UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs and Fossils Block B: Mary Anning
Session 1 Fossils in the UK
National
Geography: Learn about geographical regions of the UK and their identifying physical characteristics.
Curriculum
To create a map of fossil rich geology in the UK.
Teaching
Objectives
National
Science: Recognise that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of
Curriculum years ago.
To identify the different kinds of fossils that can be found in the UK and match them to their geology.
Teaching
Objectives
Resources
Weblinks
Map
template;
Geology of
Britain.
http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/funstuff/games/pdfs/twist.pdf - Twist in Time board game from the
Oxford University Museum of Natural History; http://www.ukfossils.co.uk/ - UK Fossils Network with lots of
information about the type of fossils found around the UK; http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/locations.htm
- Discovering Fossils in the UK;
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/time/fossilfocus/home.html?src=topNav - Guide to fossils found in
the UK; http://www.nhm.ac.uk/kids-only/earth-space/fantastic-fossils/index.html - Guide to some common
fossils in Britain; http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/geologic_timescale.htm - Geological timeline;
http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html - Geology of Britain viewer from the British
Geographical Survey.
Whole class: Explain to children that they are going to learn about where to find fossils in the UK. Has anyone been fossil
hunting or just found a fossil by chance. Where did you go? What did you find? Ask children to bring in any fossils they want to
show the class for later sessions.
Divide the class into groups of four and have ready a print of the Twist in Time game for each group. Get some counters and a
dice per group and ask chn to play the game. Afterwards ask them the process of how a fossil forms (animal dies, body falls to
the bottom of the sea/ swamp and gets covered by sand/ mud, over time the sand or mud is put under pressure and turns to
rock, the bones are eventually replaced by mineral deposits).
Now debate the factors that can stop an animal being fossilised (Not being covered in a sediment, not having hard parts, the
rock around weathers away before the minerals are deposited, the rock is broken up to be used by humans not searching for
fossils).
Show chn the main types of fossils found in Britain using the fossil guide here. Not everything gets fossilised. In fact, we're pretty
lucky to find any fossils at all and, in Britain, we find all sorts of fossils. Get each group to be a detective now, using the maps of
Britain from the links above and Geology of Britain (session resources), to find out what types of fossils are found in certain
locations around Britain. Show children the map of the geology of Britain (session resources) on the w/b. When they were
finding fossils they probably came across these words that describe periods in time. Ask children to mark on their maps what
type of rock is in each area from the map on the whiteboard.
Use the timeline in the session resources to note down what date these rocks and fossils are too. Pick out the similarities and
differences in the types of fossils found in each type of rock.
Easy/ Medium/ Hard
Ask more able chn to pinpoint some of the exact locations of the fossil rich areas around the UK on their maps. Less able
children could be asked to research only two or three different locations, including the area local to you and the south coast of
England.
Did you realise there were so many places to find fossils in Britain? What are the most common types of fossils?
Where would they have lived when they were alive? At different points in the past, Britain was underwater and
sediments laid down on the bottom of these seas trapped and fossilised lots of sea creatures.
Outcomes Children will
 Explain how fossils are formed
 Show on a map what types of fossils are found in which areas of Britain
 Understand that certain fossils are found in certain types of rocks
Plenary
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