Fossils & the Fossil Record (Geology link)

👩‍🏫 **Teacher’s Guide**

**Objective**  
Identify types of fossils and explain how rock layers reveal Earth’s past.

**Vocabulary**  
<ul>
<li><span class="hidden-answer" data-answer="fossil"></span> — Remains or marks of past life</li><li><span class="hidden-answer" data-answer="sediment"></span> — Sand/soil that forms layers</li><li><span class="hidden-answer" data-answer="cast"></span> — Mineral copy of an organism</li><li><span class="hidden-answer" data-answer="mold"></span> — Hollow shape left in rock</li><li><span class="hidden-answer" data-answer="trace fossil"></span> — Evidence like footprints</li>
</ul>

**Teaching Notes**  
Layered clay to model strata; place 'fossils' in layers; connect to continents moving.

**Answer Key**  
Trace fossils show behavior; older fossils are usually deeper.

**Extension Ideas**  
Local/state fossil mini‑report with drawing and two facts.

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🧒 **Student Worksheet**

**Concept and Helping Material**  
Fossils tell us about life long ago. Rock layers act like pages of a book. Deeper pages are older.

**Words to Learn**  
- A footprint is a ___ fossil.<br>- A rock copy of a shell is a ___.<br>- The hollow shell shape is a ___.

**Sentences to Fill In**  
- Order the layers from oldest to youngest: A (top), B (middle), C (bottom).

**Hands-On Experiment — Make a Plaster Fossil**  

**What You Need**  
plaster of Paris, leaves/shells, jelly, cardboard

**What You Do**  
Coat object, pour plaster, press, dry, remove to reveal impression.

**Reflection**  
- How do fossils teach us about past environments? <span class="hidden-answer" data-answer="They show what lived there and hint at the climate."></span> (Answer may vary.)
Why might sea fossils appear on mountains? (Answer may vary.)