Lesson Plan : Fossils
Teacher Name: | Ronya Churchwell |
Grade: | Grade 3 |
Subject: | Science |
Topic: | |
Content: | Houghton Mifflin Georgia Science Textbook, Grade 3 Unit A - Earth Science Chapter 2, Lesson 3 (pages 70-77) Main Idea: Fossils, the remains of organisms that once lived, give clues about living things of long ago. |
Goals: | Students will understand the following: �Fossils are evidence of organisms that lived long ago �Fossils are formed in different ways �The investigation of fossils gives us evidence of how they were formed Duration of lesson: 2 hours (excluding research and completed projects) |
Objectives: | Focus Standards: S3E2 Students will investigate fossils as evidence of organisms that lived long ago a. Investigate fossils by observing authentic fossils or models of fossils or view information resources about fossils as evidence of organisms that lived long ago. b. Describe how a fossil is formed. |
Materials: | Students will visit and explore the following websites: Renzulli Learning Rockhounds website http://www.childrensmuseum.org/geomysteries/necklace/a1.html (Interactive site to explore fossils) Fossil sites for kids, teachers and families covering fossils, dinosaur fossils, pictures of fossils, facts about fossils, how are fossils formed, ... www.surfnetkids.com/fossils.htm Welcome to fossils.com and skulls.com. An adventure into antiquity. Here you will discover replicas of almost any fossil skull or skeleton ever found. ... http://www.fossils.com/ |
Introduction: | Brainstorm list on board of what students already know about fossils (readiness). Picture walk including class discussion about pictures/captions (pages 72-76). Make predictions and record observations about fossils. Bloom's Level Knowledge: *Establish what students know about fossils |
Development: | Define key vocabulary: 1. fossil 2. organism 3. paleontologist *Read aloud pages 72-76, discussing each subtitle and main idea *Graphic Organizer (Unit Resources, page 45) Bloom's Level Comprehension: *Describe different types of fossils *Explain ways fossils are formed |
Practice: | Make a Fossil Bloom's Level Application: *Students will make clay models of fossils and share with a partner (connect/develop). Partners will guess what type of organism made the fossil model (directions page 71 in text book). |
Accommodations: | Tier I: Bloom's Level Synthesis: *Renzulli Learning to research different geologic time periods and defend use of fossils as evidence of organisms from the past (present to class as research paper or power point) *Design a "future fossil" diorama that depicts an organism and its habitat (5 gifted students) Tier II: Create a mobel of a fossil and write step-by-step instructions for creating a model of a fossil; list the types of fossils and describe the differences between fossil types (9 on level students) Bloom's Level Knowledge, Comprehension, Application: Tier III: *Recognize patterns between fossils and the organisms from which they came (matching activity using fossils and organisms) and explain the connection *Draw a picture/sketch of what an organism looked like when it was alive (page 79 - art link) by looking at the pictures/captions of fossils found in the text and teach your inferences to your partner (5 below grade level students) |
Checking For Understanding: | Bloom's Level Comprehension: In Science journals, students will: *explain process by which scientists link fossils and organisms *explain in words/pictures the different types of fossils *explain why there are more of some kinds of fossils than others |
Closure: | *Fossil Collage (Clay Models activity, page 71) *Whole class review of objectives |
Evaluation: | _Finished projects that may include research papers, powerpoints, sketches/drawings, dioramas, reflections in Science Journals - Explanation in Science journal of process by which scientists link fossils and organisms - Sketches in Science journal that represent fossils and organisms - Matching activity using fossils and organisms - Explanation in Science journal of process by which scientists link fossils and organisms - Journal entry explaining in words or pictorially the different types of fossils - Created model of a fossil with instructions for how others can create their own fossil model - Journal entry explaining why there are more of some kinds of fossils than others |
Teacher Reflections: |
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