Fun with Fossils!
| Instant wiki maker | Making handouts | Editing tips |
Biology In Elementary Schools is a Saint Michael's College student project from a course that ran between 2007 and 2010 and fully described in this book chapter. The student-created resources have been preserved here for posterity. Link under 'toolbox' for printer-friendly versions of the exercises. Click on handouts to print full resolution versions. Please see Wikieducator's disclaimer, our safety statement, and the Creative Commons licensing in English and in legalese.
Student worthiness
The lesson is brand new and was extremely successful and enjoyable for students!
Primary biological content area covered
- Students will learn that fossils are the preserved remains of animals
- Students will better understand how fossils are created by making their own.
Materials
Materials for individual students:
- Plaster of Paris
- Dixie cups
- Pennies
- Sea Shells
- Leaves
- Paper clips
- Plastic toys
- Real fossils
Materials for teachers:
- Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki Brandenberg
- Table cloth
- Pam cooking spray
- Plaster of Paris
- Solo cups
Handouts
We will use a time line handout, which will tell students when dinosaurs lived, when dinosaurs died, when fossils began to form, and when some of the first fossils were found across the world. We will also show the below photograph to students.
Figure 1: Student Handout
Figure 2: Picture to show students.
Figure 3: Plaster of Paris mold we previously made for students.
Figure 4: Bowls used to mix and pour the plaster mold.
Figure 5: Oil and Plaster of Paris mold.
Figure 6: Objects for students to imprint.
Figure 7: Real fossils to show students.
Figure 8: Students working on their fossils with the help of Ms. Kustas!
Figure 9: Students being read Fossils Tell of Long Ago.
Figure 10: Students looking at real fossils.
Figure 11: Mr. Bock helping a student make his own fossil!
Description of activity
We will first ask the students if they know what a fossil is. If they don't know we will explain the definition to them. We will pass around real fossils for students to examine as well. Then we will tell them that they get to make their own fossils! We will give each student a cup previously filled with plaster of Paris and cooking spray. We will give students a variety of object (multiples of each one to alleviate sharing issues) and instruct them to pick an object which they would like to imprint into the plaster, making a fossil. We will have students place their object in the plaster in the cup and then cover the object with more plaster. After we finish, we will have students wash their hands, if necessary. To wrap up the lesson, we will read excerpts from Fossils Tell of Long Ago and give the students a handout that shows a time line of the history of fossils.
Lesson Plan
Topic of the Lesson/Subject: Fossils Grade/Course: 1st Grade Science Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes each with 6 groups
DESIRED RESULTS:
Lesson Essential Question:
- What is a fossil and how is it formed?
Vermont Standards Grade Expectations:
S1-2:46
Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change over Time within Systems of the Universe by…
- Observing, describing and comparing color and texture of different types of rocks and soils.
S1-2:47
Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change over Time within Earth Systems by…
- Creating categories of “things that change ”.
Learning Objectives:
- Students should demonstrate an understanding of what fossils are. Students should demonstrate an understanding of how fossils are formed.
Focusing Questions:
- What is a fossil?
- How are fossils formed?
- Where can we find fossils?
ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE:
Criteria:
- Students will be assessed on their understanding of how a fossil is formed and its importance today.
Product or Performance Task:
- Students will be assessed on their understanding of fossils by creating their own using small objects and plaster of Paris.
LEARNING PLAN:
Expectations:
- Students should demonstrate an understanding of what a fossil is, how it is formed, and where they can be found.
Accommodations:
- Accommodations will be made for any and all students in order to reach all students educational needs.
Procedure:
- Introduction: This lesson will begin with Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki Brandenberg. This will be used to engage students as they learn about the importance of fossils today and how they are formed. Instruction: Each group of students will create their own fossil. Students will learn about fossils by first reading Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki Brandenberg. Then students will use the materials listed above to construct a fossil. Students will then let the plaster and object dry and take it home later in the day . Each group will then be able to open the fossil and be able to see the object and the newly formed fossil.
Closure and Connections:
- This lesson will end with students having their very own fossil. They can show it to other students around the class and everyone can see what happened to their individual fossil.
Potential pitfalls
The lesson ran very smoothly for the most part. However, I did notice that when we were reading the book to the students at the end, some of them did not listen and their attention wandered to the spilled plaster on the table or their friend sitting next to them. To prevent this from happening again, we should engage the students in the book more by asking them questions.
Literature connections
We will be reading the students Fossils Tell of Long Ago, which describes fossils using understandable terms, ideal for first graders. The detailed and colorful illustrations combined with manageable language will help the students to better understand what fossils are and how they are created .
Brandenberg, Aliki. Fossils Tell of Long Ago. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, 1990. Print.
Connections to educational standards
This lesson applies to the Vermont Grade Level Expectations:
S1-2:46
Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change over Time within Systems of the Universe by…
- Observing, describing and comparing color and texture of different types of rocks and soils.
S1-2:47
Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change over Time within Earth Systems by…
- Creating categories of “things that change ”.
Art Connections
A1-2:10 Students show skill development when CREATING art by… · Using line in various media (e.g., pencil, marker, cut-outs, etc.) to create shape and image. · Handling and naming of art tools and materials. · Using elements of 2D and 3D design (e.g., 2D—mixing primaries to create secondary colors; 3D—forming a 3D object with texture).
Next steps
Now that students have been introduced to fossils there are number of different learning activities students can do. Using the fossils made by the students, one could do measuring exercises of the fossil for math connections, as well as continue to study the importance and significance of fossils. Students could also make larger fossils or more complicated fossils with more plaster and more time. This activity is a fun, interesting, engaging way to introduce fossils to young students.
Reflections
The way we had each student line up to receive the plaster for their fossil worked very well. We were concerned that it could be a disaster and the kids would argue over which object they got to pick, it was actually very organized and there were no complaints. The one problem we found was that when the kids were ready for the plaster it was hard to judge when to start making it, because if we did it too soon it would dry but if we did it too late it would be watery and not work as well. We were able to manage but that seemed to be the one problem we kept having.
Showing the kids real fossils worked better than expected because they all seemed to be very interested and tried to guess which animal or thing it might have come from. One thing I wish we had done was learn what each fossil actually was so we could tell the kids after they were done guessing.
The kids seemed to know a lot about fossils and dinosaurs so they were all very interested in our lab. They all like dinosaurs and wanted to do more about them so when we read the book they all listened so they could know more. At first we thought the book would not work because it slowed down the pace and students were no longer doing hands on stuff, but they all seemed to like it so there was no problem there. They also liked getting our handout at the end that told them when the dinosaurs lived and other things that lead up to the creation of fossils.
Overall this project was a success and all the kids seemed to love making fossils. They all didn’t like getting their hands messy with the plaster or oil but they got over it and it was not an issue. We would recommend this project to anyone who is doing a lesson on dinosaurs or has a class interested in dinosaurs.
Citations and links
Idea taken from a Canadian Teaching website
Brandenberg, Aliki. Fossils Tell of Long Ago. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, 1990. Print.
