How Fossils are Made

This scene transports us to a fictional landscape which also works as a timeline to explore. At the beginning we see a prehistoric ocean with ammonites swimming, and on land dinosaurs roam, with one sadly dying in a swamp. Travel further and we see how soft tissues quickly decompose leaving just skeletons and shells behind. These remains become covered, and at the end of the scene we see an excavation site and a cliff face where fossils have been found in modern times.

# Learning objectives

1: Be able to describe how fossils are formed from hard tissue of dead animals and plants{.info}

2: Be able to explain the conditions that lead to remains of animals and plants fossilising{.info}

# Prehistoric Life{.objective .objective1}

An explanation that not all life will eventually form a fossil, that conditions must be right to allow hard body parts to become covered by sediments. Students are asked to enter the scene and notice that different creatures are in different environments, some more likely to become fossils than others.

# Fossil Formation{.objective .objective2}

A brief description of how fossils are formed slowly beneath the ground over millions of years is provided. As animals and plants die, they will eventually become covered and buried under sediments. As more sediment deposits, the weight squashes and pushes water and air out of any gaps in the sediment. This creates anaerobic conditions preventing decay of the remains, fossilising and preserving them.

# Discovering Fossils{.objective .objective3}

An explanation is given of how geological movements over long time periods mean that fossils which are formed underground can make their way to the surface to be discovered. Earthquakes, erosion, volcanic activity, and other factors can often lead to rocks becoming exposed that were once buried under ground. Any fossils within are exposed.

# Teacher Resources

### Download Teacher Notes

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/792375/files/How%20Fossils+Are+Made+Teacher+Notes+Only.pdf?date=1676371720&size=908038&md5=014f14f46dcc73ea8ea387ba565ea4a6)

### Student Quiz Answers Document

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/792376/files/How%20Fossils+Are+Made+Quiz+Answers.pdf?date=1676371787&size=498452&md5=9a1f48b68d6f08588187da3752fd073f)

### Download Student Quiz Document

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/792377/files/How%20Fossils+Are+Made+Quiz+Only.pdf?date=1676371909&size=94594&md5=fbb0f3e66c46019487217bd55ee8fbd8)