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Science lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 60 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 · 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 fossil forms, what happens straight after "minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years"? (an animal dies / it is quickly buried by mud or sand / the soft parts rot away / the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered) → the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncoveredPrompt: 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? (they are the same age / it is impossible to say anything / the fossil near the top / the fossil in the deeper layer) → the fossil in the deeper layerPrompt: Layers build up one on top of another.
  3. In how a fossil forms, what happens straight after "it is quickly buried by mud or sand"? (minerals slowly replace the bones over millions of years / the rock is worn away and the fossil is uncovered / the soft parts rot away / an animal dies) → the soft parts rot awayPrompt: Only the hard parts usually become fossils.

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 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. 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 land was once warm and wet / there was once a warm, shallow sea) → there was once a lake or sea therePrompt: Where does that kind of living thing live today?
  2. Fossils of the same kind of fern are found in South America, Africa, India and Antarctica. What is the best explanation? (These lands were once joined together. / Ferns grow in the sea. / The fern swam across the oceans. / People carried the fossils around.) → These lands were once joined together.Prompt: Could a land plant cross a whole ocean?

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? Fossils can only tell us what an animal looked like, not where it lived. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Where do living relatives of the fossil live today?
  2. How do scientists use fossils to work out what a place was like long ago? (They guess from the colour of the rock only. / Fossils show photos of the past. / They compare the fossils with where similar living things are found today. / They ask the fossils.) → They compare the fossils with where similar living things are found today.Prompt: Corals today need warm, shallow sea.

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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What fossils tell us about past environments

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    How do scientists use fossils to work out what a place was like long ago?

    • A. They ask the fossils.
    • B. Fossils show photos of the past.
    • C. They compare the fossils with where similar living things are found today.
    • D. They guess from the colour of the rock only.

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    True or false? Fossils help scientists learn how Earth's climate has changed.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

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

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

  5. Question 5

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

    • A. the climate was once icy cold
    • B. the rock was once under the sea
    • C. the land was once warm and wet
    • D. there was once a warm, shallow 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. Nothing changed.
    • B. Plants lived under the sea.
    • C. Fish turned into plants.
    • D. Water covered the area, and later it became dry land.

  8. Question 8

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

    • A. True
    • B. False

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Answer key: What fossils tell us about past environments

  1. 1. C. They compare the fossils with where similar living things are found today.

  2. 2. D. there was once a lake or sea there

  3. 3. A. True

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

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

  6. 6. A. True

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

  8. 8. B. False