Fossils: A Teaching Tool That Promotes Enthusiastic Learning

How can you use fossils as a teaching tool? In my classrooms over the years, fossils have never failed to spark fun and enthusiasm for learning about earth sciences. I have seen students, otherwise disengaged in activities of learning, become totally captivated with the process of uncovering the fossil hiding beneath the surface of soft rock.

Fossils connect students to the history of our planet. They can simultaneously imagine the situation of ancient life, while examining current habitats and species that could become the fossils of the future.

Perhaps you are looking to bring this sort of enthusiasm to your classroom or your children at home. Fossils inspire all sorts of questions. Consider these possibilities :

• How old is this? (Leading to the study of the Earth