--- title: Fossil Organisms and Their Environment | NGSS Science Lessons | KnowAtom description: Explore how fossils reveal Earth's changing environments and the interdependence of organisms through engaging lessons and hands-on activities designed for grade 3 science students. --- More Lessons for Your State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington DC West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Other NGSS # Fossil Organisms and their Environment In this unit, students explore the science phenomena of the interdependence of living things and their environment as they analyze how individual organisms are suited to their particular environment. In this lesson, students evaluate how Earth’s biomes have changed over geologic time, studying fossils for clues of the past. This page outlines components available in the larger lesson. 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Below is an excerpt from the background information on fossil organisms and their environment. Fossils are the remains of ancient animals and plants, the traces or impressions of living things from past geologic ages, or the traces of their activities. Fossils include bones, teeth, wood, and shells. Another kind of fossil, called a trace fossil, is an imprint or evidence of a living thing left behind in rock. The trace fossil may be of a footprint or an entire organism. Trace fossils help scientists understand how and where an animal rested, moved, or fed. Footprints, worm burrows, and insect nests are examples of trace fossils. Fossils are not easy to make, and the processes that turn living things into fossils take place over millions of years. Out of the billions of creatures that have lived on Earth, only a small number have turned into fossils. The remains of living things can become trapped in layers of rock that build up over time. These remains include whole plants and animals, as well as traces of organisms such as footprints. Over millions of years, heat and pressure turned these remains into fossils. Because of this process, the fossils that are found in lower layers of rock are more ancient than fossils found in higher layers. Scientists study fossils to learn more about Earth’s history. The fossil record includes all the fossils that have ever been found, which scientists use to understand Earth’s history. Fossils tell scientists that some kinds of plants and animals are extinct. This means that they are no longer found anywhere. The locations of certain fossils around the world also show how Earth has changed over millions of years. The fossils provide scientists with evidence of a dynamic, changing planet. For example, the world’s largest desert has undergone several dramatic transformations, from ocean to lush grassland to dry, arid desert. Each time the land changed, different organisms with specific adaptations to the environment thrived until the landscape changed once again. The fossil record in the Sahara tells scientists that not only did an ocean once cover the desert, but the land also experienced periods of humidity when the desert became savanna. This evidence comes from fossil remnants of elephants, gazelles, hippos, and crocodiles found all across the Sahara. #### Supports Grade 3 ![Sneak Peek Seal with Arrow](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Sneak%20Peek%20Seal%20with%20Arrow.svg) ## Science Lesson: Exploring Fossil Organisms and their Environment In this lesson, students apply their knowledge of the interdependence of living things and their environments to analyze fossils, making connections between the types of organisms that lived long ago and their environments. They analyze how fossils provide evidence for changing environments over time. [Download a Sample Unit ](https://www.knowatom.com/stem-curriculum#state) ## Science Big Ideas - Scientists analyze fossils to learn about past life on Earth, as well as past environmental changes. - Scientists can determine a fossil’s age based on where it is found relative to other fossils. - Scientists study the fossil record, which includes all of the fossils that have ever been found, to understand Earth’s history. ![sample unit-k8 science curriculum-knowatom](https://www.knowatom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Sample%20Unit%20CTA-2.png?width=327&height=264&name=Sample%20Unit%20CTA-2.png) ###### Discover Complete Hands-on Screens-off Core Science Curriculum for K-8 Classrooms Prepared hands-on materials, full year grade-specific curriculum, and personalized