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Science lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 45 minutes

What fossils tell us about past environments

Earth and rocks

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

Objective and success criteria

Students will: What fossils tell us about past environments.

  • 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

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

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

Warm-up · 5 min

  • 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 "layers of sediment cover it"? (the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later / the sediment slowly turns into rock / its shell sinks to the sea floor / a sea creature dies) → the sediment slowly turns into rockPrompt: Fossils form very slowly, buried in rock.
  2. A footprint preserved in rock is called a… (mineral / crystal / trace fossil / skeleton) → trace fossilPrompt: It shows something the animal did, not its body.
  3. 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.

Hook · 5 min

  • Pass round different rocks and ask how each one might have formed.
  • Share the objective: What fossils tell us about past environments. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: What does this fossil evidence tell us: fossil fish in rocks on dry land?
  • Step 1: Fish need water, so water once covered the area.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: there was once a lake or sea there
  • Answer: there was once a lake or sea there
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 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. What does this fossil evidence tell us: fossil sea shells found high on a mountain? (there was once a warm, shallow sea / there was once a lake or sea there / the land was once warm and wet / the rock was once under the sea) → the rock was once under the seaPrompt: Where does that kind of living thing live today?
  2. A rock layer holds fossil fish, and the layer above holds fossil land plants. What happened? (Plants lived under the sea. / Water covered the area, and later it became dry land. / Nothing changed. / Fish turned into plants.) → Water covered the area, and later it became dry land.Prompt: Lower layers are usually older.

You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. A rock layer holds fossil fish, and the layer above holds fossil land plants. What happened? (Fish turned into plants. / Plants lived under the sea. / Nothing changed. / Water covered the area, and later it became dry land.) → Water covered the area, and later it became dry land.Prompt: Lower layers are usually older.
  2. What does this fossil evidence tell us: fossil fish in rocks on dry land? (there was once a lake or sea there / the rock was once under the sea / the climate was once icy cold / there was once a warm, shallow sea) → there was once a lake or sea therePrompt: Where does that kind of living thing live today?

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

  • 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

What fossils tell us about past environments

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Fossils of the same kind of fern are found in South America, Africa, India and Antarctica. What is the best explanation?

    • A. These lands were once joined together.
    • B. Ferns grow in the sea.
    • C. The fern swam across the oceans.
    • D. People carried the fossils around.

  2. Question 2

    What does this fossil evidence tell us: fossil coral in a desert?

    • A. there was once a lake or sea there
    • B. the rock was once under the sea
    • C. there was once a warm, shallow sea
    • D. the climate was once icy cold

  3. Question 3

    True or false? Fossils can only tell us what an animal looked like, not where it lived.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

    Why are fossils most often found in sedimentary rock like sandstone and limestone?

    • A. These rocks are the hottest.
    • B. Animals chose to die there.
    • C. These rocks form from layers of mud and sand that buried living things gently.
    • D. Other rocks are too young.

  5. Question 5

    What does this fossil evidence tell us: fossil fish in rocks on dry land?

    • A. there was once a warm, shallow sea
    • B. the land was once warm and wet
    • C. there was once a lake or sea there
    • D. the rock was once under the sea

  6. Question 6

    True or false? Fossil shells on mountains show the rock was once under water.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  7. Question 7

    A rock layer holds fossil fish, and the layer above holds fossil land plants. What happened?

    • A. Fish turned into plants.
    • B. Nothing changed.
    • C. Plants lived under the sea.
    • D. Water covered the area, and later it became dry land.

  8. Question 8

    What does this fossil evidence tell us: fossil woolly mammoth teeth in England?

    • A. the climate was once icy cold
    • B. there was once a warm, shallow sea
    • C. the rock was once under the sea
    • D. the land was once warm and wet

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Answer key: What fossils tell us about past environments

  1. 1. A. These lands were once joined together.

  2. 2. C. there was once a warm, shallow sea

  3. 3. B. False

  4. 4. C. These rocks form from layers of mud and sand that buried living things gently.

  5. 5. C. there was once a lake or sea there

  6. 6. A. True

  7. 7. D. Water covered the area, and later it became dry land.

  8. 8. A. the climate was once icy cold