KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN FORMAT












STANDARD:
3.1.3.C3
Constancy and change. Recognize that fossils provide us with information about living
things that inhabited the Earth long ago.
3.3.4.A3
Recognize that fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago
and the nature of the environment at that time.

I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes)
A. The fourth grade students will be able to explain what fossils are by doing an
inquiry on how remains go from organic to a hardened material.
B. The fourth grade students will be able to identify fossil remains versus a fossil
imprint by examining bread imprints from gummy bears.



II. Instructional Materials

A. Their science notebook and a response sheet for the activity
B. Writing utensil
C. 4 Pieces of bread each table
D. 4 Gummy bears each table
E. 10 fossil shaped sponge
F. 10 bowls filled with an Epsom salt, water, vinegar, or club soda.
G. Dig It writing prompt
H. Boy Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs by: Kathleen Kudlinski.


III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills

Teacher Candidate: Josh Rankin Date: 9/27/14

Cooperating Teacher: Ms. Fliszar Coop. Initials

Group Size: Large Group Allotted Time 45 Mins Grade Level 4
th
Grade

Subject or Topic: Fossilization and Fossils Section: 010
1. Children should be able to read and write.
2. Children should also have a basic understanding of rocks and how
they are formed in the earths layers.
B. Key Vocabulary
1. Fossilization- The process of replacing organic material with mineral
substances.
2. Fossil- The remains or impressions of prehistoric organisms
preserved in a mold or cast in a rock.
3. Petrified- Organic matter that has been changed into a stony
substance.
4. Cast- A fossil that decomposed but left its shape in a rock after being
replaced by minerals and sedimentary material.
5. Amber- A hardened resin made of old and dried tree sap.
6. Imprint- Fossils that no longer have material where the original
organic material used to be.
7. Trace Fossil- Fossils made of plants or any non-living remains of an
animal.
8. Mold- A fossil where the organic material was exposed and
decomposed so only a mold of the fossil is left.

C. Big Idea
1. Fossils are remains or imprints of animals or plants that have been
trapped in rocks, clay, or amber.
D. Additional content
1. How plants and animals are trapped in amber or other elements.
2. What kinds of animals can become or have been fossilized.

IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
1. The teacher will discuss information on previous lesson on rocks.
2. The teacher will review with the students about the set up for the
inquiry and the activity
3. The teacher will read Boy Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs by:
Kathleen Kudlinski.

B. Development

1. To begin the lesson the teacher will start a power point showing the
basic information about fossils and then move into fossil imprints.
2. The teacher will then move the students to the activity where the
children get their bread mold and have them take guesses at what
had happened to the different layers of bread along with the gummy
bear.
3. The children will then look what happened and fill out a response in
their science notebook.
4. The teacher will then move through the power point discussing
whole body fossils.
5. Next, the students will move to the inquiry and examine what
happened to the bone. Students will compare their guesses to what
actually happened to the bone.
6. The students will then fill out in their science notebook what they
observed.


C. Closure
1. The teacher will say Today we learned about fossils and how they
are formed. We also learned about what materials fossils can be
trapped in or imprinted on.
2. The students will complete a writing prompt based off of the Dig It
worksheet.
3. Finally, the students will then get a small preview about their next
unit.

D. Accommodations/Differentiation
1. For JS, with ADHD, I would put Velcro on the bottom of the childs
desk for them to use when they feel anxious or uptight.

E. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
1. Formative- The teacher will have the students fill out a response sheet to
the bread imprint activity along with a science journal entry for the fossil
inquiry.
2. Summative- The student will complete a writing prompt.




V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Student Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives (Reflection on
student performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for
students who fail to meet acceptable level of achievement)









Remediation Plan






B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective
answers to question recorded after lesson is taught)









VI. Resources (in APA format)
A. Lesser. (5 November 2012). Gummy Bear Fossils. Retrieved from
http://www.mrslesser.com/2012/11/05/gummy-bear-fossils/
B. Michelle, Karen. (2008). Layers of Learning Science Wednesdays: Fossils.
Retrieved from http://www.layers-of-learning.com/layers-of-learning-
homeschool-science-curriculum-wednesday/
C. Whitehouse, Moira. (24 October 2011). Fossils (teach). Retrieved from
http://www.slideshare.net/MMoiraWhitehouse/fossils-teach