3-LS4-1

SCUSD NGSS Curriculum Guide
 * 3-LS4-1: Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. ** [Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include type, size, and distributions of fossil organisms. Examples of fossils and environments could include marine fossils found on dry land, tropical plant fossils found in Arctic areas, and fossils of extinct organisms.] [//Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include identification of specific fossils or present plants and animals. Assessment is limited to major fossil types and relative ages.//]

Science Background for the Teacher:
Keep your examples to very explicit fossils such as fish and birds. You will need to do some pre-teaching before working on the analysis section of the fossils.

Key Vocabulary:

 * fossil || environment || marine || tropical ||
 * organism || analyze || interpret || distribution ||

Possible Assessments (formative and/or summative):
Students get their own fossil example and have to describe the identifying features of the fossil to determine what the environment at the time the fossil was alive would have been like.

Key Student Activity:
[Description of student activity. Include necessary materials, if known.]

Key Teacher Demo/Activity:
Use models or pictures of fossils of fish and birds and obvious plants (like palm fronds) and discuss with students what identifying features help them determine what type of environment each fossil came from.

Teach about how the land and geography changes over time and areas that are desert now could have been tropical or water covered before.

Common Student Misconceptions:
[Descriptions of common student mistakes or misconceptions related to this topic.]

Things to Avoid/Correct:
[Descriptions of imprecise language or other mistakes related to this topic that might have to be corrected at a higher grade band.]

====Other Resources (text, video, simulations, activities, models, etc..): ====

[Descriptions or links to other resources that would support student understanding of this topic or mastery of this performance expectation.]