MS-ESS2-3: Fossils, Rocks and Seafloor as Evidence Plates Move
Also called NGSS MS-ESS2-3 · Topic: History of Earth · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
Clarification statement: Examples of data include similarities of rock and fossil types on different continents, the shapes of the continents (including continental shelves), and the locations of ocean structures (such as ridges, fracture zones, and trenches).
Assessment boundary: Paleomagnetic anomalies in oceanic and continental crust are not assessed.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What MS-ESS2-3 Means in Plain English
Middle schoolers analyze maps and data to show that continents have moved. They match coastlines like those of South America and Africa, find the same fossils and rock types on continents now separated by oceans, and read seafloor features such as mid-ocean ridges and deep trenches.
Magnetic striping in the seafloor is left for high school. This builds on reading map patterns of earthquakes and mountains (4-ESS2-2) and leads to the full theory of plate tectonics and the age of crust (HS-ESS1-5, HS-ESS2-1).
MS-ESS2-3 I Can Statements
- I can use matching fossils as evidence that continents were joined.
- I can explain how continent shapes fit together like puzzle pieces.
- I can describe seafloor features that show where plates move.
MS-ESS2-3 Worked Example
A paper puzzle that combines landmass shapes with real fossil locations.
Do fossil locations support the idea that the southern landmasses were once joined?
Set It Up: Paper cutouts of South America, Africa, India, Antarctica and Australia traced along their undersea edges, plus a key of where four fossil species are found.
- Shade the places where the reptile Mesosaurus is found in one color.Mesosaurus: South America and Africa
- Shade the fern-like plant Glossopteris in a second color.Glossopteris: all five landmasses
- Shade Lystrosaurus and Cynognathus in two more colors.Lystrosaurus: Africa, India, Antarctica. Cynognathus: South America, Africa
- Fit the cutouts so matching colors join into single patches.Colors form unbroken bands across the joins
- Ask whether a small reptile or a land plant could have crossed thousands of kilometers of salt water.Neither could make that crossing
Once the cutouts were joined, each fossil's locations formed one connected region instead of scattered spots.
Why it works: The same species living on landmasses now far apart makes sense only if those landmasses were once joined and later moved apart.
Common Mistakes with MS-ESS2-3
Thinking continents float on the ocean
“The continents drift around on top of the water.”
Try this: Continents are parts of rocky plates that form Earth's outer shell. Plates carry both land and seafloor, moving a few centimeters a year.
Fitting coastlines only
Gaps and overlaps when shorelines are matched exactly
Try this: Fit the continents at the edge of the continental shelf, which is the true edge of the continent, and the match gets much tighter.
Relying on one clue
“The shapes fit, so that proves it.”
Try this: Shape alone could be a coincidence. Combine fit with matching fossils, rock types and seafloor ridges to build a strong case.
Where MS-ESS2-3 Fits
Practice MS-ESS2-3
Quick Check
- Fossils of the same land animal are found in Africa and Antarctica. What does this suggest?
- Where on the seafloor is new crust being formed?
- Why do South America and Africa fit together so well?