Fantastic fossils

Provided Resources

• Copies of the task sheets

Additional Resources

• Thank you card from Dr Stone (optional)
• Costume props to play Mary Anning
• A selection of seashells with distinctive shapes, e.g. cockles
• A quantity of Plasticine & small rolling pins
• Flat boards or trays
• Thick card & paper clips
• Plaster of Paris (or alternative)
• Poster paint in shades of brown/ grey/ ochre

Weblinks
Child friendly summary of Mary’s life from www.bbc.co.uk
How Fossils are Formed from the Natural History Museum
Illustrated child friendly account of how fossils are made from www.oum.ox.ac.uk

Teaching

• Discover the contribution to science of the great 19th century fossil hunter Mary Anning.
• Understand the process of fossil formation and be able to describe it in simple terms.

Activities

1. Engage (through role play) with the great fossil hunter Mary Anning and ask questions to discover her story.
2. Learn how fossils are made and record by writing and illustrating the stages or through sequencing a text.
3. Make their own “fossil” of a shell using a plasticine mould and plaster of Paris.
4. Handle real fossils and rehearse the stages of fossil formation through oral retelling.

Investigation - analysing secondary sources
Learn about how fossils are made and the life and contribution of the great fossil hunter Mary Anning.

Vocabulary
Fossil, ichthyosaur, plesiosaur, ammonite, sediment, minerals, mould, cast