Driving Question: What do paleontologists learn from studying the formation of fossils?

Learning Objective: Students will understand what can be learned from fossils and in doing so, realize the difference between fact and theory (idea). They will also gain a general understanding of how fossils are formed.

Students should first understand what a fossil is, the differences between fossils and other natural objects, and that not all plants and animals become fossilized. Next, students learn about the various types of fossils and model the process of fossilization. Finally, students can discuss the excavation process and use fossils to make inferences about past environments.

Our featured lessons integrate science and literacy through the activities themselves and through lesson extensions. These lessons have been designed for upper-elementary students.

What is a fossil?

Fossilization and Adaptation: Activities in Paleontology This page includes several different activities. Activity II, the fossilization game, asks students to take on roles as a variety of different organisms in environments. At various points during the activity, the teacher “freezes” time and has students draw cards to determine if they become fossils or not. The activity helps students understand that not all organisms become fossilized. This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry and Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science.

FOSSILIZATION AND ADAPTATION:ACTIVITIES IN PALEONTOLOGY

OVERVIEWHow does a living thing become a fossil? The mysterious processes by which evidence of past life is preserved are explored in these exercises. By thinking about and participating in some simulated sedimentary processes, children will be able to remove much of the mystery behind fossils and fossilization. These exercises introduce the concept that fossils are remains or traces of ancient living things. They will also begin to think about how rare an event fossilization is.

Objective: After completing these exercises students will be able to: evaluate the importance of fossils to our knowledge of past life; identify conditions necessary for fossilization; construct a possible scenario for formation of fossils; understand how organisms are adapted to their environments; and understand the relationships of modern and ancient communities with their environments (i.e., ecology and paleoecology).

ACTIVITY I: FOSSILIZATIONMessage: Not all parts of animals become fossilized. It may not be possible to know some details of what an ancient animal or plant was like because many parts of the anatomy may not

become fossils. Materials: Drawings of horse and Stegosaurus skeletons.

Fossils and Dinosaurs focuses on what we have learned and can learn from fossils. In the first part of the lesson, students will discuss what we know about horses. They will then do the same for a Stegosaurus. This comparison is subtle, but demonstrates what we know as fact and what we know as theory, and more importantly, what sort of proof scientists need for fact to exist. As students discuss the Stegosaurus, they will realize that fossils tell a story about the animal. They describe facts, i.e. how tall, how wide, what kind of teeth, and they describe ideas, i.e. what the dino may have eaten, how fast it may have moved due to its leg structure, and how it may have hunted. Once students have an understanding of how to extrapolate facts and ideas from fossils, they will do some of their own digging in the second part of this lesson to practice using the thinking skills they've obtained.

Essential Questions:

How do we know what we know about dinosaurs?(Review what was just discussed about horses and the stegosaurus: that bones can tell the size of the animal, possibly if it was a fast runner, what kind of teeth it had. List these things in the appropriate column.)

What are things that we have to guess about?(While fossils may tell exactly what kind of teeth an animal has, we have to guess about what it might have eaten. Also bring up students' colorings of the stegosaurus. Point out that we have to guess about the color of dinosaurs because fossils do not tell us what color they were.)

You will have discussed fossilization with your students when doing the activity. Now, reemphasize the discussions and the activity. On the board, make two columns. Title one, "What we know about dinosaurs." The other should be titled, "What we have to guess."

Then pose these questions:

Here are some more questions to lead students into expanding on the list:

How do you think the dinosaurs acted?(And how could we know about those things?)

How did they treat their young?(Fossil evidence of nests would give clues. Some paleontologists have found crushed eggs and the skeletons of baby dinos in a nest. They think this suggests that the babies hung out in the nest long enough to crush all the eggs, and maybe dinos cared for their young. Other nests show eggs that aren't crushed, perhaps suggesting that the babies left right away.)

Did they lay eggs or give live birth?(Fossil evidence of eggs would put this in the "know" column.)

Could the dinosaurs see well?(Fossil evidence of the skull would give clues, but would we know for sure?)

How did dinosaurs communicate?

Discussion: Fossilization is a rare event. The chances of a given individual being preserved in the fossil record are very small. Some organisms, however, have better chances than others because of the composition of their skeletons or where they lived. This also applies to the various parts of organisms. For example, plants and vertebrates (animals with bones) are made up of different parts that can separate after death. The different parts can be transported by currents to different locations and be preserved separately. A fossil toe bone might be found at one place and a fossil rib at another location. We could assume that they are from different animals when, in fact, they came from the same one.

Much information is lost in the fossilization process. Think, for example, of a vertebrate (such as ourselves). Much of what we consider important about our own biology is in the soft tissues, such as skin, hair, and internal organs. These characteristics would usually be unknown in the fossil state, because most of the time only bones and teeth are preserved (there are exceptional cases where soft parts are preserved). Bones and teeth are not always preserved together. This exercise is designed to get children to think about the quality of information that comes from the fossil record.

