Four fossil finds on this 2-page 3rd grade science sheet ask what a place was like long ago. Students read about shark teeth and clam shells in a Utah desert, palm leaves in Antarctica, fish fossils high on a mountain and a woolly mammoth frozen in Alaska. Each box asks for the past environment and the evidence. Page 2 is an answer key with a sample response and a line of evidence for every find. It matches NGSS 3-LS4-1.
3-LS4-1
“Analyze and interpret data for fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.”
All four finds ask students to read a fossil report and describe the environment it points to.
“Support a claim about a past place with evidence from the fossil.”
Each box has a separate question for the evidence.
Find 1 to Find 4 in pink boxes, each with a small picture, a one-sentence report and four lines to answer what the place was like and what the evidence is.
A past environment and a line of evidence for each find, such as sharks and clams living in salt water for Find 1.
Claim and evidence
Ask for two sentences, one for the place and one that starts with Because. It is a quick way to practice claim and evidence in science.
Partner debate
Find 4 is the one students argue about, since a frozen mammoth lived somewhere cold. Pairs share their evidence before you read the key.
Map it
After the sheet, find Utah, Alaska and Antarctica on a map. Ask students how each place looks today compared with the past.
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