Science // Dinosaurs & Paleontology

Fossils & Palaeontologists

Understand that fossils are the remains of ancient living things preserved in rock, and that scientists called palaeontologists study fossils to learn about dinosaurs

Ages
5 to 7
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
6 topics

Quick check

If the learner found a fossil-shaped rock on a beach or at a museum, could they explain what a fossil is and who studies them?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Describe a fossil as the remains of a living thing preserved in rock
  • Name the job of a palaeontologist as someone who studies fossils
  • Identify examples of fossils: bones, teeth, footprints in rock

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • Dinosaurs Were RealRequired

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 5 to 7

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

You are here

Fossils & Palaeontologists

Ages 5 to 7 // Concept

Leads to

6 topics
  • Fossils Reveal Ancient EnvironmentsRequired

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 7 to 9

    Must understand fossils before interpreting what they reveal about past environments

  • How Fossils FormRequired

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 7 to 9

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

  • Types of FossilsRequired

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 7 to 9

    Must understand what fossils are before distinguishing body vs trace fossils

  • Mary Anning, Fossil HunterRequired

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 7 to 9

    Must understand fossils before learning about Mary Anning's fossil discoveries

  • Palaeoart & SpeculationRequired

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 9 to 11

    Must understand fossils as evidence before evaluating how artists use them

  • Discovering Tutankhamun's TombHelpful

    History // Ancient Egypt // Ages 5 to 7

    Archaeologists studying Egypt parallels palaeontologists studying fossils — both are scientists uncovering the past

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For ages 5–7: a fossil is the preserved remains or trace of a once-living thing, usually preserved in rock (often turned to stone) over a very long time; a palaeontologist is a scientist who finds and studies fossils to learn about dinosaurs and other ancient life. The target is recognition — say what a fossil is, identify examples (bone, tooth, footprint in rock), and name the scientist's job — plus two conceptual guards: a fossil is not the actual unchanged animal, and a trace like a footprint counts as a fossil too.

Common misconceptions

  • 'A fossil is the actual bone/animal, unchanged' — fossils are usually the original replaced by or turned to rock over a very long time.
  • 'Only dinosaurs make fossils' — many living things (shells, plants, fish, footprints) become fossils.
  • 'Palaeontologists study rocks in general / dig up dinosaurs that are still whole' — they study fossils and usually find scattered, incomplete remains.
  • 'Fossils are found just lying around loose' — they are preserved IN rock and must be carefully found and freed.
  • 'A footprint isn't a fossil because it isn't a body part' — preserved footprints (traces) are fossils too.

Useful representations

  • A tappable dig-site or museum scene with a fossil bone, a tooth, and a footprint in rock to identify.
  • Side-by-side: a living animal → its fossil, showing the same shape preserved in stone.
  • A palaeontologist character with hand tools (brush, chisel) shown at work.
  • Simple 'fossil or not a fossil?' picture set (fossil bone vs a toy vs a fresh leaf).

Teaching practices

  • Teach through identification: show real fossil photos (bone, tooth, footprint in rock) and have children spot and name them — recognition before mechanism.
  • Frame the palaeontologist as a 'detective of the past' who reads clues in rock, giving purpose to the fossils.
  • Distinguish a fossil (rock in the shape of/replacing the remains) from the living animal and from an ordinary bone — 'turned to stone over a very long time'.
  • Seed body-vs-trace gently (a bone IS part of the animal; a footprint is a MARK it left) without introducing the technical terms yet.
  • Connect to real museums/collections so 'fossil' is a concrete thing children may have seen, not an abstraction.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Dig-site and museum: tap the clues

    Why it works: Fossils are real clues preserved in rock (bones, teeth, and footprints all count), and there is a job that is all about finding and reading them.

    1. Explore an illustrated dig-site and museum scene with several things to find and name.
    2. Tap a knobbly shape half-buried in rock and read the caption: 'a bone, turned to stone, from a real animal that lived long ago'.
    3. Tap a pointy tooth and a footprint pressed into rock; each reveals what it is and what it tells us about the animal.
    4. Tap the person kneeling with a small brush and chisel to learn: 'a palaeontologist — a scientist who finds and studies fossils to figure out what dinosaurs were like'.
    5. Follow a drill-down zoom that carries a fossil from the ground into a museum case, so you see where these clues end up.
  2. 2

    Fossil or not a fossil?

    Why it works: A fossil is a preserved remains or trace of something that was once alive, kept in rock over a very long time (often turned to stone) — not a toy and not a fresh, present-day thing.

    1. Look at a short picture set: a fossil bone in rock, a plastic toy dinosaur, and a fresh leaf.
    2. For each, decide 'fossil' or 'not a fossil' and say why.
    3. Lift a flap to check the answer and read a short reason.
  3. 3

    Brush away the rock: uncover and sort a dig (optional motivating vehicle)

    Why it works: Finding, freeing and sorting fossils is part of what a palaeontologist does — fossils are often carefully freed from rock rather than simply picked up.

    1. Brush or scrape away virtual rock to reveal a hidden fossil.
    2. Drag each find — a bone, a tooth, a footprint — to a labelled tray.
    3. Read the name of each find as you sort it.

Science // Dinosaurs & Paleontology

More in Dinosaurs & Paleontology

All 29 topics