Lesson 3

Lesson 3- What do we learn from fossils?

Aims:

1. What can we learn from cast and mold fossils?

2. What can we learn from trace fossils?

3. What can we learn from true form fossils?

Motivation: Ask children what they have learned about dinosaurs and ask them how they think scientists found out all this information.

Procedure:

1. Create a database with a number of different questions and have students write a paragraph about what they can learn about the animal from the fossil. They can use the following sites to find the answers: http://library.thinkquest.org/J002507/html/teeth.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002507/html/footprints.html http://library.thinkquest.org/J002507/html/amber.html and http://zoomschool.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinofossils/Fossiltypes.html

Click here for a blank student database.

Question	What can you tell from this fossil about the animal that it belonged to?
What can you tell about an animal from a fossil of its teeth?	Teeth can tell you whether the animal was an herbivore (plant eater) or a carnivore (animal eater).
What can you tell about an animal from fossilized eggs, embryos, and nests?	These can tell you what type of animal belonged to each type of egg, whether the animal nurtured its eggs and young, and if it was a social creature. An embryo can tell you about the animal's development.
What can you tell about an animal from its footprints?	Fossil footprints have yielded information about: Speed and length of stride whether they walked on two or four legs the bone structure of the foot stalking behavior (a carnivore hunting a herd of herbivores) the existence of dinosaur herds and stampedes how the tail is carried (few tail tracks have been found, so tails were probably held above the ground)
What can you about an animal from coprolite?	Coprolites yield information about the dinosaurs' diet and habitats.
What can you tell about an animal from its bones?	The bones of an animal can tell the animal's relative size, shape, and when they lived (from Carbon dating).
What can you tell about an animal from its burrows or nests?	Fossils of animals' burrows and nests can reveal a lot about their behavior.
What can you tell about an animal from a skin imprint?	You can learn about the texture of the skin from an imprint.

Activities:

1. Give each group of students a picture of a horse skeleton and a stegosaurus skeleton. Ask what they know about a horse. Make sure they describe its physical attributes as well as its social attributes.

Animal

Physical Description

Social Attributes