Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Fossils

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the differences between cast and mold fossils. They discuss geological time and how many fossils are millions of years old, then create a cast fossil using clay and a shell, and a mold fossil using a shell and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossils and our Past (part 1 of 3)

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders investigate how some extinct organisms resemble organisms that are still alive today. They watch and discuss the Magic School Bus video about fossils, then create clay fossil imprints, matching the imprints to plaster of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Impressions in Clay

For Teachers K - 8th
Students examine how fossils are created. They make impressions of different objects in clay and compare them to examples of fossils.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What are the Different Kinds of Fossils?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine different types of fossils. In this fossil activity, students investigate the attributes of mold fossils, trace fossils, cast fossils, and true form fossils. Students create their own fossil samples.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Candle-Wax Fossils: Casts, Molds, and Impressions

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine and define fossils. They create their own impressions and molds in clay and candle wax, making external and internal molds.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossils

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders create a fossil using an impression made with a shell pressed into clay and filled with plaster of Paris and a mold made out of dough and impressed with a shell. They also will receive a paragraph which contains four...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rockin? Chalk (Integrating science - make own chalk)

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students use plaster of Paris, talc, and cornstarch to create their own chalk. They hypothesize what mixture of ingredients produce the "best" chalk. Students discuss what they think are the characteristics of the "best" chalk.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Evidence

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students evaluate each other's fossil imprints and they try to identify the original object. They comprehend the importance of accuracy in identifying a fossil imprint. Students create an answer sheet that has space for the names of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Core

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders take their own "core sample" with clay and/or play-dough and correlate the layers of the earth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Sedimentary Rocks are Formed

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the stripes in sedimentary rocks, using a structure at Petra, Jordan, as an example, and then do a hands-on activity using mixed nuts to illustrate the layering of sedimentary rocks.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water and Ice

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore water as it changes states of matter. In this physical property lesson, students use observation, measurement, and communication skills to describe changes in water as it goes from a solid to a liquid and back again.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Core

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine conditions that can lead to the formations found and correlate the layers.  In this rock layers lesson students complete an activity that allows students to take their own "core sample".