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Grade 3. Over 1 lesson consisting of 4 activities, students investigate phenomena related to what fossils can tell us about past environments. Phenomenal Explorations™ kits support the NGSS innovations of phenomena and three-dimensional learning by integrating literacy and science investigation. Each kit includes a teacher’s guide, a 12-month individual license for 1 teacher and up to 32 students on CarolinaScienceOnline.com, and enough hands-on materials for a class of 32 students.
Grade 3. Over 1 lesson consisting of 4 activities, students investigate phenomena related to what fossils can tell us about past environments. Phenomenal Explorations™ kits support the NGSS innovations of phenomena and three-dimensional learning through integrating literacy and science investigation.
Kit includes a teacher’s guide, a 12-month individual license for 1 teacher and up to 32 students on CarolinaScienceOnline.com, and enough hands-on materials for a class of 32 students. In addition to the lesson activities, the teacher’s guide includes a pre-assessment, a post-assessment, and a scenario-based assessment. Also included are remediation activities to support struggling students and enrichment activities to challenge students who demonstrate a high level of comfort with the lesson’s concepts.
To replenish items consumed during the teaching of the kit, purchase individual components listed on the “What’s Included” tab.
Next Generation Science Standards Alignment*:
Performance Expectations
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Science and Engineering Practices
Crosscutting Concepts
Connections to English Language Arts (ELA) and Math
English Language Arts
Math
Activity Summaries:
Pre-Assessment (10–45 minutes)
An optional pre-assessment activity identifies students’ prior knowledge of the lesson’s concepts related to what organisms need, where they live, and the structures that help them survive, the process and scientific importance of fossilization and helps teachers identify and address misconceptions and reviews the scientific concepts that are foundational to the lesson.
Activity 1Literacy and Science (30 minutes)
Students make initial observations of and generate questions about a fossil. A literacy-based Student Activity Sheet introduces students to fossils and fossil formation. Students compare fossil shark teeth to modern shark teeth.
Strengthening NGSS Connections
Activity 2Analyze Data (45–60 minutes)
Students predict where fossil teeth might be located. They analyze data from shark tooth fossils collected worldwide. Students create a table of the data that includes the size of a tooth, its age, and the area in which it was found. Students use their data to describe how fossils provide evidence of organisms that lived long ago. Students look for patterns in the data to describe relationships between present-day sharks and the general areas (warm oceans) in which they are typically found.
Activity 3Construct an Explanation (45 minutes)
Students describe what sharks need to survive and the characteristics of environments that would likely support sharks. Next, students gather evidence on shark adaptations and use that evidence to construct an argument for which features of an environment support sharks.
Activity 4Review and Make a Claim (30–45 minutes)
Students revisit fossil data to look for patterns in the fossils found in an area. Students analyze fossils from a dig site, describe the types of organisms that are present, and explain how the fossils can provide evidence for the type of environment that was present at the time the organisms were alive. Students construct a claim supported with evidence for how fossils can be used to learn about environments from long ago.
Scenario-Based Summative Assessment
Scenario-based assessments blend science and reading comprehension and relate to the fundamental scientific concepts from the lesson. Students apply their knowledge to answer questions based on a lesson-specific scenario.
*Next Generation Science Standards® is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.
If for any reason you are not satisfied with this item, it is eligible for a return, exchange, refund, or credit up to 180 days from date of purchase. Restrictions may apply. Returns & Exchanges Policy.