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Fossil Predictions at the Farm Windmill

Use fossils found near a farm windmill to infer ancient environments, predict new discoveries, and support claims with evidence.

Grade 3ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to3-LS4-1

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
14 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use fossil features to describe living things and environments from long ago.
Students predict additional fossil discoveries using evidence from nearby rocks.
Students support claims about past environments with fossil observations.

How to use

Read the field report and fossil guide together. Have students use the graphs to support their predictions, then discuss what fossils can and cannot tell us.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

3-LS4-1

Use fossils to describe living things and environments from long ago.

Preview

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Fossil Predictions at the Farm Windmill

Use rock clues to predict discoveries and explain long-ago environments.

1. Study the Farm's Rock Clues

Read the report and fossil guide. Use both graphs to answer the questions.

Two Stops Near the Windmill

A farm is replacing an old windmill that pumps water for its animals. Before work begins, a scientist visits two places nearby: Windmill Hill and Tank Hollow. Both places now have dry grass and exposed rock. Neither place has a pond or a sea.

The scientist checks that the exposed rocks are natural rock beds, not loose stones brought to the farm. Students study photographs of fossils in those beds. Fossils are remains or traces of living things from long ago. Some preserve a shell or the shape of a leaf.

At each place, the scientist marks an equal-sized patch of rock. The students record every fossil they can identify in each patch. Their counts appear in the graphs. These counts describe the patches they studied, not every fossil hidden in the rock.

To help identify the fossils, the scientist compares their shapes with living things. The reef-coral fossils match kinds that live in warm, shallow seawater. The sea-snail fossils match kinds that live in salt water. A living sea snail has a soft body protected by a shell. The pond-snail fossils match kinds that live in fresh water. The water-lily leaf fossils match plants that grow rooted in shallow fresh water, with leaves floating at the surface.