Fossil Evidence of Environments Activities for 4th Grade Science

The Kesler Science Fossil Evidence of Environments 5E Lesson, aligned with TEKS 4.12C, helps 4th-grade students investigate and describe past environments using fossil evidence, including common Texas fossils. Following the 5E Model—Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation—students participate in hands-on, student-led station labs featuring activities like reading passages, videos, experiments, and creative tasks such as drawing or organizing fossils by age. Editable presentations, interactive notebook templates, and Spanish translations support differentiated learning. With choice projects and STAAR 2.0-aligned assessments, this flexible resource deepens students’ understanding of how fossils reveal Earth’s history. The resources below will give students a comprehensive understanding of fossil evidence of environments. All of the following materials are also included in the Kesler Science Membership.

The Kesler Science Fossil Evidence of Environments 5E Lesson is a comprehensive life science unit aligned with the 2021 TEKS 4.12C standard. Designed for 4th-grade students, it focuses on investigating and describing past environments using fossil evidence, including common Texas fossils. The lesson offers editable presentations, worksheets, choice projects, and assessments, all adaptable for in-class or virtual learning with minimal prep required.

Following the 5E Model—Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation—students engage in hands-on, student-led station labs featuring nine diverse stations. Activities include reading passages, videos, experiments, and creative tasks like drawing or organizing fossils by age. Editable PowerPoints, interactive notebook templates, and Spanish translations support differentiated learning. Students deepen their understanding through choice projects and STAAR 2.0-aligned assessments. This flexible, multimodal resource helps students explore how fossils reveal information about ancient environments while allowing teachers to focus on student success.

Engage your 4th-grade class with this student-led station lab aligned with the 2021 TEKS 4.12C standard. Students explore how body and trace fossils provide clues about past ecosystems, focusing on common fossils found in Texas. This life science lesson encourages independent learning through nine interactive stations designed for in-class or virtual use.

The stations feature a variety of input and output activities. Students engage with new concepts by exploring hands-on tasks, watching videos, reading passages (available in English and Spanish), and conducting research with facts, images, and graphs. They then demonstrate their understanding by organizing information, drawing models of fossils, writing responses, and completing assessments. A bonus challenge station offers extension activities such as crosswords, games, and mini-projects for advanced learners.

This differentiated, modular resource fosters active learning, critical thinking, and student ownership, with all necessary materials included for easy preparation.

The Fossil Evidence Student Choice Projects align with the 2021 TEKS standard 4.12C and give 4th graders the opportunity to choose a project that suits their preferred output style. The project page outlines six student-led options and a “design your own” project, with a grading rubric that can be used for teacher, peer, or self-assessment. These flexible projects are designed to be dynamic and can be adjusted to meet teachers' grading needs. They offer multimodal choices that allow students to creatively demonstrate their knowledge.

The resource includes a project choice board with nine options, a “design your own” project, teacher directions, and editable rubric pages. The rubric assesses vocabulary, concepts, presentation, clarity, and accuracy. The project can be completed using standard classroom supplies like paper, markers, and scissors, and many options can be done digitally.

For differentiation, there are two versions of the project page: one modified for students needing extra support, and one with more challenging options for advanced learners. Teachers can assign a combination of projects while using the same rubric.

The Fossil Evidence Science and ELA Integrated Writing Activity engages 5th-grade students in exploring evidence of past changes to the Earth through a creative narrative. This activity enhances students’ science reasoning and writing skills, suitable for both in-person and virtual learning environments.

Aligned with TEKS and NGSS, each activity includes teacher directions, rubrics, projection and print handouts, and a digital version that can be used in Google Slides. The activity is perfect for cross-curricular use, pre-test assessments, student projects, early finishers, and differentiation exercises. It can be used for extra credit, make-up work, or TELPAS samples.

The package includes full-sized and half-sheet handouts, a pre-writing strategy, and a digital interactive version for remote or in-person learners. The writing prompt is ideal for creating a bulletin board display or a student anthology.

The WIKI Tickets© formative assessments offer an engaging way to check student understanding in 3rd–5th grade science. This Life Science Set includes 28 assessments, each available in five formats: a full-screen projection version, three printable handout sizes, and an interactive digital version compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Aligned with NGSS and TEKS standards for upper elementary science, every standard is covered by at least one ticket, with some topics offering multiple options. A bonus table of contents file highlights the standards alignment.

These versatile assessments can be used in both in-person and virtual settings. Topics covered include animal groups for survival, changes in ecosystems, energy flow in food webs, inherited traits, internal and external structures, fossil evidence, and plant growth, among others.

WIKI stands for "What I Know Is." These colorful, flexible assessments can be used as exit tickets, bellringers, or quick checks for understanding. They can be projected, printed, or assigned digitally through PowerPoint or Google Slides, making them adaptable for any classroom environment.

Year-Round Resources

These year-round activities will increase your students' understanding of many middle school science topics. All of these activities are also included in the Kesler Science Membership.

Visual Data & Graphing

You're not alone if your students struggle with understanding graphs, charts, and tables. It's a skill that takes an enormous amount of practice. This resource will help students build a strong foundation in analyzing data and creating their own data visualizations.

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Bell Ringers and Warm-Ups

These middle school science bell ringers are an excellent way to engage your students as soon as they walk into your classroom. This comprehensive FULL YEAR resource includes everything you need to start off each science class with an interesting warm-up activity.

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Review Board Games

Each game board has been carefully designed to keep students engaged. There are 10 different action spaces on each board and dozens of question cards. All of the actions are related to science concepts and keep the students motivated throughout the game.

Each game is ready to play. Simply print out the board and the cards and let the students enjoy reviewing nine different units.

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Essential Questions and Standards

Below are the essential questions and standards associated with the lessons and activities included in the atoms unit. This topic is only one of more than 100 middle school science topics included in the Kesler Science Membership.

Essential Questions

How do fossils help identify and describe details about past environments?
What are some common fossils found in the state of Texas?

Standards

TEKS Science - 4.12C Fossil Evidence of Environments