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Fossils KS2

Teach your KS2 class about fossils with these two ready-to-teach lessons. In the first lesson, after recapping how sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks are formed, your class will explore one of nature's most fascinating phenomena - fossils! Your class will learn how fossils are formed, and what we can find out from those that have been discovered. There is also the option to create their very own fossils!

The second lesson explores some common fossils, such as trilobites, ammonites, crinoids and, of course, dinosaurs! Your class will think about what they can tell us about prehistoric life, and will consider what we would know about prehistoric organisms without fossils. There is also a practical activity to see just how tough the work of a palaeontologist is!

Each of these Fossils KS2 Science lessons include:

  • a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities
  • a slideshow for the teaching input
  • a range of printable resources for independent learning activities

This lesson is part of our Rocks, Fossils and Soils scheme of work for Year 3.

Formation of Fossils KS2 Lesson Pack

£2.99

Scroll through the pictures for a preview of the lesson's resources:

Formation of Fossils KS2 slideshow example 1
Formation of Fossils KS2 slideshow example 2
Formation of Fossils KS2 slideshow example 3
Formation of Fossils KS2 slideshow example 4
Formation of Fossils KS2 slideshow example 5
Formation of Fossils KS2 slideshow example 6
Formation of Fossils KS2 worksheet example 1
Formation of Fossils KS2 worksheet example 2
Formation of Fossils KS2 lesson plan example 1

Identifying Fossils KS2 Lesson Pack

£2.99

Scroll through the pictures for a preview of the lesson's resources:

Identifying Fossils KS2 slideshow example 1
Identifying Fossils KS2 slideshow example 2
Identifying Fossils KS2 slideshow example 3
Identifying Fossils KS2 slideshow example 4
Identifying Fossils KS2 slideshow example 5
Identifying Fossils KS2 worksheet example 1
Identifying Fossils KS2 slideshow example 2
Identifying Fossils KS2 lesson plan example 1
A selection of fossil drawings

Fossils

What are fossils?

Fossils are the preserved remains of plants and animals from more than 10,000 years ago. Animal and plant remains can be fossilised, including their footprints, eggs and even their poo!

 

Image of a fossilised fern
Image of a fossilised fish

Fern fossil

Fish fossil

How are fossils formed?

Not all living things become fossils after they die. The process of fossilisation needs specific conditions.

When an animal dies, its flesh will decompose or be eaten by other animals, leaving only the skeleton. This can eventually be covered by layers of sediment (very small pieces of rock). This causes the skeleton to compress, and it is eventually dissolved by water that passes through the layers of sediment. Minerals replace the space where the skeleton was, creating a new stony substance called a fossil.

Thousands or millions of years after it has been formed, the fossil is brought to the surface by the movement of the Earth's crust.

Paleontologists study fossils. Fossils can tell us a lot about what the world was like millions of years ago, and how animals and plants evolved.

 

A paleontologist studying a dinosaur fossil

A paleontologist studying a dinosaur fossil

 

When should children learn about fossils?

According to the National Curriculum Science objectives, children learn about fossils in KS2. It is assigned as compulsory learning in Year 3 under the 'Rocks' strand of learning:

  • describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock

The non-statutory guidance suggests that children use a hand lens or microscope to see whether rocks have fossils in them. It also suggests that pupils might research and discuss the different kinds of living things whose fossils are found in sedimentary rock and explore how fossils are formed.

 

If you are looking for KS1 lessons about fossils, you might be interested in our Mary Anning KS1 Lesson Packs. Mary Anning was a fossil hunter and palaeontologist whose geological finds were among the most important of all time.