Rocks Year 3 Science Booklet | KS2 Rock Types, Fossils, Mary Anning, Soils | UK National Curriculum

Year 3 Rocks booklet. KS2 Science: types of rocks, properties, fossils, Mary Anning, soils and their formation. UK national curriculum primary.

The Year 3 Rocks unit is one of the most hands-on units in KS2 Science: comparing rocks by their properties, examining real fossils, and investigating different soils. It's also where learners meet their first famous female scientist by name. This booklet gives learners structured comparison tables, fossil-formation diagrams, and writing prompts to record what they observe and connect it back to the science.

What's inside:

• Types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic) with example rocks and how each forms
• Comparing rocks by simple physical properties: hardness, permeability, appearance, texture
• Fossils: how they form, what they tell us, the stages from organism to fossil
• Mary Anning: case study of her work at Lyme Regis, the fossils she discovered (ichthyosaur, plesiosaur), her place in the history of science
• Soils: how soils are formed from weathered rock and organic matter; comparing soils (sandy, clay, loam) and their drainage
• Diagrams to label, comparison tables, and short writing prompts learners can complete independently

UK National Curriculum reference: Year 3 Science, Rocks. Aligned to the statutory requirements: compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties; describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock; recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter.

Who it's for: Year 3 class teachers planning the Rocks unit, primary science leads, primary science tutors, parents supporting their child's Year 3 science learning, and homeschool families on the UK national curriculum.

Pair with the free video: The WHOLE Year 3 Rocks Unit — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEWXMVQ57NA

Read the blog post: 5 Exciting Ways To Teach Animal and Plant Adaptations — https://advisoryscience.com/blog/retrieval-adaptive-learning-resources/5-exciting-ways-to-teach-animal-and-plant-adaptations-ks2-ks3-science-lessons

Want the matching practice? Year 3 Rocks Workbook — https://advisoryscience.com/b/year-3-rocks-workbook-ks2-science-made-simple

Related Year 3 booklets: Plants, Animals Including Humans, Forces and Magnets, Light, The Bee Project.

Related KS2 retrieval resources: Year 3 Science Gap Fill Pack, Year 3 Science Vocabulary Match, Year 3 Science Frayer Models.

Made by an award-winning science educator with 25+ years of teaching experience. Used by 150+ UK schools. Instant download, A4 PDF, print-ready.

Licence: digital product. Personal/classroom use only. Print copies for your own child/children or your class; not for sharing on school drives, WhatsApp groups, social media, or resellers.

Year 3 rocks | KS2 fossils Mary Anning | rock types soils | UK national curriculum Year 3 | homeschool primary science | igneous sedimentary metamorphic