Year 6 Science vocabulary list defining palaeontology and permineralisation to support student comprehension of prehistoric remains and the fossilisation process.
A structured glossary of key Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary with definitions and contextual example sentences, designed to close the vocabulary gap.
Subject: Science | Year: 6
Name: _________________________ Class/Set: ____________ Date: ____________
| Word | Definition | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Fossil | The remains or traces of a prehistoric organism that have been preserved in rock. | The scientist carefully brushed the dirt away to reveal a prehistoric fossil. |
| Palaeontology | The branch of science concerned with fossilised animals and plants. | We visited the museum to learn about palaeontology and how experts find dinosaur bones. |
| Sediment | Matter such as sand, mud, or pebbles that settles at the bottom of a liquid. | Over millions of years, layers of sediment pressed down to form solid rock. |
| Organism | An individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form. | When an organism dies, its soft parts usually rot away very quickly. |
| Decay | The process of rotting or breaking down naturally. | If a body is buried quickly, it might not decay before the fossilisation process begins. |
| Permineralisation | A process where minerals from water fill the gaps in a bone or shell, turning it into stone. | Through permineralisation, the dinosaur's leg bone became as heavy and hard as a rock. |
| Preserved | Kept in its original state or prevented from rotting. | Some insects are perfectly preserved inside sticky tree resin called amber. |
| Impression | A mark or shape left behind in soft mud or silt, such as a footprint or leaf shape. | The trilobite left a clear impression in the mud that later hardened into shale. |
| Extinction | When a species of animal or plant has no living members left on Earth. | The discovery of fossils helps us understand why many creatures faced extinction. |
| Evolution | The process by which living things change slowly over many generations. | Fossils provide vital evidence for the theory of evolution by showing how species changed over time. |
Addressing the persistent confusion between organic bone and mineralised rock requires precise linguistic scaffolding to bridge the gap between observation and scientific theory. By explicitly defining permineralisation alongside concrete terms like sediment, this vocabulary list reduces the cognitive load associated with complex geological transformations. The structural layout of the worksheet prioritises clear, non-circular definitions and contextual examples, facilitating the construction of robust mental models. This systematic approach ensures Year 6 pupils move beyond superficial descriptions toward a sophisticated scientific register, directly supporting the transition from foundational understanding to the analytical rigour required for Key Stage 2 statutory assessments.
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