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

Compare fossils with living plants and animals

Earth and rocks

CCSS NGSS.3-LS4-1England: KS2 Y6 Evolution and inheritanceEngland: KS2 Y3 Rocks

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Compare fossils with living plants and animals.

  • 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 fossil forms, what happens straight after "an animal dies"? (it is quickly buried by mud or sand / the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered / minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years / the soft parts rot away) → it is quickly buried by mud or sandPrompt: Only the hard parts usually become fossils.
  2. Why do most fossils show bones, teeth and shells rather than skin? (Animals had no skin / Hard parts last longer; soft parts rot quickly / Scientists remove the skin / Skin turns into rock straight away) → Hard parts last longer; soft parts rot quicklyPrompt: Which parts of an animal rot first?
  3. In how a fossil forms, what happens straight after "it is quickly buried by mud or sand"? (the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered / minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years / the soft parts rot away / an animal dies) → the soft parts rot awayPrompt: Only the hard parts usually become fossils.

Hook · 5 min

  • 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.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • 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.

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. Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: fossil ginkgo leaf? (lions and tigers / nautilus / the ginkgo tree / modern birds) → the ginkgo treePrompt: Look for a shared feature: trunk, shell, wings, teeth or leaf shape.
  2. Some living things, like horseshoe crabs and ginkgo trees, look almost the same as fossils millions of years old. What are they sometimes called? (living fossils / minerals / extinct species / dinosaurs) → living fossilsPrompt: They are still alive today.

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. Some living things, like horseshoe crabs and ginkgo trees, look almost the same as fossils millions of years old. What are they sometimes called? (minerals / living fossils / dinosaurs / extinct species) → living fossilsPrompt: They are still alive today.
  2. Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: Archaeopteryx? (elephant / modern birds / lions and tigers / nautilus) → modern birdsPrompt: Look for a shared feature: trunk, shell, wings, teeth or leaf shape.

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

Compare fossils with living plants and animals

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    True or false? Dinosaurs and people lived at the same time.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  2. Question 2

    Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: ammonite (coiled shell)?

    • A. lions and tigers
    • B. modern birds
    • C. the ginkgo tree
    • D. nautilus

  3. Question 3

    What does "extinct" mean?

    • A. It lives only in zoos.
    • B. It is asleep for the winter.
    • C. No members of that kind of living thing are alive anywhere.
    • D. It has moved to another country.

  4. Question 4

    True or false? Every fossil is of an animal still alive today.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  5. Question 5

    Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: fossil ginkgo leaf?

    • A. nautilus
    • B. elephant
    • C. the ginkgo tree
    • D. modern birds

  6. Question 6

    Some living things, like horseshoe crabs and ginkgo trees, look almost the same as fossils millions of years old. What are they sometimes called?

    • A. extinct species
    • B. dinosaurs
    • C. minerals
    • D. living fossils

  7. Question 7

    Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: giant prehistoric dragonfly (Meganeura)?

    • A. modern birds
    • B. dragonflies today
    • C. elephant
    • D. the ginkgo tree

  8. Question 8

    Archaeopteryx fossils show feathers AND teeth. What does this suggest?

    • A. It was a kind of fish.
    • B. Birds are related to reptiles such as dinosaurs.
    • C. Feathers are made of teeth.
    • D. Birds have always had teeth.

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Answer key: Compare fossils with living plants and animals

  1. 1. B. False

  2. 2. D. nautilus

  3. 3. C. No members of that kind of living thing are alive anywhere.

  4. 4. B. False

  5. 5. C. the ginkgo tree

  6. 6. D. living fossils

  7. 7. B. dragonflies today

  8. 8. B. Birds are related to reptiles such as dinosaurs.