Starter quiz
- What are fossils?
- evidence of living things from millions of years ago ✓
- evidence of different prehistoric rocks
- living things that have died and are decaying
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- Many prehistoric animals are now extinct. What does prehistoric mean?
- a time before cameras existed
- a time before history lessons were taught
- a time before humans made written and pictorial records ✓
- any time before today
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- What is a theory?
- a guess about something
- an idea based on findings from enquiries ✓
- an idea based on popular opinions
- an idea based on a gut feeling
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- Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks. What are sedimentary rocks?
- rocks that are formed when layers of sediment build up over time ✓
- rocks that are formed inside volcanoes
- rocks that are formed when extreme heat melts other rocks pressing them together
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- Complete the sentence. Fossils form…
- rapidly over a few months.
- quickly once an animal or plant has died.
- slowly over decades.
- gradually over millions of years. ✓
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- Which parts of living things usually become fossils?
- the soft parts like the skin, organs or flowers
- the hard parts like bones, teeth and shells ✓
- usually the whole living thing is fossilised
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Exit quiz
What do palaeontologists use to gather clues about life on prehistoric Earth?- weather patterns
- fossils ✓
- photographs of ancient animals
- water samples
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- ______ are our best form of evidence about the history of life on Earth.
- 'Fossils' ✓
- The collective name for all of the fossil evidence that has been found and the ages of those fossils is called the fossil ______.
- 'record' ✓
- Palaeontologists make scientific theories using the evidence they gather from fossils. Which of these statements about theories are correct?
- Theories may change over time as we gather more evidence. ✓
- All theories are ideas that are unproven.
- It is impossible to prove that a theory is correct.
- Scientific enquiries can help scientists to make more accurate theories. ✓
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What deductions could palaeontologists make about this animal using clues from this fossil?- approximately how big it was ✓
- whether it ate animals or plants ✓
- what colour it was
- how it moved
- whether it was a vertebrate or an invertebrate ✓
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- Which of these cannot be learned by studying the fossil record?
- which organisms were alive at the same time as each other
- how long life has existed on Earth
- when dinosaurs were alive
- how many dinosaurs lived on Earth ✓
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Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Fossils are our best form of evidence about Earth's history, including the history of life
- Fossils can give us clues about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago
- By studying the fossil record, we can tell how long life has existed on Earth
- Palaeontologists use the fossils they find to propose theories about living things from the past
- Theories about prehistoric living things change over time as we gather more evidence
Common misconception
Pupils may have a limited view of what constitutes a fossil, such as only things that resemble skeletons or ammonite shells, and not recognise things like coprolites or plant imprints as fossils too.
Use the range of examples used in the lesson to make it clear to pupils that there are a wide range of different types of fossil and different types of organisms that become fossils.
Keywords
Evidence - Evidence is information that helps us to prove if something is true or not true.
Fossil record - The fossil record is the collective name for all of the fossil evidence gathered by scientists.
Fossil - A fossil is the remains or imprint of living things that are sometimes preserved in rock.
Theory - A theory is a carefully thought-out explanation for something about our world that is based on learning from scientific enquiry.
Palaeontologist - Palaeontologists study fossils as a guide to the history of life on Earth.