[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-605355-105":59,"doc-detail-605355-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","fossil-find-activity-for-grades-5-8","Fossil Find - Activity for Grades 5-8","","Hands-on “dig” activity for grades 5–8 that simulates how paleontologists excavate fossil sites and reconstruct ancient skeletons. Students work in groups to brush away sand from a prepared bone carton, create a grid diagram of the bone positions, and record observations. Learners then remove and reassemble the skeleton using tape, answer guided questions about missing parts, movement, skin covering, habitat, diet, behavior, and interpret connections among objects found at the site. They compare results with other groups to confirm or revise hypotheses.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/fossil-find-activity-for-grades-5-8/605355/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/fossil-find-activity-for-grades-5-8/605355.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Liam","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-10-16",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the main goal of the Fossil Find activity?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"To give students an excavation experience that mirrors how paleontologists discover fossils and reconstruct what ancient animals may have been like.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What materials are needed for each group?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Students need a Fossil Find sheet, a bone site carton, tape, string, and small brushes or similar tools, plus sand and a prepared skeleton for the carton.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How do students create the diagram of the fossil site?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"After brushing away the sand without moving bones, they use string and tape to form a grid and then diagram where each bone is located, including everything found at the site.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},605355,1792132067,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":81,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":39},8796095461564,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Fossil Find  \nActivity for Grades 5–8  \nIntroduction  \nFor more than 100 years, expeditions from the American Museum of Natural History have scoured the globe in search of fossil specimens. Fossils are the remains and imprints of plants and animals that lived thousands, and even millions of years ago. Seashells, impressions of skin, leaves, petrified wood, bones and teeth of animals, and insects trapped in amber can all be fossils. When paleontologists find large fossil specimens, they often create a grid with string and draw a diagram showing the exact location of each bone they find. The position of the bones may hold clues as to how the animal stood, behaved, or even died.  \nObjective  \nThis activity will stimulate a “dig” experience for students.  \nMaterials  \nFor each group you’ll need:  \n• Fossil Find sheet  \n• Bone site carton (see preparation below)  \n• Tape  \n• String  \n• Small brushes, whisk brooms, or old toothbrushes  \nPreparation of Bone Carton  \nYou will need:  \n• A small cardboard box (with low sides)  \n• Sand  \n• Chicken skeleton with all the meat boiled off (ask parents to contribute whole or partial skeletons)  \nDirections: Place a thin layer of sand in the bottom of the carton. Break up a skeleton or partial skeleton (try to separate bones at the joints) and arrange the bones in the sand. Cover the skeleton with sand.  \nVary what you do for each bone site. Provide:  \n• a skeleton with missing bones  \n• an additional leg/arm  \n• bones of another species (such as fish bones)  \n• eggs shells, acorns  \nTo cut down on your preparation time, you may consider having groups assemble the dig sites and then trade with other groups.  \nProcedure  \n1. Have students share what they now about digging for fossils. If students’ knowledge is limited you might refer them to some of the books listed on the reference list. Tell students that when paleontologists find a fossil site, they often make a grid over the site using string and then record the position of each bone on grid paper. Explain that the position of the bones might hold clues as to how the animal behaved or died. Tell students that they are going to excavate a fossil site andreconstruct a skeleton.  \n2. Distribute Fossil Find sheets, and bone site cartons to the groups. Review the directions with them, making sure they know what they are todo.  \n3. When students have completed the activity, have them display their completed skeleton and share their observations and findings.  \n4. Have groups compare skeletons and confirm or revise their hypotheses. Discuss with students what paleontologists can learn about dinosaurs, what things they might hypothesize, and what they cannot learn (based on the evidence they have gathered) .  \nFossil Find  \nName   Date    \n1. Using the brushes (and without moving of any of the bones) carefully brush away the sand to expose the skeleton. Using the string and tape make a grid so that you can diagram the fossil site. Use the grid below. Include everything you find at the site in your diagram.  \n\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |\n\n2. Carefully remove the skeleton. Using the tape, work together to piece the skeleton together.  \n3. Using only the skeleton and what you know of animals and their behavior, work as a group to answer the following questions. Have one person in your group record your findings.  \na. What did you find? What parts were missing? What duplicate or additional parts did you find? How did you figure out which parts belonged to your skeleton?  \nb. How did the animal move (swim, fly, walk)? Was the animal bipedal, or quadrupedal?  \nc. What kind of skin covering did it have? What color was it? (Use only information from your dig.)  \n\n| d. How tall/long was t","cbCailnUNg6amjqu","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailnUNg6amjqu","pdf",151843,"English","# Introduction\n## Objective\n## Materials\n## Preparation of Bone Carton\n## Procedure\n# Fossil Find Worksheet","[{\"question\":\"What is the main goal of the Fossil Find activity?\",\"answer\":\"To give students an excavation experience that mirrors how paleontologists discover fossils and reconstruct what ancient animals may have been like.\"},{\"question\":\"What materials are needed for each group?\",\"answer\":\"Students need a Fossil Find sheet, a bone site carton, tape, string, and small brushes or similar tools, plus sand and a prepared skeleton for the carton.\"},{\"question\":\"How do students create the diagram of the fossil site?\",\"answer\":\"After brushing away the sand without moving bones, they use string and tape to form a grid and then diagram where each bone is located, including everything found at the site.\"}]","Fossil Find - Activity for Grades 5-8 | PDF"]