Term 4 Topic 4 Fossils in Rock

• Fossils are remains of ancient plants and animals that are preserved in rock.
• these remains are found in some layers of sedimentary rock.
• they provide evidence/record of the history of life on earth.
• there are two main types of fossils:
  • Body Fossils.
  • Trace Fossils.

• Greet the learners.
• Each child is given a small shell (ear shaped shells work best).
• Teacher pours melted chocolate into each shell
• The shells are put aside to ‘set’.
• Ask learners what they think will happen to the chocolate in their shells.

Possible Answers:

It will set; harden; get cool; take the shape of the shell; leave a shell pattern, etc.

• Take learners outside to see if they can find old bones, parts of plants, dead animal remains, etc.
• Ask them to imagine what would happen if the items were covered with mud (clayey) and it dried.
• Ask them what they would find after it had hardened.

Possible Answers:

It would have an imprint of animal or bone shape; there would be patterns in the dried mud, etc.

• Show learners Presentation 1.
• Discuss what they have learned from the slideshow.
• Watch Video 1 (on Slideshow).

This video shows how fossils form in rocks.

• Allow learners to turn out their chocolate shell (if they haven’t been eaten already!).
• Discuss any similarities between the chocolates and what they saw on the video.

• Learners complete Worksheet A.