ABSTRACT
Children excavate bones that have been buried and use them to predict what the complete skeleton of an unknown animal. Children should develop an understanding of how different scientists work. Show children some bones from the area where they were uncovered and explain that a palaeontologist found them and thinks there are more bones to find. They use a range of skills from working scientifically including asking and answering questions, classifying and using evidence to draw conclusions alongside knowledge of rocks, animals and plants. Children could also research the work of palaeontologists such as Mary Anning and Dorothy Bate. Remind children of the conventions when using coordinates in geography that you first move along the horizontal squares, then up the vertical squares to locate and name the square in the area for excavation. Model how palaeontologists work, explaining they use a grid system to record where objects are found.