live professional development designed to support mastery of current state science standards. [Click Here to Learn More](https://www.knowatom.com/talk-to-knowatom-sales) ## Science Essential Questions - Why is the body of a dead insect not a fossil? - Why are fossils important for understanding Earth’s history? - How do scientists know that some organisms lived a long time ago but are no longer found anywhere? - Why are there so few fossils compared to the billions of organisms that have lived on Earth? - How are fossils formed? - How does a fossil’s position in a rock layer tell scientists about the environment in which the organism once lived? - Why were scientists surprised to discover the skeleton of a whale in the Sahara? - What did the discovery of the whale tell scientists about the history of the Sahara? ## Common Science Misconceptions ![close-circle-red](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Icon%20ionic-ios-close-circle-red-1.svg) **Misconception:** Ecosystems do not change much over time. ![checkmark-circle-green](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Icon%20ionic-ios-checkmark-circle-green.svg) **Fact:** Ecosystems change for a variety of reasons, including environmental changes and human activity. ![close-circle-red](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Icon%20ionic-ios-close-circle-red-1.svg) **Misconception****:** The organisms in an ecosystem are not part of a larger whole, but instead are just a collection of living things surviving independently of one another and their environment. ![checkmark-circle-green](https://www.knowatom.com/hubfs/Icon%20ionic-ios-checkmark-circle-green.svg) **Fact:** Ecosystems are systems, made up of smaller interacting parts. Both the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem influence the overall ecosystem. ## Science Vocabulary **Biome :** a specific geographic area with a particular climate that supports different kinds of organisms **Conservation :** the study of how to protect organisms and their ecosystems **Decomposer :**an organism that breaks down organic material and feeds on the nutrients **Deforestation :** removal of trees by humans **Ecosystem :** a community of different organisms that depend on interacting with each other and their physical environment for survival ** forest :** an area of land covered by trees ** Fossil :** the remains of ancient animals and plants, the traces or impressions of living things from past geologic ages, or the traces of their activities **Fossil Record :** all of the fossils that have ever been found, which scientists use to understand Earth’s history ## Lexile(R) Certified Non-Fiction Science Reading (Excerpt) **Whales in the Sahara** **The Valley of the Whales ** More than 100 years ago, scientists in the Sahara made a surprising discovery. They found the skeleton of a whale. Whales are animals that live in the ocean. But the skeleton was clearly that of a whale. And it was buried in the sands of the desert. Scientists now know that the Sahara hasn’t always been the world’s largest hot desert. Millions of years ago, an ocean covered what is now a desert biome. Scientists learned about this change in part by studying fossils. Fossils can be the remains of ancient animals and plants. They can also be the traces or impressions of living things from past geologic ages, or the traces of their activities. Fossils include bones, teeth, wood, and shells. Another kind of fossil, called a trace fossil, is an imprint or evidence of a living thing left behind in rock. Fossils tell scientists about the kinds of organisms that lived long ago. They also tell about the environment the organisms lived in. **How Fossils Form** Fossils are not easy to make. Out of the billions of creatures that have lived on Earth, only a small number have turned into fossils. Fossils take millions of years to make. The remains of living things can become trapped in layers of rock that build up over time. These remains include whole plants and animals. They also include traces of organisms such as footprints. Over millions of years, heat and pressure turned these remains into fossils. Because of this process, the fossils in lower layers of rock are older than fossils in higher layers. ![energy-from-the-sun](https://www.knowatom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/energy-from-the-sun.jpg?width=261&height=340&name=energy-from-the-sun.jpg) ![energy-from-the-sun1](https://www.knowatom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/energy-from-the-sun1.jpg?width=261&height=340&name=energy-from-the-sun1.jpg) ![energy-from-the-sun2](https://www.knowatom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/energy-from-the-sun2.jpg?width=261&height=340&name=energy-from-the-sun2.jpg) ## Hands-on