Procedures:1) List facts about a living animal. The skeleton of a horse is used here, but there are many other possibilities (e.g., cow, dog, cat, sheep). The list of facts on the horse might include, but not be limited to: large size, fast runner, eats grass, has grinding teeth, has long hair for a mane and tail, whinnies, is intelligent, is sociable with other horses, makes a good pet. 2) What would we know if this animal was extinct ? Refer to the diagram and point out an important generalization of fossilization: most of the time, only the hard parts (bones and teeth) are preserved as fossils. Go through the list and ask the class what we would know about the horse if horses were extinct and all we had were fossilized bones and teeth of horses. We would know that it was a large animal and could probably make some good guesses about its weight. We would know that it had grinding teeth and therefore could probably guess that it ate some sort of tough vegetation like grass. The hooves would not be preserved, but the shape of the foot bones would be a good indicator that it had hooves. The skeleton would also be useful to tell us that it was a fast runner. But no details of the hair or skin would be known. Everything about social behavior and vocalization would also have to be guesses. 3) What do we know about fossilized animals? Pass out the diagram of the fossil Stegosaurus (Figure 2) and interpret it in light of what we do know. Use the list you made in discussing the living animals. What paleontologists know comes from studying the hard anatomy, in this case bones and teeth. (GET OUT TOOTH DISPLAY AND RACCOON SKULL) Anything else is a guess, although in most cases it is possible to base the guess on sound biological principles. 4) Use your imagination. As a summary to this exercise, have the class put muscles and skin on the diagram of Stegosaurus. Remember, skin color and texture are largely the choice of the artists, since fossil bones are of no help, although some skin impressions have been found.

ACTIVITY I / VARIATION I: SpecializationsBoth the horse and Stegosaurus have some bones that are not shared by the other. That is because each is specialized in some way. The horse is adapted for fast running, and therefore its feet have become specialized for running. They are simpler than those of Stegosaurus, with only one toe bone on each foot. Horses also have very specialized grinding teeth, while the teeth of Stegosaurus are simple slicing structures. Stegosaurus, on the other hand, has some very spectacular specializations in its huge armor plates and tail spikes. Some specializations of Stegosaurus are for defense because it was not a fast runner. What other differences between the horse and can you find? Can you think of a possible adaptation for these bones?

ACTIVITY I / VARIATION II: Imaginary CreaturesDraw a picture of a made-up creature with adaptations for a special way of life. Examples: a fast flier that eats leaves from the tops of trees; a burrowing animal that digs holes so fast no other animal can catch it. Describe how this animal is special and how it accomplishes what it does. Could paleontologists find out about this way of life from the fossil record?

ACTIVITY II: THE FOSSILIZATION GAMEMessage: It is not easy to become a fossil. Many plants and animals never have the chance to be preserved as fossils.

Materials: Fossilization cards Discussion: The fossilization game is a fantasy and role-playing exercise that helps children understand fossilization processes. Procedures:1) Choose environment. The game begins with the class or smaller group choosing an environment in which there is a depositional setting such as a lake, pond, stream, river in a forest, or sea floor. The students can use their imaginations to describe this setting in as much detail as they desire. 2) Choose roles. Roles that the participants choose for themselves are possible animal or plant inhabitants of the chosen setting. For example, in the aquatic settings, possible roles include not only snails, clams, fish, salamanders, turtles, alligators, and other aquatic animals, but also horses, deer, monkeys, rabbits, and birds that came there to drink. 3) Begin play. When play begins, the students act out their roles, with each one given a turn to make vocalizations or gestures. For example, a child playing a fish could wiggle his/her body with a fishlike motion and make gulping motions with his/her mouth. A child playing a prairie dog might pretend to dig a burrow and make high-pitched barks. They can also interact with each

other as they would in their natural environment. For example, the carnivores could chase the herbivores. 4) "Freeze" and decide the fate of the characters. At a time determined by the teacher, action "freezes" and the time for possible fossilization begins. The students draw cards which tell their fate. Possible cards might be: -You are eaten by scavengers; -You rot away before you can be preserved; -You are swallowed by a crocodile; -You are buried by a mudslide and preserved as a fossil. — You can make several copies of the page of cards (included with this activity) to use in this. If you make your own, the proportion of "fossilization" cards to "destruction" cards should be small, mimicking the small chance of becoming fossilized in the real world. 5) Discuss the meaning of this exercise. When the entire class has drawn cards, discussion can begin. Have each student discuss his or her role as an organism and what happened to this organism after it died. Make a list of these organisms on the blackboard. Which animals became fossils? Which were destroyed? Remember, the only animals and plants future paleontologists will know anything about are the ones that become fossils. You will become aware of the important question of bias in the fossil record when you compare the list of fossils with the complete list of living animals. Is the list of fossils a good representation of the living community? Why not? 6) If time allows, play the game again with the same animals and plants. How are the results similar or different?

ACTIVITY III: ADAPTATIONMessage: Organisms are adapted to specific environments. Materials: Art supplies Discussion: The students choose specific organisms and develop a picture story of how that organism is adapted to its environment. Procedures:

1) Have the students each create a picture story from the point of view of a plant or animal (either modern or ancient). 2) Ask them to describe their environment in drawings: What is the environment like? What other kinds of plants and animals live with you? What are your special adaptations that allow you to survive in this environment? What do you like to eat? Are you a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore? 3) After the students complete their drawings of their animal or plant at home in their own environment, ask them to do the picture story again in a "foreign" environment. Perhaps they could swap environments with a classmate. Most of these organisms may be unhappy, to say the least. 4) Follow up this exercise with questions, such as: a) What are your chances of survival in this foreign environment? Why do you think so? b) If you cannot live in this new environment what will happen to you? Have the children discuss chances of their survival. How likely is it that an

animal would already have adaptations that would allow it to survive in the new climate? What would those adaptations be?

