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: sandstone? (permeable (lets water through) / impermeable (does not let water through)) → permeable (lets water through)Prompt: Does water soak in, or run off the surface?
  2. Why is slate used for roof tiles? (It is impermeable and splits into thin flat sheets / It is soft and crumbly / It floats / It soaks up rain) → It is impermeable and splits into thin flat sheetsPrompt: A roof must keep rain out.
  3. Rocks and soils: which statement is NOT true? (Some rocks let water soak through them. / Soil is only made of dead leaves. / Rocks can be compared by hardness and permeability. / Rocks can be natural or made by people, like brick and concrete.) → 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"? (minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years / the soft parts rot away / the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered / 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? (it is impossible to say anything / the fossil near the top / the fossil in the deeper layer / 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 footprint preserved in rock is called a… (mineral / trace fossil / crystal / skeleton) → trace fossilPrompt: It shows something the animal did, not its body.
  2. In how a sea shell becomes a fossil, what happens straight after "layers of sediment cover it"? (its shell sinks to the sea floor / the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later / a sea creature dies / the sediment slowly turns into rock) → the sediment slowly turns into rockPrompt: Fossils form very slowly, buried in rock.

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 "minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years"?

    • A. the soft parts rot away
    • B. it is quickly buried by mud or sand
    • C. an animal dies
    • D. the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered

  2. Question 2

    Why do most fossils show bones, teeth and shells rather than skin?

    • A. Animals had no skin
    • B. Hard parts last longer; soft parts rot quickly
    • C. Skin turns into rock straight away
    • D. Scientists remove the skin

  3. Question 3

    In how a sea shell becomes a fossil, what happens straight after "its shell sinks to the sea floor"?

    • A. the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later
    • B. the sediment slowly turns into rock
    • C. layers of sediment cover it
    • D. a sea creature dies

  4. Question 4

    In how a sea shell becomes a fossil, what happens straight after "the sediment slowly turns into rock"?

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

  5. Question 5

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

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

  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. an animal dies
    • C. the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered
    • D. the soft parts rot away

Free from eurekami.com

for the adult only

Answer key: How fossils form

  1. 1. D. the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered

  2. 2. B. Hard parts last longer; soft parts rot quickly

  3. 3. C. layers of sediment cover it

  4. 4. D. the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later

  5. 5. A. it is quickly buried by mud or sand

  6. 6. D. the soft parts rot away