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Types of Fossils

CONCEPTUAL
Science›Dinosaurs & Paleontology|Ages 7—9|ID: mt_1VSFoM44JU

Distinguish body fossils (preserved bones, teeth, shells) from trace fossils (footprints, trackways, eggs, burrows, coprolites) and explain what each type can tell scientists

Mastery Evidence

  • Sort examples into body fossils (bones, teeth, shells) and trace fossils (footprints, eggs, dung)
  • Explain that body fossils show what an animal looked like physically
  • Explain that trace fossils show how an animal behaved — how it moved, what it ate, where it nested

Assessment Prompt

“If [child] saw a dinosaur footprint in rock at a museum, could they explain how it's different from a fossil bone and what scientists can learn from it?”

Prerequisites2

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  • Fossils & Palaeontologists hard

    Must understand what fossils are before distinguishing body vs trace fossils

    • Dinosaurs Were Real hard

      Must understand dinosaurs are extinct before learning fossils are how we know about them

  • How Fossils Form soft

    Understanding formation helps contextualise different fossil types

    • Fossils & Palaeontologists hard

      Must understand what fossils are before learning how they form in detail

      • Dinosaurs Were Real hard

        Must understand dinosaurs are extinct before learning fossils are how we know about them

    • Real Dinosaurs vs Fiction soft

      Understanding how fossils form (and that fossil evidence is the basis of dinosaur science) is enriched by the prior understanding that dinosaurs are real animals distinct from fictional or commonly-confused creatures — scientific reasoning starts from accurate categorisation

    • How fossils form soft

      Curriculum fossil formation topic (GB Y3) directly underpins detailed dinosaur fossil formation understanding

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