ACTIVITY III / VARIATION I: Past CommunitiesA variation on this activity is to have the students use their imagination and what they know about communities and fossils to write an interesting story about communities of the past. Students in this version are limited to being animals because they will write about their favorite foods. The story can be a "formula" based on the descriptions below, or can be free-form.

Procedures:1) Choose the role of an ancient animal. This should be any animal that the students are familiar with. 2) Describe your environment. This requires some knowledge of the ancient ecosystems as reconstructed by a paleontologist or interpreted by a park ranger or guide. Let the students be as creative as they wish. Some students may include imagined details of the environment that were not previously discussed. This is OK as long as they can justify their reasons. 3) Describe your community. In this part, the students should give examples of the other plants and animals that live with them. 4) Describe a food chain. Begin by listing your favorite food. Are you a carnivore or an herbivore? If you are an herbivore, what animal tries to hunt you? How have you kept from being eaten so far? 5) Describe a food web. Pretend your favorite food disappears. If your favorite food is not available, what do you eat? How many different kinds of food fit your diet? What other kinds of food do the other animals in your food chain like to eat? 6) Imagine a big change. What would you do if all your food disappeared because of that change? What could you do? Would you move away? How would the other members of your food web survive? This is an example of an ecological disaster because food chains and food webs would be forced to come apart.

ACTIVITY III / VARIATION II: Discussing AdaptationSome of the best examples of adaptation are seen in adaptation to climate. Using pictures of different environments of the world, begin by talking about extreme environments. Show the class pictures of the Arctic or Antarctic and discuss the kinds of adaptations that are necessary to live in such a climate. Next, discuss deserts such as the Sahara, the tropical rain forest of the Amazon Basin, the Great Plains of North America, coasts, salt marshes, mountain streams, or alpine meadows. Each of these environments presents certain challenges to the organisms that live there, yet most of them contain a wealth of plants and animals that survive quite well under extreme conditions. By discussing these organisms in terms of their adaptations, the class will gain an appreciation for their own environment.

This activity can be made into more of a cooperative exercise for the students by having them bring in old magazines from home (National Geographic and other natural history publications are especially useful). Go through the magazines in class looking for pictures that show different environments. Try to get a sampling of different extremes of climate and topography.

Change in environments is another important topic to discuss. It is sometimes easy to take the world's present environments for granted and assume that they have always been that way. But we know that is not true. Environments have changed in the past and they are always in the process of changing in some way. Environmental change is difficult for humans to understand because it often takes place so slowly that direct observation is difficult. Even the rapid changes that are taking place today as a result of human activity are hard to see. The fossil record contains a compressed view of many millions of years during which environments changed just as they do today. Change in the fossil record is therefore relatively easy to see. Some topics that the class might cover with regard to environmental change include changing climates and the results of rapid climatic change. Consider each of the environments discussed when the class talked about adaptation. What would happen if that climate suddenly (in the course of years to decades) became warmer or cooler? Related to this is the food supply. Herbivores rely on vegetation in their environment. Plants are very sensitive to climate. What happens if an herbivore's favorite food disappears? What happens then to the carnivores that depend on that herbivore for their food supply? The discussion expands to include the entire food web.

The relationship of human activities and environmental change/extinction is an important one to understand. So is the importance of maintaining the diversity of life. The class might discuss what their own stake in this crisis is and what they can do to help.

Literacy Integration:

After playing the fossilization game, students could write a story describing what happened to their organisms and whether or not they became a fossil. This meets NCTE/IRA English Language Arts standards: 4, 5, 6, 7, 12.

Identify and Compare Fossils In this lesson plan, students examine a variety of items and classify them as a “fossil” or “not a fossil.” This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards and New Generation Science Standards. Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry and Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science. Fossils are the remains or evidences of ancient plants and animals. Fossils provide a record of life that existed on Earth millions of years ago. We are fortunate that the remains or evidences from organisms still exist today. Most living things decay when they die. Decay is caused by bacteria in the environment. If an organism dies and is buried or covered quickly, the process of decay is slowed because of the lack of air. Thousands and even millions of years ago, sandstorms, mudslides, or volcanic ash could have buried many organisms. These organisms could have either gone through mineral replacement or slowly decomposed, leaving impressions or imprints in sediments. Other organisms could have been frozen in ice or snow or caught in sap or tar pits that preserved them for thousands or millions of years. Some organisms left trace marks such as tracks and trails in mud. If the mud hardened and was then covered by more mud, the activities of the organisms can be studied by scientists. Today, there are many fossils that

remain undiscovered around the world, because only a small percentage of these fossils will ever be found.

The investigations of this standard have many hands-on activities. They will help students know what the different fossils are and help them understand how nature makes these fossils. They will show students where fossils are found and how they are discovered. The investigations will show how fossils provide clues to Earth’s history and how they provide evidence to make inferences about past environments. Some activities also compare fossils to living organisms of today to see if the organisms still exist or are extinct.

