Teacher:

Next Generation
Science Standards
(NGSS) and
Common Core
State Standards
(CCSS)

Grade Level: 4th Grade

Date: 11/20

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.]
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the
text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.7
Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively
(e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or
interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the
information contributes to an understanding of the text in which
it appears.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.C
Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on
information, and make comments that contribute to the
discussion and link to the remarks of others.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.3
Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support
particular points.

Key Concept(s)
Objective for
Students
Engage: What is the
focus of the lesson?

The students will be able to observe different fossils

and infer what kind of animal they believe it is.
Students will have a good understanding on
observations leading to inferences
The teacher will ask students what they
know about fossils, and the teacher will write
a collective list on the board.
The teacher will show a video that

highlights the fossils that Mary Anning found

called Mary Anning: Sea Monster Hunter..
Following the video, the teacher will ask
questions such as, What fossils did Mary
Anning find? What did she call the fossils? Do
you want to add anything to our list about
fossils after watching this video? Etc
Next, the teacher will explain that
fossils are complicated because we do not
know 100% what their story is. The teacher
will ask students what an observation is and
what an inference is. The conversation will
lead to the conclusion that observations are
what we see and inferences are what we
interpret about it.
To practice making inferences from
observations, the teacher will read the book
In the Woods: Whos Been Here? by Lindsay
Barrett George. As the teacher reads the
book, he/she will stop for the class to offer
their observations and inferences before each
next step. The teacher will place post-it notes
in the book to prepare the stopping points
beforehand.
Lastly, the teacher will explain how the
observations and inferences that they
practiced in the story relate to fossils. The
teacher will say, As we read In the Woods:
Whos Been Here? we found evidence and
made educated ideas about what was going
on. When scientists like Mary Anning find
fossils they cannot make any assumptions.
They use their evidence to make educated
guesses about what happened.
Assess: How will you check students background
knowledge and misconceptions for this lesson?
By asking the students to make a list of
what they know about fossils, they will be
able to confirm, change, or add to these
preconceived notions through learning about
Mary Annings experience.
If students have misconceptions about
fossils being factual immediately, they will
learn about observations and inferences
and how scientists make educated

understandings of the evidence they find,

such as fossils.
Explore: What will
the students do?

After the engage students will have a

good idea about Mary Annings discoveries
and how she used observations to make
inferences, just as the class did while reading
the book.
We will then post a poster size picture
of a fossil on the board. As a whole group we
will ask the students What are your
observations about this fossil?
I will tell students to think in their heads
for about 2 minutes and then I will have
students raise their hands and share their
observations as I write them on the board
next to the picture.
After we have a good amount of
observations on the board I will then tell the
students to talk with their group and start
making inferences on what kind of animal
they think this is.
We will then put all the different group
ideas of what animal they think this is a fossil
of.
We will then go over the different
inferences they made and I will ask the
groups to share out loud why they came to
the conclusion of the animal that they did.
I will then tell them that scientist never
get a forsure answer when they are observing
fossils too. So, any of ours could be right but
it takes a lot of data and information to figure
it out.
I will introduce to the students that they
will be observing different fossils today and
making inferences as to what animals the
fossils are just like our scientist of the month
Mary Anning did.
I will divide students into groups of four.
I will then hand out a folder full of
pictures of fossils to each table (Pictures are
shown below lesson plan).
I will instruct them that they will be
opening their science notebooks and writing

their observations and inferences for each

one. Above each observation they need to
draw a picture of the fossil so when they look
back in their notebooks they remember what
it looked like.
I will tell the students that they need to
work together as a group and not pull out the
next picture of a fossil until everyone has
drawn and written in their journals and are
ready to move on.
I will then call on students to repeat
back to me the steps they will be taking once
in their groups.
Assess: How will you determine who demonstrates
the skills needed during the investigation. How will
you know who is beginning to understand the
concepts?
As I am walking around I will be
listening for a reasoning behind their
observations. For example) if they say that a
fossil is of a fish I would like to hear because
they observed that it had fins and not feet.
If I do not hear a reasoning behind their
inference I will ask them, why do you think
that? How did your observations lead to this
conclusion?
Explain: What is the
main concept?

How do your observations help you

come to an inference?
What is the difference between an
observation and an inference? (observation is
something they physically see, inference
being what they conclude from the
observation)
What observations did you look for to
help you conclude what kind of animal the
fossil represents?
What parts of the fossils helped you
infer what kind of animal the fossil was?

Assess: How will you determine who understood the

concept and who did not?
We will have a discussion and ask the
students to give specific observation
examples from their science notebooks that

determines their reasoning behind their

classification
In their summative assessment they
will have a place to fill in their observation
and inference. We will be looking to see that
they have determined the difference between
the two terms.
Elaborate: How will
the this concept be
expanded?

In order to expand this concept at home

I will tell students that they can look at fossils
online with a parent permission. They can
write down what they observe about the
animal and infer what animal they think it is.
They can then look at the caption of the
online picture where they would find out if
their inference was correct.
The students can make their own fossils
at home. We will give the students a bag of
play dough to take home to use for this
activity. Each student will have a different
looking fossil. They can look outside their
house for objects that they can make an
imprint in the play dough. Even if they are not
able to look outside they can use a toy they
have, because anything will make an imprint.
This will be a good activity to extend the
lesson at home.

Evaluate: How will

the students know
what they have
learned?

I will complete a formative assessment

by walking around and listening to the
discussions during class and seeing if they
are coming up with reasoning as to why they
made the inference that they did.
The students will be completing a
summative assessment by completing the
observation and inferences in their science
notebook which we will be collecting. We will
be looking for clear observations of what they
say and a reason for their inferences
Another summative assessment the
students will be completing is an exit slip. The
exit slip will have two pictures one of a land
animal and one of sea creature. They will
need to decide which one is which and
explain what about their observations lead to

this belief (handout attached below).

Supplies and
Technology: N/A
Technology needed Supplies:
Poster size of the fossil picture to post
on the board for our group discussion
Expo markers and white board for
writing students observations and inferences
Envelops full of the five pictures posted
below of the fossils they will be observing in
their groups
They need to bring their science
notebooks for observations and inferences
Exit slip copies for all the students
Vocabulary

Fossil
Observe
Inference
Land animal
Sea creature

Homework

Students can observe objects outside that are not a

fossil. They can talk about what they observed
about that object and why they think it is what it is.
Students can write this down on a piece of paper to
bring to the class and describe what they observed.
This homework will be optional.

Resources

Google Slides
For standards: htt
p://www.nextgenscience.org/5ps1matter-interactions
Lesson ideas, I took a couple ideas from
both of these and made them my own:
https://www.teacherspaytea
chers.com/Product/Fossil-Observationand-Inference-329081
Google images for the fossil
pictures.

Special
Instructions

Before moving on to the experiment I will have my

students do a fist to five to see how confident
they feel about completing this activity. If I notice a
table with lower numbers I will go over to that table
and model again slower what they will be doing.

Additional
Differentiated
Instruction

For students with IEPs, the teacher can

provide them with fossil pictures they can
draw on, highlight, and label instead of
having to draw out the fossil and write more
about the observations.
If a student makes clear observations
quickly, the student can begin to highlight
which observations will play an important role
in making inferences about the fossils. They
will also create a list of what MORE
information they must discover to make
better inferences.

Higher Order
Questions

What does a paleontologist do?

Do you think there can be fossils for animals that
are not extinct?
Do you think all fossils have been found in the
world?
What can learn about the environment from
fossils.

Reflection

Ichthyosaurus

Plesiosauria

Pterodactyl

Wooly Mammoth

Alligator Head