Engage: Fossils are the remains of organisms that used to be alive a long time ago. Students watch a video that describes the steps required for fossil formation. Using models, the teacher demonstrates three ways that fossils can form (i.e., preserved organisms, impressions or tracks, mineral replacement of organisms). Students generate questions about fossils and together we choose a driving question: Where do paleontologists go to find fossils?
Explore: Students examine a collection of rocks, recording their observations in science notebooks. They discover that fossils usually form in only one kind of rock--sedimentary rock. Students learn to distinguish sedimentary rock from other kinds of rock (igneous and metamorphic).
Explain: Students construct an explanation for why fossils are only found in sedimentary rock. In a whole group discussion, students suggest how different kinds of rock may have formed (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic). Students then record an explanation in their science notebooks using the CER model (claim, evidence, reasoning). Early finishers hone their classification skills, identifying common rocks found in Utah.
Elaborate: A local paleontologist is invited to speak with students about how they locate and identify fossils. Working in small groups, students research locations where fossils have been found in Utah and construct an (interactive?) class fossil map.
Optional: Students create a product to show what they have learned about fossils. Products may include:
Optional: Students create a product to show what they have learned about fossils. Products may include:
- Digital presentation on a dinosaur discovered in Utah (example)
- Art work that depicts life during the time the fossil existed (including other plants/animals from this time period)
- Fictional story about the history of a fossil (depicting a sequence of events on a storyboard)
Evaluate: Student presentations are evaluated by peers and teacher. Science assessment probe: Mountaintop Fossil. Students celebrate their learning by making homemade crystals (snowflake ornaments to display on our holiday tree).
Crystal Instructions:
Borax Crystal Snowflakes: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/magic-crystal-snowflake
You'll need 3 tablespoons (T) Borax detergent per cup of boiling water. Suspend a pipe cleaner shape, and keep submerged under water overnight.
Borax Crystal Snowflakes: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/magic-crystal-snowflake
You'll need 3 tablespoons (T) Borax detergent per cup of boiling water. Suspend a pipe cleaner shape, and keep submerged under water overnight.
The largest crystals on Earth, discovered in a cave in Mexico in the year 2000. Learn more.
Standards:
S3.O1.b,c,d
S3.O1.b,c,d
- Observe rocks using a magnifying glass and draw shapes and colors of the minerals.
- Sort rocks by appearance according to the three basic types: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.
- Classify common rocks found in Utah as sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.
- Describe three ways fossils are formed in sedimentary rock (i.e., preserved organisms, mineral replacement of organisms, impressions or tracks).
- Research locations where fossils are found in Utah and construct a simple fossil map.
- Explain why fossils are usually found in sedimentary rock.
- Based on the fossils found in various locations, infer how Utah environments have changed over time.