In this investigation, students will be looking at different items to see if they can recognize fossils. This will be an introduction to the different fossils they will be studying. Students will make inferences as to how the fossils were created. It will also lead into a discussion of how fossils give clues about Earth’s history and help us make inferences about North America's past environments.

Intended Learning Outcomes:1. Use science process and thinking skills2. Manifest scientific attitudes and interests 3. Understand science concepts and principles 4. Communicate effectively using science language and reasoning

Instructional Procedures:

Pre-Assessment/Invitation to Learn

Have a discussion with the students to find out if they know of any plants and/or animals that existed many years ago that don’t exist today. Have them name a few. They will name dinosaurs and possibly some plants. Ask them how we know these plants and animals existed. Students will come up with the idea that we have found fossils. Ask them what fossils have been found. Ask them what fossils are. Most of them will say fossils are animal parts made of stone. Tell students there are other fossils besides those that have been changed to stone. This is a good time to define fossils for students. Tell them that they will learn to identify fossils and will make inferences about past environments of North America.

Instructional Procedure

*Have students bring in a "fossil" from home.

1. Have all of the objects with numbers by them spread out on tables.2. Tell the students they will walk around and look at the different objects for observational

purposes only. As they are observing, have them write the number of the objects they see on their paper. They should have two columns titled “fossil” and “nonfossil”.

3. When they are finished, discuss what the objects are. At the same time have students discuss whether the objects fit into the categories of “fossil” or “non-fossil.” Remind students of the definition of a fossil. Have the teacher move the objects either in the “fossil” or in the “not a fossil” pile.

4. Have the students tell how they think fossils are made by nature. Are all fossils the same? Let them speculate about this.

5. Ask the students to compare the fossils with organisms of today. How are they the same in shape, size, structure, and patterns?

6. Have the students make inferences as to what the environments were like for these organisms to exist. If they are having trouble making inferences, tell them we have similar organisms today that they can relate to, and have them determine what their environments are like.

7. Tell the students that these types of fossils are found in North America. So, what was North America's environment like when these fossils existed?

8. Tell the students that for the next few days they are going to learn about the four types of fossils: impression, preserved, trace, and mineral replacement fossils. Use coffee grounds to have students make imprints of an item to create a fossil.

Extensions:

Language Arts-

Have the students write a description of one of the fossils they learned about in their journals. (Standard VIII, Objective 6)

Homework & Family Connections

Have the students go to the library and check out books about fossils to read together as a family.

Have students identify fossils they have at home.

Assessment Plan:

After the discussion of fossils and non-fossils, assess the students’ ability to identify fossils and non-fossils items.

Provide two new objects, one a fossil and one not a fossil, to see if they can correctly identify them as fossil and non-fossil.

Literacy Integration:Students could select one of the fossils from the activity and draw or describe it in their science

notebook or journal. These descriptions could be assessed with the rubric listed below. This meets NCTE/IRA English Language Arts standards: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12.

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Content: Accuracy of Facts

All supportive facts are reported accurately.

Most supportive facts are reported accurately.

Some supportive facts are reported accurately.

NO facts are reported OR most are inaccurately reported.

Content: Illustrations

The illustration clearly supports the content. Labels and a detailed picture are included.

The illustration supports the content. Most labels and a somewhat detailed picture are included.

The illustration has some correlation to the content. Some labels are missing or the picture is not sufficiently detailed.

The illustration has NO correlation to the content. No labels are included. The picture is difficult to understand.

Use of Vocabulary

All required vocabulary words are used correctly.

Most required vocabulary words are used correctly.

Some required vocabulary words are used correctly.

NO required vocabulary words are used or many are used incorrectly.

Capitalization

Writer makes

Writer makes 1

Writer makes

Writer makes

and Punctuation

no errors in capitalization or punctuation, so the description is exceptionally easy to read.

or 2 errors in punctuation or capitalization, but the paper is still easy to read.

more than 3 errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and interrupt the flow. Errors impede readability.

more than 5 errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and greatly interrupt the flow. Errors severely impede readability.

Penmanship

Paper is written neatly.

Paper is written fairly neatly with 1 or 2 minor corrections.

Paper is written somewhat neatly with 3 or 4 corrections.

Many words are unreadable or there are more than 5 distracting corrections.

Summary:The activities in this lesson will help students compare and understand the three types of fossils: preserved organisms, mineral replacement fossils, and impression fossils.

Materials:Fossil Observation

Science notebook Pencil Five different fossils Timer Fossil Chart pdf

Preserved Organisms- Model of Amber

3 x 5 index cards Crayons Hot glue gun and glue sticks Brown pipe cleaners or actual insects

Mineral Replacement- Sponge Fossil

Sponges Scissors Sand Salt Water Large container with pouring spout Large Cool Whip containers Measuring cups Long handled spoon

Impression Fossils- Making Traces

Bag of Plaster of Paris Bowl and spoon Water 8 oz. paper cup Measuring cups Plastic fossils Petroleum jelly

The three fossil types that are dealt with in this lesson are those specifically required by the Utah State Core for this grade level, the first being preserved organisms. In preserved organisms, the actual organism is basically unaltered and stays intact, e.g., mammoths that have been found in ice and frozen ground. The soft body parts are preserved as well as the hard parts. Preserved organisms have been found in tar pits and amber. Amber is formed when the soft resin from conifers and tropical flowering plants hardens. Organisms, e.g., insects, spiders, leaves, flowers, mosses, and even frogs, have been found in amber. Organisms trapped in this resin may experience a degree of decomposition, but because resin has a strong antibiotic component the decay of the organism is minimal.