Science Activity As the main activity of this lesson, students examine fossil samples found at a simulated dig site in the Sahara to analyze the fossilized organisms and make inferences about their environment. Students examine five different fossils, connecting each fossil with the biome in which it lived. Students use the evidence they gather in the fossil investigation to make inferences about how the environment had changed over time, and how those changes impacted the living things found there. [ Learn More About KnowAtom ](https://www.knowatom.com/stem-curriculum) ## Science Assessments KnowAtom incorporates formative and summative assessments designed to make students thinking visible for deeper student-centered learning. - Vocabulary Check - Lab Checkpoints - Concept Check Assessment  - Concept Map Assessment  - And More... 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[Download the Alignment to NGSS](https://www.knowatom.com/stem-curriculum) ** Standards Tags: ** [3-LS4-1](https://www.knowatom.com/3-ls4-1) , [3-LS4-3](https://www.knowatom.com/3-ls4-3) , [5-LS2-1](https://www.knowatom.com/5-ls2-1) , [5-ESS2-1](https://www.knowatom.com/5-ess2-1) , [5-LS2-2](https://www.knowatom.com/5-ls2-2) , [3.2.4](https://www.knowatom.com/3.2.4) , [4.1.3](https://www.knowatom.com/4.1.3) , [3.2.5](https://www.knowatom.com/3.2.5) , [4.1.4](https://www.knowatom.com/4.1.4) , [3.LS1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3.ls1.1) , [3.LS2.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3.ls2.1) , [3.LS4.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3.ls4.1) , [3.LS4.2](https://www.knowatom.com/3.ls4.2) , [4.LS2.2](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ls2.2) , [4.LS2.5](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ls2.5) , [4.LS4.1](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ls4.1) , [4.ESS2.3](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ess2.3) , [5.LS1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls1.1) , [5.LS1.2](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls1.2) , [5.LS4.1](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls4.1) , [5.LS4.2](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls4.2) , [5.ESS1.7](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ess1.7) , [S3E1](https://www.knowatom.com/s3e1) , [S3E2](https://www.knowatom.com/s3e2) , [S4L1](https://www.knowatom.com/s4l1) , [S5L1](https://www.knowatom.com/s5l1) , [3.L1U1.6](https://www.knowatom.com/3.l1u1.6) , [3.L1U1.7](https://www.knowatom.com/3.l1u1.7) , [3.L1U1.8](https://www.knowatom.com/3.l1u1.8) , [4.E1U1.6](https://www.knowatom.com/4.e1u1.6) , [4.L4U1.11](https://www.knowatom.com/4.l4u1.11) , [3L.4.2.1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3l.4.2.1.1) , [3L.4.1.1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3l.4.1.1.1) , [4E.3.1.1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/4e.3.1.1.1) , [3-LS2-1](https://www.knowatom.com/3-ls2-1) , [4-LS1-1](https://www.knowatom.com/4-ls1-1) , [3-LS4-4](https://www.knowatom.com/3-ls4-4) , [3.1.3.B](https://www.knowatom.com/3.1.3.b) , [3.1.3.E](https://www.knowatom.com/3.1.3.e) , [4.LS.2](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ls.2) , [3.1.3.H](https://www.knowatom.com/3.1.3.h) , [3.1.4.A](https://www.knowatom.com/3.1.4.a) , [5.LS.1](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls.1) , [Asking questions and defining problems](https://www.knowatom.com/asking-questions-and-defining-problems) , [Developing and using models](https://www.knowatom.com/developing-and-using-models) , [Planning and carrying out investigations](https://www.knowatom.com/planning-and-carrying-out-investigations) , [Constructing explanations and designing solutions](https://www.knowatom.com/constructing-explanations-and-designing-solutions) , [Engaging in argument from evidence](https://www.knowatom.com/engaging-in-argument-from-evidence) , [Obtaining evaluating and communicating information](https://www.knowatom.com/obtaining-evaluating-and-communicating-information) , [Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity](https://www.knowatom.com/evidence-of-common-ancestry-and-diversity) , [Adaptation](https://www.knowatom.com/adaptation) , [Earth Materials and Systems](https://www.knowatom.com/earth-materials-and-systems) , [Scale