Making Fossils!

My student teacher knocks it out of the ballpark AGAIN!  He is just wonderful and I can't wait until he has the chance to have his own classroom.  I can't tell you how much fun I have had teaching alongside him these past few weeks.

I told him to come up with something easy to review why/how a fossil is formed.  I figured he might find a book or a video clip to show.  We only set aside 15 minutes for the review....  and yes my class did this in 15 minutes!

He did a real quick review of how a fossil was made and why fossils are important.  I was stunned by how well the kids explained it and they used lots of text evidence terms in their descriptions.  He gave each of the kids a ball of clay that he had already rolled, a paper plate, toothpick, and a wooden leaf.  The kids rolled and stretched their clay until they had it thick enough and large enough to make an imprint of the leaf.  They used toothpicks to add veins to their leaves and he even thought to throw in a quick review of what purpose the veins have in a leaf!  Here are some pictures from this quick activity.

We let them dry for a few days and they turned out stunning!  The kids can't wait to take them home.  We used one tub of Crayola Model Clay - about $7.  You can buy it at Michaels - one of my MOST favorite stores.  FYI - my store gives a 15% off your purchase with your school ID.  

So if you have a few minutes and need a fun activity to review fossils this one was a HUGE HIT!

Happy Teaching!

Tracy