Six fossils meet six living relatives on this 3-page 3rd grade science sheet. Students match a horseshoe crab fossil, a woolly mammoth skeleton, a saber-toothed cat skull, a giant fossil dragonfly, a fossil fern and an ammonite with a living partner by writing a letter from A to F. Page 2 gives two three-part boxes that compare the mammoth with the elephant and the fossil dragonfly with a dragonfly today. The answers page gives each match and sample comparisons.
“Match a fossil to the living organism it most resembles.”
Part 1 on page 1 asks for six matches.
“State one likeness and one difference between an extinct animal and a living relative.”
Questions 7 and 8 on page 2 compare the mammoth with the elephant and the fossil dragonfly with a dragonfly today.
A table with the six fossils on the left, six living things on the right in mixed order, and a middle box where students write a letter from A to F.
Two boxes with three sections each. Students write one difference for each animal in the outer sections and one likeness in the middle.
The six matches, such as the mammoth with the elephant and the ammonite with the nautilus, then sample answers for both comparison boxes.
Picture talk first
Let pairs say aloud how each match looks alike before they write. The horseshoe crab and fern pairs go quickly, and the ammonite and nautilus pair takes longer.
Show the wingspan
Tape a bird-sized wingspan on the floor to show the fossil dragonfly, since the answer key compares it with a bird.
Teach the word extinct
Add the word extinct to the board when you discuss the mammoth and the saber-toothed cat. The answer key uses it.
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