The next type of fossils is mineral replacement. In this type of fossil the organism is buried in sediment, and the soft parts decay quickly. Bones, teeth, claws, and other hard parts decay more slowly. Water seeps through the sediment and passes through the bone. The seeping water dissolves the bone, and minerals in the water replace the bone one cell at a time. This eventually becomes stone. The same process happens in wood except that wood is often covered with volcanic ash instead of sediments. The ash prevents the wood from rotting, and as rainwater falls on the ash over many years it seeps through the ash into the wood. The mineral replacement makes an exact replica of the original organism.

The last fossil type is impression fossils. These fossils may show detailed outlines of thin plants or small animals, e.g., leaves, feathers, and fish, which die in sediment. As they decay, they leave a carbon deposit that shows as a dark print of the organism. Impression fossils also include tracks, tail prints, body outlines, teeth marks, and burrows. Mold and cast are impression fossils made by larger organisms. When the organism dies it is covered by sediment. The organism decomposes slowly and leaves a mold (hole) in its place. If the mold is later filled with sediment, it produces a cast that will physically look like the outside of the original organism.

Be aware that students may become confused by pseudo-fossils when examining rock specimens. These are rock structures that resemble fossils in external form, but lack the detailed structure of true fossils. Sometimes concretions that are harder than the rock in which they occur are found on the surface of the rock, and resemble fossil material.

Intended Learning Outcomes:1. Use science process and thinking skills.2. Manifest scientific attitudes and interests.3. Understand science concepts and principals.4. Communicate effectively using science language and reasoning.

Instructional Procedures:Invitation to Learn

Instructional Procedures

Fossil Observations

In this activity, students will work in cooperative groups of five to six students (depending on class size) to use the process skills of observing, comparing, and inferring. When doing this activity it helps to use a timer; typically, about five to seven minutes allows them enough time to observe their fossil and record the information.

1. Students in each group should count off from one to five. Then students assemble with students from other groups who have the same number. Each numbered group will examine a different fossil, discussing the characteristics they observe.

2. Students will record their fossil observations in their own science notebook, along with a detailed drawing of the fossil. Their written observations should include such things as size, color, shape, texture, and any defining features.

3. Students go back to their original group to share what they have observed and learned about their fossil. Use the Fossil Chart to organize the group’s information.

4. Students can then use their observations to ascertain similarities and differences among the fossils. They should use logical thought processes to show relationships and make inferences as to the fossil organism’s original environment. It is also important that students use the identified features to compare the fossils to living organisms that are familiar.

5. Each group can then share with the class as a whole.

Preserved Organisms- Model of Amber

Begin by discussing with students what a fossil is and how scientists use fossils to help explain Earth’s past. Since there are currently no living dinosaurs, the only evidence we have about dinosaurs and other prehistoric organisms is what can be inferred from fossilized remains. Physical models that correspond to real objects and events can be used to explain and understand things and how they work. Using the process skill of formulating models, students will develop a physical representation of a preserved organism:

1. Give each student a 3 x 5 index card. Have each student draw about a one-inch circle on the left hand side of the index card. Have them color it the color that they think is closest the color of real amber.

2. Students should place the item representing the insect on the colored circle. 3. Students will bring the index card and insect to you to encase in hot glue, covering the colored

circle and insect. 4. Discuss how this represents the resin that fossilized into amber over a period of millions of

years, preserving the insect. 5. On the right hand side of the card, have them write the process that preserved the insect.

Mineral Replacement- Sponge Fossil

Using the process skill of formulating models, students will develop a physical representation of a mineral replacement fossil:

1. Each group will place their sponge shapes into a container holding sand, covering the sponge shapes completely. There should be a layer of sand below and above the sponges.

2. Mix two parts salt to 5 parts water in another container. Make sure that the salt is dissolved into the water.

3. Slowly poor the salt water on top of the sand until it completely soaks the sand. 4. Leave the container of sand in a warm, dry place until it completely dries. You can expedite the

process by putting it in the oven at 250 degrees F for a few hours, but you will need to use a container that can go into the oven.

5. When it is dry, excavate the sponges with a spoon. Have students use a grid to record where each “bone” was found.

6. See how the sponges turned “bonelike.” Discuss with students how when the salt water was added to the sand, it filled the pores in the sponge. When the water evaporated, the salt remained in those pores. This simulates how dissolved minerals replaced the cells in bones, wood, etc. Fossils are found in sedimentary rocks that are formed by cementation and compression.

Impression Fossils- Making Traces

In this model, Plaster of Paris represents the soft sediment that an organism would fall into before it becomes a fossil. Using the process skill of formulating models, students will develop a physical representation of an impression fossil:

1. Mix up Plaster of Paris to about the consistency of thick cream. 2. Pour approximately an inch into each student’s cup, or have students mix their own in a

margarine tub or their school milk carton that has been opened completely and rinsed out. Have them measure 1⁄2 cup of Plaster of Paris dry, then add approximately 1/4 cup water, and stir. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to start setting up.

