead plant and animal material, air and waterPrompt: Soil forms slowly from broken-down rock.
  3. Rocks and soils: which statement is NOT true? (Soil contains bits of rock and organic matter. / Rocks can be natural or made by people, like brick and concrete. / Rocks can be compared by hardness and permeability. / Soil is only made of dead leaves.) → Soil is only made of dead leaves.Prompt: What is soil mainly made of?

Hook · 3 min

  • Pass round different rocks and ask how each one might have formed.
  • Share the objective: How fossils form. 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: In how a sea shell becomes a fossil, what happens straight after "the sediment slowly turns into rock"?
  • Step 1: a sea creature dies → its shell sinks to the sea floor → layers of sediment cover it → the sediment slowly turns into rock → the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later
  • Step 2: So the answer is: the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later
  • Answer: the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later
  • 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. In how a fossil forms, what happens straight after "an animal dies"? (the soft parts rot away / the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered / minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years / it is quickly buried by mud or sand) → it is quickly buried by mud or sandPrompt: Only the hard parts usually become fossils.
  2. A fossil is found in a deep rock layer. Another is found in a layer near the top. Which is probably older? (the fossil in the deeper layer / it is impossible to say anything / the fossil near the top / they are the same age) → the fossil in the deeper layerPrompt: Layers build up one on top of another.

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. A fossil is found in a deep rock layer. Another is found in a layer near the top. Which is probably older? (it is impossible to say anything / the fossil in the deeper layer / the fossil near the top / they are the same age) → the fossil in the deeper layerPrompt: Layers build up one on top of another.
  2. In how a fossil forms, what happens straight after "the soft parts rot away"? (minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years / an animal dies / the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered / it is quickly buried by mud or sand) → minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of yearsPrompt: Only the hard parts usually become fossils.

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: Rocks and soils.
  • 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: Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks; What fossils tell us about past environments; Compare fossils with living plants and animals.
  • 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-3.

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

eurekami

How fossils form

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    In how a fossil forms, what happens straight after "an animal dies"?

    • A. the soft parts rot away
    • B. it is quickly buried by mud or sand
    • C. the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered
    • D. minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years

  2. Question 2

    A fossil is found in a deep rock layer. Another is found in a layer near the top. Which is probably older?

    • A. the fossil in the deeper layer
    • B. they are the same age
    • C. the fossil near the top
    • D. it is impossible to say anything

  3. Question 3

    In how a sea shell becomes a fossil, what happens straight after "layers of sediment cover it"?

    • A. a sea creature dies
    • B. the sediment slowly turns into rock
    • C. the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later
    • D. its shell sinks to the sea floor

  4. Question 4

    A footprint preserved in rock is called a…

    • A. trace fossil
    • B. skeleton
    • C. crystal
    • D. mineral

  5. Question 5

    In how a fossil forms, what happens straight after "the soft parts rot away"?

    • A. it is quickly buried by mud or sand
    • B. minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years
    • C. the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered
    • D. an animal dies

  6. Question 6

    In how a fossil forms, what happens straight after "it is quickly buried by mud or sand"?

    • A. minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years
    • B. the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered
    • C. an animal dies
    • D. the soft parts rot away

Free from eurekami.com

for the adult only

Answer key: How fossils form

  1. 1. B. it is quickly buried by mud or sand

  2. 2. A. the fossil in the deeper layer

  3. 3. B. the sediment slowly turns into rock

  4. 4. A. trace fossil

  5. 5. B. minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years

  6. 6. D. the soft parts rot away