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Science lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 60 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 · 6 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 "the sediment slowly turns into rock"? (its shell sinks to the sea floor / the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later / a sea creature dies / layers of sediment cover it) → the fossil is found in the rock millions of years laterPrompt: Fossils form very slowly, buried in rock.
  2. A footprint preserved in rock is called a… (trace fossil / skeleton / mineral / crystal) → trace fossilPrompt: It shows something the animal did, not its body.
  3. In how a sea shell becomes a fossil, what happens straight after "a sea creature dies"? (the fossil is found in the rock millions of years later / its shell sinks to the sea floor / layers of sediment cover it / the sediment slowly turns into rock) → its shell sinks to the sea floorPrompt: Fossils form very slowly, buried in rock.

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 12 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: Archaeopteryx? (elephant / the ginkgo tree / lions and tigers / modern birds) → modern birdsPrompt: 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? (minerals / dinosaurs / living fossils / extinct species) → living fossilsPrompt: They are still alive today.

You do: independent practice · 17 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 · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. True or false? Every fossil is of an animal still alive today. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Which fossil groups are extinct, and which have living relatives?
  2. Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: woolly mammoth? (modern birds / the ginkgo tree / nautilus / elephant) → elephantPrompt: 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

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Compare fossils with living plants and animals

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Which living thing is most similar to this fossil: sabre-toothed cat?

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

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    True or false? Woolly mammoths were close relatives of elephants.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

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

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

  5. Question 5

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

  6. Question 6

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

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

  7. Question 7

    True or false? Comparing fossils with living things helps show how life has changed.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  8. Question 8

    How is a woolly mammoth different from an elephant today?

    • A. It had no trunk.
    • B. It lived in the sea.
    • C. It could fly.
    • D. It had thick, long hair and small ears for cold weather.

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Answer key: Compare fossils with living plants and animals

  1. 1. D. lions and tigers

  2. 2. A. Birds are related to reptiles such as dinosaurs.

  3. 3. A. True

  4. 4. D. nautilus

  5. 5. C. living fossils

  6. 6. D. dragonflies today

  7. 7. A. True

  8. 8. D. It had thick, long hair and small ears for cold weather.