Year 3 – CBOL Session 8: Fossils, Rock Types & Soil Permeability

This fully resourced outdoor session takes children on a journey through geological time while developing key scientific enquiry skills.

Students explore:

• How fossils form
• The three main rock types
• How soil absorbs water (Permeability)

🦖 Core Learning:

Fossilisation Process (Timeline Sequence):

Organism dies

Sediment covers the body

Layers build up over millions of years

Minerals replace the bones

Uplift brings rock closer to surface

Erosion reveals the fossil

Key understanding:
Fossils are only found in sedimentary rock because extreme heat in igneous and metamorphic rock destroys them.

🪨 Rock Types – Simple Memory Hooks:

🔥 Igneous – Fire rocks (cooled lava, very hard, no fossils)
🥪 Sedimentary – Layered rocks (like a sandwich, contain fossils)
💪 Metamorphic – Changed rocks (heat & pressure, twisted or smooth)

Students sort rock descriptions using an active “Crossing the Swamp” team challenge to reinforce vocabulary retention.

💧 Investigation: Soil Permeability Test

Enquiry Question:
Which soil holds the most water?

Students:

• Insert infiltration tubes into different ground types
• Pour a measured amount of water
• Use stopwatches to time drainage
• Compare sandy vs clay areas
• Record accurate data
• Draw conclusions using scientific vocabulary

Key Terms:
Permeable – lets water through
Impermeable – stops water

🚀 What’s Included:

✔ Full Teacher Guide with session script
✔ Laminated Fossil Timeline Cards (per team)
✔ Rock Type Sorting Cards
✔ Structured Assault Course & Swamp Relay Plans
✔ Student Soil Permeability Worksheet
✔ Equipment & Setup Checklist
✔ Master Technician Preparation List

This lesson builds:

• Scientific vocabulary
• Teamwork and communication
• Data recording skills
• Observation and comparison
• Logical sequencing
• Long-term memory retention

And most importantly…

Children leave understanding that rocks are not just stones.

They are history books.

📥 Buy now and turn your playground into a geological time machine.