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Science lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 60 minutes

Rock layers: reading time from the bottom up

Earth and rocks

CCSS NGSS.4-ESS1-1England: KS2 Y3 RocksEngland: KS3 Chemistry: Earth and atmosphere (rock cycle)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Rock layers: reading time from the bottom up.

  • 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 "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. Why do most fossils show bones, teeth and shells rather than skin? (Hard parts last longer; soft parts rot quickly / Animals had no skin / Skin turns into rock straight away / Scientists remove the skin) → Hard parts last longer; soft parts rot quicklyPrompt: Which parts of an animal rot first?
  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 · 6 min

  • Pass round different rocks and ask how each one might have formed.
  • Share the objective: Rock layers: reading time from the bottom up. 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: At the bottom of a lake, mud builds up about 2 cm every 100 years. A layer of mud is 22 cm thick. About how many years did it take to form?
  • Step 1: 22 ÷ 2 = 11
  • Step 2: 11 × 100 = 1100
  • Step 3: So the answer is: 1100
  • Answer: 1100
  • 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. At the bottom of a lake, mud builds up about 1 cm every 100 years. A layer of mud is 4 cm thick. About how many years did it take to form? → 400Prompt: How many groups of 1 cm are in 4 cm?
  2. A fossil is found in a layer deep below another layer. Which fossil is older? (you can never tell / they are the same age / the one in the deeper layer / the one in the higher layer) → the one in the deeper layerPrompt: Which layer was there first?

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. At the bottom of a lake, mud builds up about 2 cm every 100 years. A layer of mud is 10 cm thick. About how many years did it take to form? → 500Prompt: How many groups of 2 cm are in 10 cm?
  2. A river has cut a canyon and you can see many layers in the walls. What do the layers show? (a record of how the area changed over a very long time / the river's colour / one year of weather / paint added by people) → a record of how the area changed over a very long timePrompt: Each layer formed in different conditions.

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-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Rock layers: reading time from the bottom up

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    At the bottom of a lake, mud builds up about 1 cm every 100 years. A layer of mud is 3 cm thick. About how many years did it take to form?

    Answer

  2. Question 2

    A rock layer contains rounded pebbles and fossil river snails. What was the environment when it formed?

    • A. a glacier
    • B. a river
    • C. a desert with no water
    • D. the deep ocean floor

  3. Question 3

    At the bottom of a lake, mud builds up about 1 cm every 100 years. A layer of mud is 11 cm thick. About how many years did it take to form?

    Answer

  4. Question 4

    A river has cut a canyon and you can see many layers in the walls. What do the layers show?

    • A. one year of weather
    • B. the river's colour
    • C. paint added by people
    • D. a record of how the area changed over a very long time

  5. Question 5

    At the bottom of a lake, mud builds up about 2 cm every 100 years. A layer of mud is 14 cm thick. About how many years did it take to form?

    Answer

  6. Question 6

    Why might an old layer be found ABOVE a younger one?

    • A. Old layers float.
    • B. The bottom layer is always youngest.
    • C. Earth movements folded or flipped the layers.
    • D. Someone carried it there.

  7. Question 7

    At the bottom of a lake, mud builds up about 1 cm every 100 years. A layer of mud is 7 cm thick. About how many years did it take to form?

    Answer

  8. Question 8

    A fossil is found in a layer deep below another layer. Which fossil is older?

    • A. the one in the deeper layer
    • B. the one in the higher layer
    • C. you can never tell
    • D. they are the same age

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Answer key: Rock layers: reading time from the bottom up

  1. 1. 300

  2. 2. B. a river

  3. 3. 1100

  4. 4. D. a record of how the area changed over a very long time

  5. 5. 700

  6. 6. C. Earth movements folded or flipped the layers.

  7. 7. 700

  8. 8. A. the one in the deeper layer