3. Place their leaf, feather, shell, or other small item vein side down, gently into the Plaster of Paris until it makes complete contact with the surface. (I've had better results in getting the object out, if they have put a thin layer of petroleum jelly on the surface of it before putting it into the plaster.)

4. Allow this to cure for several hours. 5. After the object making the impression is removed, have students in different groups trade and

match fossils with the objects that made the fossil. 6. Students should respond to these questions in their journals: How are your fossil models like a

real fossil? How are your fossil models different from a real fossil? How can your fossil models help us to understand real fossils? What can real fossils tell us about the world at the time they were formed?

7. Follow the journal writing with a class discussion sharing their journal responses.

Extensions:

Extend student learning by having students create a model that shows a dinosaur trackway. This can be done with various mediums such as clay or sand dough. Use different dinosaur models to make the tracks. Have students evaluate what information might be learned from the dinosaur trackway, such as: Does the dinosaur walk on two or four legs? Do you see

evidence of a tail? Is there more than one type of dinosaur track? Can you see evidence of change of direction or increase in the speed of movement? What story is indicated from these tracks?

Use the book, Fossils Tell of Long Ago, by Aliki, as a read aloud. Then have students create a chart listing the different types of fossils described and how they were formed.

Vocabulary is often a stumbling block in science. Focus on vocabulary by creating a vocabulary study guide or by working with a group to illustrate the meaning of each important vocabulary word.

If accommodations are needed for students who may be in pull- out programs or absent on the day of the fossil observation activity, it can be done as a center activity. Students can record their information on the fossils and compile it in booklet form instead of using their notebooks. The drawback of this approach is that it doesn’t allow for the use of comparing and inferring with classmates. This can also be used with students who have completed the group activity to focus a second time on making a better observation. Students will almost always increase the length and complexity of their responses.

If plaster of Paris is too messy for students to use, Play- Doh also works well for making an impression or track fossil. It dries completely in two days.

Using the fossils from the observation activity, students can write a riddle about their fossil. Students can then share their riddles with classmates. Classmates can try and match the fossil with the riddle.

Fossil Questions Informal AssessmentRead each statement carefully. If you believe it is true, place a check in front of the question number.

**After learning more about fossils, you may go back and change any of your answers using a different color of pencil.

1. Scientists learn about Earth’s history by studying fossils.2. Fossils are usually found in igneous rocks.3. Only the soft part of an organism can become a fossil.4. Track fossils are one type of impression fossil.5. An organism can be preserved by being frozen in ice.6. Amber is an insect found fossilized in rocks.7. Minerals that fill tiny holes in an imprint form mineral replacement fossils.8. Mineral replacement fossils are all the same color.

Fossil Assessment 2In each box below, write the name of a different category of fossil.

Identify at least three key details about how that category of fossil is formed.1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.

Now that students understand what can fossilize, ask them how it fossilizes. Discuss the main points of the process:

An animal must get buried fairly quickly.

Why must it be buried quickly? (If it doesn't it would get eaten by scavengers.) How might it be buried? (It could be buried by volcano or mudslide.) Water helps bury the animal in sediment. (The burial process is crucial. It is also why

many animals do NOT get fossilized. Discuss the probability of these circumstances being just right.)

Soft parts decay. Sediment presses down and sand hardens to rock forming a fossil.

Have students draw their own diagrams demonstrating the process of fossilization with whatever animal they like. They should describe these three things. Remind them that the water could sweep over an animal and bury it in a flash flood or severe storm. Also remind them that whole skeletons rarely form because things get carried away. They are not limited to three boxes.

What can we learn from fossils?

Fossils can help scientists understand what the world was like long ago.

This lesson relies on the idea of sequencing. Teachers could integrate this activity with a study of procedural writing and words that indicate order (first, second, next). Students could practice using these words to describe the order of the fossils orally or in writing. This lesson meets the

National Science Education Standards Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry and Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science. This lesson meets NCTE/IRA English Language Arts standards: 4, 5, 6, 7, 12.

Students will act as paleontologists and attempt to figure out the environment where various fossils would have existed. This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry and Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science.

Literacy Integration:

This lesson relies heavily on students’ ability to make inferences. Teachers could integrate this activity with reading lessons that focus on drawing inferences from text. Students can record their inferences and evidence using a graphic organizer or in a science notebook or journal.

Lesson extensions involve writing a poem about fossils or a newspaper story about the discovery of a fossil and its environment. This meets NCTE/IRA English Language Arts standards: 4, 5, 6, 7, 12.

Understanding how the pieces of the fossil puzzle fit together allows the paleontologist to imagine Earth as it was millions of years ago. Fossils are the recognizable remains, such as bones, shells or leaves or other evidenced, such as tracks, burrows, or impressions, of past life on Earth. Scientists who study fossils are called paleontologists. Remember that paleo means ancient, so a paleontologist studies ancient forms of life.

Fossils are fundamental to the geologic time scale. The names of most of the eons and eras end in zoic, which refers to animal life, because these time intervals are generally recognized based on animal life. Rocks formed during the Proterozoic Eon may have fossils of relative simple organisms, such as bacteria, algae, and wormlike animals. Rocks formed during the Phanerozoic Eon may have fossils of complex animals and plants such as dinosaurs, mammals, and trees.

