Lesson 10

What Can Fossils Tell Us About the History of Present-Day Organisms?

Big Idea:

Fossil evidence can tell us how ancient and present-day organisms change over time.

Activity:

Students explore 3 real fossils and a picture of a fossilized archaeopteryx and compare them to present-day organisms. They speculate about what the long-ago environment might have been like when the fossil organisms were alive. Finally, they use their knowledge of the mechanism of natural selection to discuss the fossils’ relationship to present-day organisms.

Materials to Have Ready

For each student:

Notebook pages 20-23

For the class:

Materials at each small station (see lesson plan)

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