Fossil Evidence Science Games

In this series of games, your students will learn about how fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that lived long ago and also about the nature of their environments. Fossil Evidence learning objective — based on NGSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic performance in your classroom, as demonstrated by research.

Scroll down for a preview of this learning objective’s games and the concepts.

Concepts Covered

Fossils are the remains or traces of living organisms that lived a long time ago. Fossils provide evidence of organisms that lived long ago but have become extinct. A trace fossil is indirect evidence of a living organism, such as a footprint, burrow, or waste. Some fossils provide evidence for large animals and others provide evidence for microscopic organisms. Fossil evidence provides clues about the environment in which organisms lived.

Scientists can use fossils to compare properties of organisms alive today with those that lived long ago. Fossil evidence provides clues about how Earth’s landscape has changed over time. Fossils provide evidence of organisms that lived long ago but have become extinct. Fossils of organisms with unique properties that existed in a specific period of time in Earth’s history are called index fossils.  Most fossils are found in the layers of sedimentary rock.

A species is a group of similar organisms that reproduce with each other. Extinction occurs when all of the members of a species die. Some extinct species look similar to species that exist today. Dead organisms can be preserved as fossils in sap, ice, or tar.

A preview of each game in the learning objective is found below.

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