Note: paleo means ancient, meso means middle and ceno means recent so we have Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras.

Intended Learning Outcomes:1. Use Science Process and Thinking Skills4. Communicate Effectively Using Science Language and Reasoning

Instructional Procedures:Invitation to Learn

Understanding how the pieces of the fossil puzzle come together helps the paleontologist to imagine the earth as it was millions of years ago. Tell the students they are going to be a

paleontologist for this activity. As paleontologists they have found an abundance of fossil remains and they need to figure out the environment where the fossils would have existed. Based on the fossils they have found, they will draw a map showing the environments present in a certain area more than 70 million years ago. This activity will use drawings of fossils. If you have access to actual Utah fossils and are comfortable using them do so.

Instructional Procedures

1. Students will begin the lesson in their regular seats. At specified intervals, (one and half to two minutes) they will move to another seat in a pre-selected sequence determined by the teacher. This will be repeated until they have had a chance to be in every seat.

2. Have students stand at the back of the room with pencil and paper.3. Place one of the fossil pictures on 25 to 30 desks depending on number of students.4. Tell the students there is a card on each desk with a fossil drawn on it and a number. It is face

down, and they are not to turn them over until asked to do so. When asked to go to their seats, they are to go to their regular seat but not to touch the card in front of them.

5. Students return to their seats.6. When they have moved to their regular seats, give them each a copy of the blank grid. Have

them fill in their name and the date.7. Explain the grid. Show figure one on an overhead.8. Ask students to turn over the card in front of them and tell them each space has a number and

each card has a number. Find the space on your grid that has the number to match the card. In that space, draw the picture of the fossil found on the card in font of you and write the fossil name underneath it. You will be moving from one seat to another until all the spaces on the grid are filled. You will have to work quickly because you will have only two minutes to draw and write the name. So draw quickly and quietly.

9. Outline the movement sequence on the board so every one gets to all of the cards. You may tape arrows to the floor. Use the first move as a practice move.

10. Students proceed until the grid is complete.11. Once the grid is complete the students use dots and hatch marks to separate the different types

of environments (Environment Markings). Show examples of how to do this. Discuss which fossils might indicate which environments. The normal sequence would have any fossils indicating a beach found in between those of the ocean and the land. Students may work alone or in twos. Students color their grid as follows: boxes with land fossils with green, beach fossils with yellow; and sea fossil with blue.

12. Allow students to discuss their reasons and what inferences could they make from the fossil pictures. Discuss with students any different interpretations they may have.

blank_fossil_grid.pdf fossil_grid_answer_key.pdf fossil_line_drawings.pdf environment_markings.pdf

Extensions:Curriculum Extensions/Adaptations/Integration

Students identify as many “fossils” as possible that might be found 50 million years from now.

Students with special needs may work with a partner or may use a modified grid with the pictures already on it.

Art may include: Making Plaster of Paris fossils, amber fossils, and tri-fold three dimensional diorama of the different environments

Write a story as a future scientist discovering our present day fossils. Write a newspaper story about a fossil discovery including what type of environment it would

have lived in. Read Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast by Jack Prelutsky, and write a poem about fossils Using a map of Utah with counties outlined, make a flap book. Cut around three sides of each

county so it will fold up or over and on a second copy of the map note what fossils can be found in each county.

Go through a student’s desk to see what inferences could be made from the contents. Assign an environment to groups of students to research. Research different animals to see the adaptations that they have made to survive in their

environments (e.g., flippers for animals at sea, webbed feet for aquatic birds).

Scientists have good evidence that Earth is very old, approximately four and one-half billion years old. Scientific measurements such as radiometric dating use the natural radioactivity of certain elements found in rocks to help determine their age. Scientists also use direct evidence from observations of the rock layers themselves to find the relative age of rock layers. Specific rock formations are indicative of a particular type of environment existing when the rock was being formed. For example, most limestone represents marine environments, whereas, sandstones with ripple marks might indicate a shoreline habitat or riverbed.

The study and comparison of exposed rock layers or strata in different areas of Earth led scientists in the early 19th century to propose that the rock layers could be correlated from place to place. Locally, physical characteristics of rocks can be compared and correlated. On a larger scale, even between continents, fossil evidence can help in matching rock layers. The Law of Superposition, which states that in an undisturbed horizontal sequence of rocks the oldest rock layers will be on the bottom, with successively younger rocks on top of these, helps geologists correlate rock layers around the world. This also means that fossils found in the lowest levels in a sequence of layered rocks represent the oldest record of life there. By matching partial sequences, the truly oldest layers with fossils can be worked out.

By correlating fossils from various parts of the world, scientists are able to give relative ages to particular strata. This is called relative dating. Relative dating tells scientists if a rock layer is “older” or “younger” than another. This would also mean that fossils found in the deepest layer of rocks in an area would represent the oldest forms of life in that particular rock formation. In reading Earth history, these layers would be “read” from bottom to top or oldest to most recent. If certain fossils are typically found only in a certain rock unit and are found in many places worldwide, they may be useful as index or guide fossils in finding the age of undated strata. By using this information from rock formations in various parts of the world and correlating the studies, scientists have been able to construct the geologic time scale: This relative time scale divides the vast amount of Earth history into various sections based on geological events (sea encroachments, mountain-building, and depositional events), and notable biological events (appearance, relative abundance, or extinction of certain life forms).

