Sediment Fossil Surprise
Activity
Name: __________________
4th grade PSI Science
-----------------------------------------------Activity Question
How are fossils deposited in sediment layers?
Before You Begin
Do you think that all sediment layers contain fossils? Why or
why not?
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Why do you think fossils may be different in different layers
of sediment?
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4th Grade PSI Science
History of Planet Earth
Purpose
During this experiment, you will construct a model of fossils found
in sediment layers. Models help us to visualize more clearly Earth
processes that can be difficult to see, especially on a very large
scale, such as with rock layers. In nature, fossils are deposited in
sediment layers over a long period of time; it is a process that
happens over hundreds of thousands to millions of years. In this
experiment, you will simulate what is left behind after many years
of fossils being deposited into sediment layers. (Remember to
answer Lab Questions during class while you are engaged in the
activity. Conclusion Questions can be answered after class.)
Materials (enough for each student to make a model)
• Clear cup or bowl
• Variety of baking ingredients
• Variety of snack foods
• Blank sheets of paper
• Pencils, Markers
• Scissors (for preparing ingredients as fossils)
• Spoons (for creating model)
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4th Grade PSI Science
History of Planet Earth
Procedure
1. Watch A Fossil Forms slides with the class and discuss.
2. Discuss with your group:
What do you think the relationship is between the age of this
animals bones and the age of the sediment it gets buried in?
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How might fossils of other organisms be similar to how this
one formed?
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How might fossils of other organisms be different to how this
one formed?
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3. On your piece of paper, sketch the outline of your cup or bowl.
This will be the area where you plan your model of fossils in
rock layers. Label the bottom of your cup oldest and the top of
your cup newest.
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4th Grade PSI Science
History of Planet Earth
4. Starting from the bottom, draw one sediment layer and its
fossils at a time. You will have to decide what kind of
environment your sediment layers formed in. Think about
questions such as: Will the layers contain fossils of fish
because it was a water environment, or will there be plants or
land animals in the layers? How will the fossils change in each
new layer? Label the fossils you put in your layers of sediment.
5. After completing your drawing, choose the ingredients that you
will use to represent the sediment layers and fossils you
included in your drawing.
6. If you want, prepare your fossils - make your ingredients look
more like the organism they will represent.
7. Using your drawing as a guide, build your model. Think about
what you will need to deposit first, how and when your
organisms will be deposited, whether or not they will be buried
by sediment…these questions should be running through your
head as you are depositing your sediment and fossils.
8. Share your model and drawing with a partner. Also have them
share their model with you. Observe what they did closely and
how their model is both similar and different from yours.
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4th Grade PSI Science
History of Planet Earth
Lab Questions
1. As you drew your model, how did you decide how thick or
thin sediment layers were? How did you decide how many
fossils were in a layer and where to put them?
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2. In nature, what do you think determines the thickness of
sediment layers?
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3. In nature, what do you think causes more or less fossils to
exist in a sediment layer?
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4th Grade PSI Science
History of Planet Earth
4. Did your partner’s model form in a different kind of
environment than yours? If yes, did you notice any
differences because of the environment the rocks formed in?
If no, how do you think the environment a rock forms in
affects how it forms?
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Conclusion Questions
1. How is this model of fossils in sediment layers similar to the
fossils found in sediment layers in nature?
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2. How is it different?
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4th Grade PSI Science
History of Planet Earth
TEACHER NOTES
This lesson is taken from:
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/sediment-fossilsurprise/?ar_a=1.
This activity has been adapted from its original form to get students thinking more
deeply about questions related to the models they create. (The original lesson plan
written by National Geographic is available on the page linked above.)
This website will be used in the beginning of the lesson to show the slides A Fossil
Forms. If possible, these films should be shown on a projector. Watching these slides
and having a brief discussion with the class about them should get students thinking
about how fossils are formed and how they will build a model of fossils. The lesson plan
also includes specific questions to ask after looking a these slides, which students
should discuss in their groups. (The slides are found by clicking here on the linked
page.)
The materials students use to create their models are up to you, dependent on
what is available and what you think will work well. Here are a few suggestions
for materials students can use to create models:
•
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Edible baking ingredients: coconut flakes, whipped cream, pudding,
crushed graham crackers
Edible snack foods: raisins, candies, vanilla wafers, nuts
Remind students that lab questions should be answered while they are doing the
activity, not afterwards.
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4th Grade PSI Science
History of Planet Earth
Answer Key
Answers to the Lab Questions:
1. As you drew your model, how did you decide how thick or thin sediment layers
were? How did you decide how many fossils were in a layer and where to put
them?
answers will vary
2. In nature, what do you think determines the thickness of sediment layers?
The amount of time that sediments are deposited over, the amount of
erosion that occurs, the amount that a sediment compacts, the amount of
sediment in the environment that is deposited
3. In nature, what do you think causes more or less fossils to exist in a sediment
layer?
The strength of fossils over time (some organisms will decay and not many
fossils will be left), the amount of organisms that lived in the given area
4. Did your partner’s model form in a different kind of environment than yours? If
yes, did you notice any differences because of the environment the rocks formed
in? If no, how do you think the environment a rock forms in affects how it forms?
answers will vary
The environment will affect the types of fossils and sediment that are found
there, the environment will also affect how layers are eroded
Answers to the Conclusion Questions:
1. How is this model of fossils in sediment layers similar to the fossils found in
sediment layers in nature?
Different types of sediment exist in different layers, different fossils are
found in different layers, the oldest layer is on the bottom and the newest
on top
2. How is it different?
The sediments are not cemented, the sediments and fossils were deposited
very quickly, the sediments and fossils are different materials than those
found in nature
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4th Grade PSI Science
History of Planet Earth