Fossils & Law Of Superposition CER Activity

Looking for a more RIGOROUS fossil and law of superposition CER activity? Spark some critical thinking with claims, evidence, and reasoning practice! Review and reinforce fossils and the law of superposition with these CER task cards!

Includes ever-important data-analysis practice!

⭐⭐⭐ Get this activity at a huge discount in my Fossils & Geologic Time Unit! ⭐⭐⭐

In this activity, students will:

• READ a brief passage on a real-world application of fossils and the law of superposition.
• ANALYZE information in the text, a simple data table, or a simple graph.
• Make a CLAIM based on EVIDENCE for a question related to the topic.

Topics Covered:

• How fossils give clues of past environments
• Index fossils
• Law of superposition
• Carbon dating (just the basics!)
• Mass extinction events
• Relative dating
• Types of preserved organisms
• Radiometric dating (just the basics!)
• Transitional fossils

Two Ways to Assign!

1. As Stations: Great for getting kids moving around the room! Each of the 12 station cards has a brief text, and often a simple data table or simple graph, too. Students complete a Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning grid for a question at each of the 12 stations.
2. Digitally: A Google Slides version of this activity is included. Go paperless!

This activity supports the following NGSS Standards:

• MS-LS4-1: Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.
• MS-ESS1-4: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history. Emphasis is on how analyses of rock formations and the fossils they contain are used to establish relative ages of major events in Earth’s history.

Teacher Notes:

• Get this activity at a huge discount in my Fossils & Geologic Time Unit!
• Includes a suggested answer key.
• Please note that this law of superposition CER activity is not editable.
• You can also shop my TPT store!