Intended Learning Outcomes:1. Use Science Process and Thinking Skills4. Communicate Effectively Using Science Language and Reasoning

Instructional Procedures:Invitation to Learn?

Teaching about Earth’s history is a challenge for all teachers. The idea of millions and billions of years is difficult for children and adults to comprehend. However, “relative” dating or time can be an easy concept for students to learn.

In this activity, students begin a sequencing activity with familiar items—letters written on cards. Once they are able to manipulate the cards into the correct sequence, they are asked to do a similar sequencing activity using fossil pictures printed on “rock layer” cards. Sequencing the rock layers will show students how paleontologists use fossils to give relative dates to rock strata.

Instructional Procedures

Part 1: Make Index cards with TC, CGA, AU, UBN, BN, NO, OXD, DM

1. Hand out Nonsense Cards in random order. Students place on the table and work in small groups to sequence the eight cards by comparing letters that are common to individual cards, and therefore, overlap. There should be lots of discussion. The first card in the sequence has “Card 1, Set A” in the lower left-hand corner and represents the bottom of the sequence. If the letters “T” and “C” represent fossils in the oldest rock layer, they are the oldest fossils, or the first fossils formed in the past for this sequence of rock layers.

2. Now, look for a card that has either a “T” or “C” written on it. Since this card has a common letter with the first card, it must go on top of the “TC” card. The fossils represented by the letters on this card are “younger” than the “T” or “C” fossils on the “TC” card and indicates fossils in the oldest rock layer. Sequence the remaining cards by the same process. When done you should have a vertical stack of cards with the top card representing the youngest fossils of this rock sequence and the “TC” card at the bottom of the stack indicating the oldest fossils.

Questions to ask:

1. After putting the cards in order, write down the sequence for easy checking. Start at the bottom going oldest to youngest.

2. How do you know “X” is older than “M”?3. Explain why “D” in the rock layer represented by DM is the same age as “M.”4. Explain why “D” in the rock layer represented by the OXD is older than “D” in the rock layer

represented by DM.

Part 2:

1. Look carefully at the second set of cards with sketches of fossils on them. Each card represents a particular rock layer with a collection of fossils that are found in that particular rock stratum. All of the fossils represented would be found in sedimentary rocks of marine origin. Figure A gives some background information on the individual fossils.

2. The oldest rock layer is marked with the letter “M” in the lower left-hand corner. Don’t worry about the other letters at this time. Ask students to find a rock layer that has at least one of the fossils you found in the oldest rock layer. This rock layer would be younger as indicated by the appearance of new fossils in the rock stratum. Keep in mind that extinction is forever. Once an organism disappears from the sequence it cannot reappear later. Use this information to sequence the cards in a vertical stack of fossils in rock strata. Arrange them from oldest to youngest with the oldest layer on the bottom.

Performance Task Sue, the T. Rex on display at The Field Museum, is perhaps the most famous dinosaur fossil of our time. Students already know about Sue, from the Book by Susan Henderson we have in class about her discovery of the T-Rex. This motivation exercise (hook) will get students excited about the lesson to come. Students should use their Fossils and Dinosaurs student esheet to go to All About Sue. Tell students to read through each of the tabs: Sue's Significance, Sues's Vital Stats, Sue's Senses, and Sue's World. They can record their answers to these questions on the Fossils and Dinosaurs student sheet:

What do we know about Sue?(This information will include statistics, like how big the skull is, how many bones there are, where it was found, etc. List all of these things on the board.)

How do we know all of these things? (Students will likely answer bones or fossils. If not, the unanswered question foreshadows the lesson to come.)

What is the significance of finding Sue? (It is the most complete T. Rex skeleton ever.)

How do we know this? (Students should know that this is apparent through prior knowledge of other fossils and a comparison of Sue to other T. Rex fossils.)

The following review questions will help you gauge what students know about fossils in general before starting the Performance Task. This can be used to help in setting up cooperative groupings and making a decision on a Kagan Strategy .

What's a fossil? (Many students will answer bones, which is fine, but ask them if things like dinosaur eggs, or even nests are considered fossils. Trace fossils include eggs, nests, tracks, coprolites, and impressions.)

How do fossils form? What can fossils tell us?

(Here, you can lead the students. Remind them of all the things we know about Sue.)

PERFORMANCE TASK

Science of Sue , from The Field Museum site, describes what researchers have learned from studying Sue - the largest, most complete, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered.

After students have explored these sites, tell them to pretend they are in the shoes of a paleontologist (a person who studies dinosaur fossils). Students can use their Junior Paleontologist student sheet to:

Pretend they work in a museum and they have just finished piecing together a nearly complete dino.

Describe the dinosaur, and tell a story about its life, based on the fossil find. Use what we know about living animals to come up with ideas about the dinosaurs. Back their ideas by what they have found in the fossils. (If it's a meat-eater, describe its

teeth.) Be creative… some scientists can get really creative when describing how the dinosaurs

lived. Remind them to use phrases like: "this dinosaur might have," or "the fossil evidence suggests."

Students may want to go online to find the dinosaur they will describe. They can go to Zoom Dinosaurs.