Students label a canyon diagram with six terms from a word bank on this two-page 4th grade science sheet. The labels cover three rock layers (youngest, middle, and oldest), a river channel, a land plant fossil, and a marine shell fossil. Together they give the rock and fossil evidence that NGSS 4-ESS1-1 asks students to read. The answer key places the labels A to F.
4-ESS1-1
“Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.”
The whole diagram, which puts a marine shell fossil and a land plant fossil in different layers of the same canyon.
Six terms: Marine Shell Fossil, Middle Rock Layer, Oldest Rock Layer, River Channel, Youngest Rock Layer, and Land Plant Fossil.
Students write each name on the blank line that points to its part of the canyon.
The key runs A to F: River Channel, Youngest Rock Layer, Land Plant Fossil, Middle Rock Layer, Marine Shell Fossil, and Oldest Rock Layer.
Follow-up question
After labeling, ask what the marine shell fossil tells us about this canyon long ago. It is a short step from a label to an explanation.
Layers in a cup
Build layers of colored sand in a clear cup before the sheet. Students see why the youngest layer sits on top before they label it.
Harder version
Cover the word bank and give the sheet again later in the unit. Six labels give you a fast score on rock layer and fossil vocabulary.
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