Proportion and Quantity](https://www.knowatom.com/scale-proportion-and-quantity) , [Cause and Effect](https://www.knowatom.com/cause-and-effect) , [Systems and System Models](https://www.knowatom.com/systems-and-system-models) , [Unity and Diversity 9](https://www.knowatom.com/unity-and-diversity-9) , [Unity and Diversity 12](https://www.knowatom.com/unity-and-diversity-12) , [Unity and Diversity 11](https://www.knowatom.com/unity-and-diversity-11) , ### Supports Grade 3 #### Science Standards - [3-LS4-1](https://www.knowatom.com/3-ls4-1) - [3-LS4-3](https://www.knowatom.com/3-ls4-3) - [5-LS2-1](https://www.knowatom.com/5-ls2-1) - [5-ESS2-1](https://www.knowatom.com/5-ess2-1) - [5-LS2-2](https://www.knowatom.com/5-ls2-2) - [3.2.4](https://www.knowatom.com/3.2.4) - [4.1.3](https://www.knowatom.com/4.1.3) - [3.2.5](https://www.knowatom.com/3.2.5) - [4.1.4](https://www.knowatom.com/4.1.4) - [3.LS1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3.ls1.1) - [3.LS2.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3.ls2.1) - [3.LS4.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3.ls4.1) - [3.LS4.2](https://www.knowatom.com/3.ls4.2) - [4.LS2.2](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ls2.2) - [4.LS2.5](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ls2.5) - [4.LS4.1](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ls4.1) - [4.ESS2.3](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ess2.3) - [5.LS1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls1.1) - [5.LS1.2](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls1.2) - [5.LS4.1](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls4.1) - [5.LS4.2](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls4.2) - [5.ESS1.7](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ess1.7) - [S3E1](https://www.knowatom.com/s3e1) - [S3E2](https://www.knowatom.com/s3e2) - [S4L1](https://www.knowatom.com/s4l1) - [S5L1](https://www.knowatom.com/s5l1) - [3.L1U1.6](https://www.knowatom.com/3.l1u1.6) - [3.L1U1.7](https://www.knowatom.com/3.l1u1.7) - [3.L1U1.8](https://www.knowatom.com/3.l1u1.8) - [4.E1U1.6](https://www.knowatom.com/4.e1u1.6) - [4.L4U1.11](https://www.knowatom.com/4.l4u1.11) - [3L.4.2.1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3l.4.2.1.1) - [3L.4.1.1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/3l.4.1.1.1) - [4E.3.1.1.1](https://www.knowatom.com/4e.3.1.1.1) - [3-LS2-1](https://www.knowatom.com/3-ls2-1) - [4-LS1-1](https://www.knowatom.com/4-ls1-1) - [3-LS4-4](https://www.knowatom.com/3-ls4-4) - [3.1.3.B](https://www.knowatom.com/3.1.3.b) - [3.1.3.E](https://www.knowatom.com/3.1.3.e) - [4.LS.2](https://www.knowatom.com/4.ls.2) - [3.1.3.H](https://www.knowatom.com/3.1.3.h) - [3.1.4.A](https://www.knowatom.com/3.1.4.a) - [5.LS.1](https://www.knowatom.com/5.ls.1) - [Asking questions and defining problems](https://www.knowatom.com/asking-questions-and-defining-problems) - [Developing and using models](https://www.knowatom.com/developing-and-using-models) - [Planning and carrying out investigations](https://www.knowatom.com/planning-and-carrying-out-investigations) - [Constructing explanations and designing solutions](https://www.knowatom.com/constructing-explanations-and-designing-solutions) - [Engaging in argument from evidence](https://www.knowatom.com/engaging-in-argument-from-evidence) - [Obtaining evaluating and communicating information](https://www.knowatom.com/obtaining-evaluating-and-communicating-information) - [Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity](https://www.knowatom.com/evidence-of-common-ancestry-and-diversity) - [Adaptation](https://www.knowatom.com/adaptation) - [Earth Materials and Systems](https://www.knowatom.com/earth-materials-and-systems) - [Scale Proportion and Quantity](https://www.knowatom.com/scale-proportion-and-quantity) - [Cause and Effect](https://www.knowatom.com/cause-and-effect) - [Systems and System Models](https://www.knowatom.com/systems-and-system-models) - [Unity and Diversity 9](https://www.knowatom.com/unity-and-diversity-9) - [Unity and Diversity 12](https://www.knowatom.com/unity-and-diversity-12) - [Unity and Diversity 11](https://www.knowatom.com/unity-and-diversity-11) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/347944/b5a1446e-d782-4a5f-a019-0b3b98c8304f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/347944/b5a1446e-d782-4a5f-a019-0b3b98c8304f) Standards citation: NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 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