Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Fossils & Dinosaurs: The Age of Dinosaurs

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This nonfiction passage describes the time period when dinosaurs were still living on earth and describes the event that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.This passage is a stand-alone curricular...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Humanity on the Record

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about prehistoric evolution of the human race. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Fossils & Dinosaurs Plant Eaters

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage describes an example of a plant-eating dinosaur, the Stegosaurus, its appearance, and its eating habits. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Who Is Sue?

For Teachers 2nd Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This nonfiction passage discusses information about a dinosaur that researchers named "Sue", which was found in South Dakota. This passage reinforces essential reading comprehension skills....
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: 2nd Grade Act. 01: Exploration Tubs

For Teachers 2nd
During this language development lesson, 2nd graders will explore tubs with different themes. Students will use these tubs to explore fossils, rocks, reptiles, orgnisms
Website
Other

Fossil News: A Blog on All Things Fossil and More

For Students 9th - 10th
This blog from Fossilnews.com discussed the Antwerp Area in Belgium. This the website for fossil news blogs, so the topic changes periodically.
Website
Society for Science and the Public

Science News for Students: Dinosaurs and Fossils

For Students 3rd - 5th
This section of Science News for Kids features articles on dinosaurs and fossils that are tailored for children. Many of these relate to recent discoveries or topics of debate.
Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Types of Fossilization

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Five methods that create fossils.
Website
BBC

Bbc: Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

For Students 9th - 10th
Several articles that trace the chronology of the dinosaur from the Triassic to the Cretaceous. Articles were written to accompany the BBC series, Walking with Dinosaurs.
Website
BBC

Bbc Nature: Prehistoric Life: Exceptional Preservation

For Students 9th - 10th
Detailed information on the preservation of fossils includes when fossils were formed and what animals formed them.
Activity
Other

Starry Skies: How Do Fossils Form?

For Students 9th - 10th
Directions and materials needed to make a modern day fossil.
Interactive
Other

Footprints Science: Fish Fossil

For Students 9th - 10th
This short animation illustrates how a fish fossil is formed.
Handout
US Geological Survey

Usgs: Geologic Time

For Students 9th - 10th
This large U.S. Geological Survey site offers a look at the age of the earth, how radiometric dating is used to calculate it, the major divisions of geologic time, and the classification and use of fossils.
Handout
University of Oxford (UK)

Oxford University Museum of Natural History: The Learning Zone: Fossils

For Students 3rd - 5th
This excellent website walks students through the basics of understanding fossils. It emphasizes that most common fossils would be invertebrates and, after learning more about these life forms, students can choose to take a quiz. The...
Website
Other

One Geology Kids: Fossils

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn about fossils in this colorful and easy to read site. Aimed at elementary age students, find out how fossils were formed, the different kinds and sizes, where located, their importance, and more.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: O Logy: Fighting Dinos: New Discoveries

For Students 3rd - 8th
A virtual investigation surmising how two fighting dinosaurs died in the Gobi Desert.
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Building the Grand Canyon

For Teachers 4th - 6th
The Grand Canyon is an excellent model for learning about Earth's rock formations. Young scholars will look at fossils and the differences in layers to understand how the Earth changed over time. Resources included are detailed...
Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Paleobiology: Green River Fossil Collections

For Students 9th - 10th
Search the collection of 35,000 fossiliferous rocks found within the Green River Formation of Colorado and Utah. View some of these 50 million year old insect fossils in a linked slide show.
Handout
Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum: Types of Fossils

For Students 9th - 10th
This particular site is part of a larger online exhibit from the Natural History Museum covering various aspects of fossils and fossil research. Here, seven types of fossils are listed and each type is given a picture representation.
Lesson Plan
Other

American Coal Foundation: Lesson Plan: Coal Formation

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
In this four-part instructional activity, students will conduct a simulation of the coal formation process and will show the ability to do scientific inquiry. For the final project, they will use their findings they have recorded on...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Clues to Ancient Life

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with "Clues to Ancient Life" by Rona Arato, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher...
Article
Museums Victoria

Museum Victoria: Pseudofossils: Concretions and Dendrites

For Students 9th - 10th
Pseudofossils are materials that are sometimes mistaken for fossils. They include concretions and dendrites, described here.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Monster of the North

For Teachers 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the skeleton of a plesiosaur, a giant sea monster, found by scientists near the North Pole. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Unit Plan
BBC

Bbc: Gcse Bitesize: Evolution Aqa

For Students 9th - 10th
Evolution is the change of inherited characteristics within a population over time through natural selection, which may result in the formation of a new species. Fossils provide a record of organisms that lived a long time ago. They also...