• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (How fossils form). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. In how a sea shell becomes a fossil, what happens straight after "its shell sinks to the sea floor"? (the sediment slowly turns into rock / the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later / layers of sediment cover it / a sea creature dies) → layers of sediment cover itPrompt: Fossils form very slowly, buried in rock.
2. 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.
3. 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.

• Pass round different rocks and ask how each one might have formed.
• Share the objective: Compare fossils with living plants and animals. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: woolly mammoth?
• Step 1: Both have trunks and tusks; mammoths had long hair for cold climates.
• Step 2: So the answer is: elephant
• Answer: elephant
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: Archaeopteryx? (nautilus / modern birds / elephant / dragonflies today) → modern birdsPrompt: Look for a shared feature: trunk, shell, wings, teeth or leaf shape.
2. What does "extinct" mean? (It lives only in zoos. / It has moved to another country. / It is asleep for the winter. / No members of that kind of living thing are alive anywhere.) → No members of that kind of living thing are alive anywhere.Prompt: Can we see a living Tyrannosaurus anywhere?

• 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.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: giant prehistoric dragonfly (Meganeura)? (modern birds / nautilus / dragonflies today / elephant) → dragonflies todayPrompt: Look for a shared feature: trunk, shell, wings, teeth or leaf shape.
2. True or false? Ammonites are still common in today's seas. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Which fossil groups are extinct, and which have living relatives?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-3.