Where can you find whales in a desert?

Habitats, Fossils, & Environments Over Time
4.7 (19683 reviews)
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
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DISCUSS:

What do you think this belongs to?

mystery-fossil
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DISCUSS:

So far, Doug has found fossil seashells and a fossil shark tooth. What other fossils do you think Doug would find in the quarry?

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Step
01/16
Find a partner.
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Step
02/16
Get these supplies. You’ll get more later.
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Step
03/16
Write your name on this Fossil Dig sheet. Cut along the 2 dotted lines
until you reach the stop signs.
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Step
04/16
Put the page with your name in it on top of the other page. Then fold
stickers over both pages near the arrows.
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Step
05/16
Open the top layer, Layer A, of your fossil dig. Examine the fossils
that you find in this layer.
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Step
06/16
Look at the traits of each fossil. Then fill in question #1 on your
worksheet and discuss with your partner.
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Step
07/16
Discuss. Then fill in question #2 on your worksheet.
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Step
08/16
Open Layer B of your fossil dig. Examine the fossils that you find in
this layer.
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Step
09/16
Fill in question #3 on your worksheet and discuss with your partner.
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Step
10/16
Discuss. Then fill in question #4 on your worksheet.
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Step
11/16
Get the rest of your supplies.
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Step
12/16
Cut out your Mystery Fossils.
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Step
13/16
Observe the traits of your Mystery Fossils. Sort them into two piles.
It’s ok if it’s hard to tell where some belong.
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Step
14/16
Place them into their fossil layer. Then glue them in.
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Step
15/16
Discuss these questions.
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Step
16/16
Discuss these questions. Then watch the next video.
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DISCUSS:

Do you think habitats have changed in other parts of the world besides Illinois? How could you find out?

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Slide Image
Slide Image

habitat


1 of 13

the place where an animal or plant lives
Slide Image

desert


2 of 13

a habitat that is usually hot and that gets very little rain
Slide Image

forest


3 of 13

a habitat with lots of trees
Slide Image

grassland


4 of 13

a habitat with mostly grasses and very few trees
Slide Image

ocean


5 of 13

a habitat that is a large area of salt water
Slide Image

polar


6 of 13

a habitat that is very cold
Slide Image

quarry


7 of 13

a large, deep pit that people remove rock from
Slide Image

fossil


8 of 13

the remains of a plant or animal that lived a very, very long time ago
Slide Image

observe


9 of 13

to pay close attention to something
Slide Image

trait


10 of 13

something you can observe about a living thing, such as the broad fins of a fish
Slide Image

claim


11 of 13

to say or write an idea
Slide Image

evidence


12 of 13

information that can be used to support or reject an idea
Slide Image

model


13 of 13

a pretend version of something that scientists use when the real thing is too big, small, or complicated to work with
Where can you find whales in a desert?
Habitats, Fossils, & Environments Over Time
4.7 (19683 reviews)

Featured Reviews

“My students absolutely loved this activity. They were so creative and thoughtful with the second part when they glued the different skeletons. A lot of them put the turtle and frog in between the layers because those animals go on both land and sea! ”
· · Other
“The fossil dig for the kids was amazing. Everything was scaffolded so nicely that ALL students were successful. ”
· Jennifer · Teacher
“The students really enjoyed adding the "mystery fossils" to their dig. As an educator, I love the step-by-step directions for the students. They are so easy to understand!”
· Emily · Teacher
“I teach SDC SH and all my students were engaged. We did the lesson whole group. It was visually engaging, easy to follow, and the reproducible was fun for the kids to complete. Great lesson.”
· Roxana · Teacher
“The kids were very excited about this one! Now they want to dig up the ground! Thanks for another fantastic lesson and activity!”
· Elizabeth · Homeschooler
“This was so well-done! The kids learned so much!”
· Heidi · Teacher
“So fun and the students were really engaged. ”
· Tammy · Teacher
“The students did a great job justifying where they placed their fossils. They were really able to look at specific traits and use that information in their answers.”
· Lesley · Teacher
“This was way more fun than the old version! The kids really liked sorting the fossils and the video at the end had them REALLY talking! They learned quite a bit about traits and it is great to connect to habitat studies. ”
· Deborah · Teacher
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Activity Prep

Print Prep
This lesson was revised on July 1, 2019. Here is a link to the previous version.
In this lesson, students explore the idea that the rock under our feet sometimes contains fossils, and investigate how these fossils reveal changes in habitats through time. In the activity, Fossil Dig, students use paper to create a model fossil dig. They identify traits of fossils to determine what the habitat looked like when these organisms were alive. Then they use this information to figure out where some Mystery Fossils belong in their fossil dig.
Preview activity

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Student slideshow: English | Spanish

Teacher printout: English & Spanish
I don't have a Mystery Pack
In your Mystery Pack Lesson Bag
Dot Stickers

We prefer stickers because they are easier to distribute in a classroom.

 3 stickers per student
Not included in your Mystery Pack
Fossil Dig printout 1 per student
Fossil Dig Answer Key printout 1 per class
Fossil Dig Questions printout 1 per student
Mystery Fossils printout 1 per pair
Glue Sticks 1 glue stick per student
Scissors 1 pair per student
Prep Instructions

We suggest students work in pairs.

Prepare Mystery Fossils

Mystery Fossils will print two per page so you may want to cut each page in half before class. Each student needs a ½ sheet for the activity.

Standards

Jump to

Exploration

10 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Wrap-Up

10 mins

Extend this lesson

Unit Reading

Unit Reading

A Whale of a Find

In this reading, students learn the story of how whale fossils were discovered during road work in Chile.

Activity

Activity

Fossil Formation!

This website from the Kentucky Geological Survey includes several hands-on activities that demonstrate how different types of fossils form. It includes a variation on the classic plaster and mold activity using white glue instead.

Careers

Careers

Meet some paleontologists and watch as they unearth and transport fossils.

  • In this video, paleontologists in Argentina discover and transport fossils to a museum for further study. (4:19, PBS)

  • Meet Mark Rentz, a paleontologist who studies fossils in Florida. Watch this video to see him talk about finding shark and whale teeth in a Florida creek. (3:13, WGCU Curious Kids)

Mini-lessons

Mini-lessons

You can elaborate student learning and engagement with Mystery Science mini-lessons.

If you are in an NGSS state, these mini-lessons support the DCI LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity

Mystery Science Activity

Mystery Science Activity

What Habitat Was Here?

Continue exploring past environments with an additional Mystery Science activity! In this virtual activity, students observe a fossil and the current environment where that fossil was found. Then, using clues from the traits of the fossil, they figure out what the environment looked like in the past.

The activity instructions, supplies, and worksheets can be found here.

Transcripts

Download this Lesson to your device so you can play it offline:
Credits
 
Fossils Lesson 1: Where can you find whales in a desert?

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