Skip to content
PlayOwl

Science · Grade 3

Fossils and Changing Habitats

Fish fossils on a mountaintop? Fern fossils in icy Antarctica? Learners discover how fossils form and use them as evidence of what lived long ago and what the environment was like. They argue why, in any habitat, some living things survive well, some less well and some not at all, and evaluate solutions to problems that arise when a habitat changes, such as a road cutting through a forest.

  • 3 lessons
  • About 95 minutes
  • Fossils and habitats check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, match pairs, type a number, sort into groups, true or false and write a short answer
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Interpret fossils as evidence of organisms that lived long ago and of the environments they lived in.
  • Argue with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms survive well, some less well and some cannot survive at all.
  • Make a claim about how well a solution solves a problem caused when a habitat changes.

Lessons

  1. Fossils tell stories 5 steps3 practiceabout 32 min
  2. Survive well, less well or not at all 4 steps2 practiceabout 30 min
  3. When habitats change 7 steps3 practiceabout 33 min
  4. Fossils and habitats check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Marble MountainLay straights, curves, drops and splitters to roll marbles down the mountain.
  • Bridge LabBuild a bridge from beams, brace it with triangles, and stay on budget.
  • Circuit Workshop 3DWire up batteries, bulbs and switches on a 3D workbench.

More 3rd grade science

Guide for grown-ups