Rock Layers & Relative Dating
Your child knows rock forms in layers, with the oldest at the bottom. A fossil found deeper down is older than one found higher up.
In curriculum terms
Understand that rock layers (strata) form in sequence with the oldest at the bottom and the youngest at the top, and that fossils found in deeper layers are older — this is the principle of relative dating
Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →
How to tell they’ve got it
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Try this together
If your child saw a cliff with layers of rock, could they explain that the bottom layers are the oldest and that fossils found deeper down lived longer ago?
Where this sits on the map
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solid = must come firstdashed = helps
Curriculum alignment
Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.
This skill sits outside the F–6 Australian Curriculum — no candidate code matched (v0.1). No NSW K–6 outcome code matched (v0.1). No Victorian Curriculum 2.0 code matched (v0.1).