We have begun our exciting unit focusing on fossils. So far, we have discussed what fossils are, where we can find them, and some things we can learn from fossils. We will use this Webquest as a resource to discover new information about fossils and deepen our overall understanding of them.
Task
For this activity, you will explore different websites about fossils. For each website, you will have some questions to answer from information that is given.
The first is a video that gives an overview about what we have discussed in class about fossils. You will first watch the video, then you will answer the questions that were answered in the video. If needed, you can rewatch the video in order to repeat the answers to the questions. You will each get a piece of paper that has the questions for the video, and you will write your answers down for each question in your Science journal.
The second activity is to explore a website that gives us information on how a fossil forms. On the same piece of paper, there will also be questions that you will have to answer from the information on the website. You will also answer these questions in your journal.
Process
1. Please follow this link to be brought to the video about fossils. First, watch the video all the way through. Then, answer the questions on the page I gave you in your journal.
Video:
The questions are:
1. What is a fossil?
2. What type of environments do fossils form in from dead animals?
3. What brings the remains of animals to the surface?
4. What two ways can fossils be made?
5. Write four sentences about some things you learned about fossils through this entire video.
2. Please follow this link to a website that will explain how a fossil is formed.
First, begin reading the text in the box on the upper-left corner of the screen. There are some questions I want you to answer in your journal from this information.
1. Most fossils form when the ____ of living things change into ______.
2. What happens to the animal's body tissues have been buried?
3. So far, how old are the most ancient fossils found? Select the correct answer.
a. 5.3 Million years old.
b. 9 Billion years old.
c. 3.45 Billion years old.
3. When you have finished answering these questions, click on "Coelacanth." Information will come up about this type of fish. Answer these questions about the Coelacanth.
1. Describe the Coelacanth's body and texture.
2. What is the Coelacanth sometimes called?
4. Next, click on the word "Dead." Answer this question using the information given.
1. The Coelacanth fish can only be preserved as a fossil if what?
5. Click on the word "Buried." Answer this question using the information given.
1. What is the fish's entire body buried in?
6. Now, click on "Replaced by Minerals." Answer this question using the information given.
1. When the soft body decays, what is left?
7. Click on "Turned to Stone." Answer this question using the information given.
1. What happens to the skeleton when new layers of sand and mud build up on the seabed?
8. Lastly, click on "Sealed in Rock." Answer this question using the information given.
1. What causes the sand and mud surrounding the fossil to turn into rock?
Evaluation
You will be evaluated on the accuracy of your answers for each website explored and participation.
I will check your answers and you will receive one point for each correct answer. If you get every question correct, that will be a total of 15 points.
Everyone that participates in this activity will receive 5 participation points. If there is no attempt to complete the activity, that is an automatic 0 for participation.
I will add together the points for the correct answers and participation points, which will give you a score out of 20.
Number of questions answered correctly
(1 point per question)
Participation
(5 for participation, 0 for no attempt)
Overall Points
/20
Conclusion
Through these two online resources, I hope you learned some more about fossils and how they are formed. We will use this webquest in our class discussions of fossils. The information gained from these two resources will help you understand more of what is to come in our fossil unit.
Credits
This webquest was created using Createwebquest.com.
This webquest is geared towards 3rd grade Science classrooms that are focusing on Fossils.
The webquest is intended to help students build off of the information that they have already learned in class about fossils and introduce them to new topics and deeper information. The information introduced to students through this webquest will be used in the classroom and set a foundation for extended learning later on in the unit of fossils.
The performance expectation from the 3rd grade Science standard 3-LS4-1- Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
The disciplinary core idea is that fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that lived long ago and also about the nature of their environment. (UE.LS4A.b). Through the webquest, students learn about a type of fish that lived long ago and the website describes the characteristics of both the fish and the environment in which they lived.