Resources: Research tools such as books and the internet (optional)
Reference Sheets: The first sheet of the handout shows images of fossils, their corresponding extinct creature and its modern relative; the second sheet shows fossils and the modern relative.
Support Handout (1): This handout provides guided questions to compare the living things on the reference sheets.
Core Handout (2): This handout is a prompt sheet for the children to record their comparisons.
Challenge Handout (4): This handout provides space for the children to predict what they think the living creature might have looked like from a fossil.
Enquiry Skill - Observing and measuring
Using the senses and taking measurements, using a range of equipment, to make observations about a scientific enquiry.
Enquiry Approach - Pattern-seeking
Identifying patterns and looking for relationships to make links between scientific concepts.
Rocket Thinking - Teacher Notes: A key question is an open-ended prompt that can facilitate discussion, address misconceptions or give children the opportunity to probe more deeply into a topic. The purpose of this question is to encourage the children to explore what makes the Earth habitable. For example:
To extend this question, encourage the children to explore the different eras the Earth has experienced, and which life forms it has supported. For example, for 2 billion years, the only life forms that existed on Earth were Prokaryotic bacteria. Encourage the children to explore the evolution of life after this.
Use the presentation slides to recap the children's learning from Year 3 about how fossils are formed. They will discover the work of Mary Anning, the famous palaeontologist, and learn how fossils provide evidence about living things in the past. They will then be able to compare these findings to living creatures we see today.
Using the handout, ask the children to compare images of the fossils and their extinct animals with those of living animals. Ask the children to consider how the living animal has adapted so it can survive in the modern world. Are there any other living animals that are also similar to the extinct creatures? The children might also like to use books and the internet, in addition to the reference sheets, to support their research. Alternatively, the children could use the reference sheets to create comparison posters or presentations for the classroom.
Challenge Task: The children will be given an image of a fossil. Ask them to draw what the creature would have looked like when it was living.
Recap the work of palaeontologists and emphasise that the children have been palaeontologists today by using fossils as evidence of the past. Explain that fossilisation is actually very rare. Encourage the children to think that living things from today might be fossilised one day: what could future palaeontologists learn from fossils of, for example, a domesticated dog/cat/cow from 2025?
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of living organisms from the past. They provide important clues about the history of life on Earth, including the evolution of species and the changing environments in which they lived. Here are some things we can learn from fossils:
Evolutionary history: Fossils provide direct evidence of the evolutionary history of species, showing how they have changed over time and giving us a record of the history of life on Earth. By studying the fossils of different species, scientists can reconstruct their evolutionary relationships and trace the development of various features and adaptations.
Past environments: Fossils can also tell us about the environments in which species lived in the past. For example, the presence of marine fossils in a rock formation can indicate that the area was once covered by the ocean. By analysing the characteristics of fossils and the sediment in which they are found, scientists can reconstruct the past climate, geology, and ecology of a region.
Timing and extinction: Fossils can help us determine the timing of major events in the history of life, such as the emergence of new species and the mass extinction events that have occurred over time. By studying the distribution and diversity of fossils across different time periods, scientists can better understand the patterns and processes of evolution and extinction.
Comparative anatomy: Fossils can be used to compare the anatomy and physiology of extinct species with living ones, providing insights into how different species are related and how they are adapted to different environments. This can help us better understand the evolution of particular traits and the mechanisms that underlie adaptation.
Overall, fossils provide a unique window into the history of life on Earth and the processes that have shaped the diversity of species over time. By studying fossils, we can better understand the ecological, evolutionary, and geological processes that have shaped the world we live in today.
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