FRIDAY_JAN31_PastEnvironments

4th Grade Science
Interactions in Ecosystems
Lesson 10

Teacher Facing
January 31, 2025

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Do Now

Scientists have found whale fossils in
an area that is now a desert. Explain
how this evidence supports the idea
that environments can change over
time.

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Interactions in Ecosystems

LO: SWBAT identify and describe
past environments based on fossil
evidence, including common Texas
fossils.

DOL: Given scenarios, SW correctly identify and describe
past environments based on fossil evidence, including
common Texas fossils in at least 4 of 5 questions.

SCI.4.12C Identify and describe past environments based on fossil evidence, including common Texas fossils.
SEPs 4.3A
RTCs 4.5A, 4.5B

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Lesson Vocabulary

fossil

imprint

paleontologist

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Fossil

The remains of an
organism, plant, or
animal, that lived long
ago

Image by TheUjulala from Pixabay

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Imprint

A mark made by
pressing on a surface

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Paleontologist

A scientists who
studies fossils to learn
about the history of life
on Earth

4th Grade Science
Interactions in Ecosystems
Lesson 10

January 31, 2025

22

Essential Understandings &

Guiding Questions

What do fossils tell us about past living organisms and the

nature of the environments where they lived?

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Fossils tell us about how environments change.

What kind of

environment would
a dinosaur live in?

How do we know
the environment

changed?

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How are fossils used to describe past environments?

Examine the fossils. Think about the environment
the animals may have lived in long ago. Discuss

your predictions.

Follow the steps to research the organisms that

left fossils.

Use your research to identify which environment the

organisms lived in.

Compare the environment where the fossils were
found to the environment at the same location 100

million years ago.

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2

3

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What do fossils tell us about past environments?

Fossils help scientists understand what past environments were
like. For example, what can fossilized ocean organisms found in
Texas tell us?

Photo credit: alice-photo/Shutterstock

Ammonite

Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Savvas is not responsible for any modifications made by end users to the content posted in its original format.

Clues to Past Environments

The photo shows fossilized wood from trees. What type of
environment did these organisms probably live in?

a desert

a forest

an ocean

Photo credit: Bill Florence/Shutterstock

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How can we use rock layers to tell the age of
different fossils?

Rock layers that have the same

fossils are the same age.

Rock layers on top are younger
than rock layers at the bottom.

TIME

Oldest

Youngest

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Fossils

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Let’s revisit the phenomenon

What kind of

environment would
a dinosaur live in?

How do we know
the environment

changed?

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More than 200 million years ago, a crocodile died and was buried in mud. Last year,
a fossil of that crocodile was found in the Sahara Desert.

Which of these describes the environment that existed when the crocodile was alive?

A.

The area where the crocodile lived was likely a desert 200 million years ago.

B.

The area where the crocodile lived was covered by a glacier 200 million years
ago.

C.

The area where the crocodile lived was probably a prairie 200 million years ago.

D.

The area where the crocodile lived was likely a swamp or river 200 million years
ago.

Fossils

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Fossils

If scientists find fossils of clams and fish in one part of Texas and fossils of
trees and land animals in another part, what does this tell us about Texas’s
past?

A.

Texas has always been the same environment everywhere.

B.

Texas had many different environments, like oceans and forests.

C.

Fossils don’t provide any clues about the past.

D.

Animals used to live everywhere at the same time.

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DOL: Given scenarios,
SW correctly identify
and describe past
environments based
on fossil evidence,
including common
Texas fossils in at
least 4 of 5 questions.

Demonstration of Learning

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from Adobe Stock. Adobe Stock
https://stock.adobe.com

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from Great Minds. Great Minds
https://digital.greatminds.org

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from SAVVAS realize. SAVVAS
realize https://www.savvasrealize.com

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Copyright for Reference