Fossil Lab

The Fossil Lab is the perfect way to introduce the concept of fossilization to help students understand the various ways in which fossils can form. The main focus of the lab is with index fossils and how they are useful in understanding the diversity of life on Earth and the environmental and physical changes that have taken place throughout Earth’s geologic past.

Get your students up and running faster than ever with the addition of Google Apps and TPT Easel formats. The traditional PDF version is also included along with a Quick Link that opens the lesson online right in the student’s browser.

This lesson includes:

Fossil Lab Interactive (run online, from downloadable pdf, or Google Slides)

Fossil Lab answer sheet (pdf, Google Slides, TPT Easel)

Index Fossil activity (pdf, Google Slides, TPT Easel)

Fossil Lab Quiz (pdf, Google Slides, TPT Easel)

Answer Keys

Archive Folder (previous versions)

The Fossil Lab is a 119 page hyperlinked pdf or Google Slides document that guides students through the investigation of 19 important index fossils. The Fossil Lab navigates like a web site with clickable links that move students through 28 stations filled with fossil images and leading questions. The images can be enlarged for detail and students have access to resource pages where they can obtain information and clues. The information pages are just a click away for students to learn about fossils; what they are, how they formed, and how they are useful. Also included is the Fossil Lab answer sheet, Index Fossil activity, and the Fossil Lab Quiz in printable pdf, Google Slides, and TPT Easel formats. All answer keys are also included.

The Fossil Lab answer sheet provides a place for students to record answers to questions asked in the lab. The answer sheet can be printed or filled in digitally when using the Google Slides or TPT Easel formats.

The Index Fossil Activity includes a 4 page Geologic Timeline with index fossil images that can be cut out and attached to the timeline (or copy and pasted in digital versions). Students then use the completed timeline to answer some puzzling questions about Earth’s past.

The Fossil Lab Quiz is a 10 question assessment requiring students to go back to the Fossil Lab and dig a bit deeper for answers. The Fossil Lab Quiz can be printed or filled in digitally in Google Slides or TpT Easel (the Easel version is automatically graded).

NOTE: previous versions of the Fossil Lab are included in your TPT purchase in the “Archive” folder for those who prefer.

see more details on the Fossil Lab

Related Products:

Fossil Lab: The Vertebrates Interactive eLesson

Fossil Lab: The Invertebrates Interactive eLesson