17 learning from fossils - hmhco.com

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Number of Words: 870

Characteristics of the Text Genre • Informational Text

Text Structure • Three sections with headings, each 4 pages• Each section describes a scientifi c mystery and follows the process scientists have taken

to solve it.Content • Three different mysteries scientists have attempted to solve by studying fossils: How

could dinosaurs survive in frigid climates? / Where did modern-day whales come from? / What did titanosaurs look like?

• How scientists have used fossil evidence to help solve mysteries in the pastThemes and Ideas • Fossil clues help scientists understand the distant past.

• Animals alive today are related to animals that were alive long ago.• Animal species change over time.

Language and Literary Features

• Writer addresses the reader directly (second person)• Terms defi ned within the text

Sentence Complexity • A mix of short and more complex sentences• Many sentences begin with introductory clauses.

Vocabulary • Vocabulary related to content: dinosaurs, fossils, evidence, hibernated, mammals, lizardWords • Many multisyllable words: scientists, Antarctica, hibernated, skeleton

• Phonetic respellings of dinosaur names• Target vocabulary words highlighted in text

Illustrations • Photographs of fossils and natural landscapes and realistic illustrations of dinosaurs; approximately one half-page illustration per page

• Inset maps of the north and south polesBook and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text, with illustrations on every page

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

L E S S O N 1 7 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Learning from Fossils by Anne Finn

Fountas-Pinnell Level PInformational Text Selection SummaryScientists use fossil clues to solve mysteries about what the earth was like millions of years ago. By studying fossils, they can learn important information about where and how animals lived as well as which animals might be distantly related to others. Some mysteries, however, remain unsolved.

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buried – something covered or hidden, often underground, p. 14

clues – facts that help solve a problem or mystery, p. 5

evidence – facts or signs that show something is true, p. 3

fi erce – wild, strong, or dangerous, p. 5

fossils – parts of things that lived long ago, such as bones or footprints, p. 2

locations – the places where something is found, p. 6

proved – shown that something is true, p. 10

remains – n. things that are left over, p. 2

skeletons – what humans and many animals rely on to support their bodies and protect their organs, p. 11

uncovering – taking the cover off, digging up something, or revealing something, p. 14

Target Vocabulary

Learning from Fossils by Anne Finn

Build BackgroundAsk students to think about what life on Earth was like thousands and thousands of years ago. Build interest by asking questions: If you could go back in time thousands of years ago, what kinds of things do you think you would see? Read the title and the author and talk about the cover photograph. Tell students that this book is informational text.

Front-Load Vocabulary Some everyday words may be unfamiliar to English learners. Before reading, check understanding of the following words: footprints, scary, pointy, giant, related, complete.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, reading the captions, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Call their attention to any important labels. Here are some suggestions:

: Read the caption under the photo. Explain that this is a book about how scientists learn about creatures that lived long ago. Read the caption under the photo and the label. Suggested language: Turn to page 2. In the photo, we see people looking at giant skeletons made from fossils of dinosaur bones. Fossils are things like bones, skins, and footprints left behind by plants or animals many, many years ago.

Page 3: Read the heading: “Dinosaurs in Cold Places.” One question scientists had about dinosaurs was whether they could live in cold places. In this book, we will read about how scientists use fossils as evidence, or proof, that they have found the answers to questions they have about dinosaurs.

Page 11: Read the heading: “What Were Titanosaurs Like?” Read the caption: Titanosaurs might be the biggest animals that ever walked on land. Can you imagine what scientists thought when they found the skeleton of one of these giants?

Now turn back to the beginning of the book and read to fi nd out how scientists answer questions about dinosaurs using clues from fossils.

2Grade 3© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Lesson 17: Learning from Fossils

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ReadHave students read Learning from Fossils silently while you listen to individual students read. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.

Remind students to use the Visualize Strategy and to use selection details to picture what is happening as they read.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the book.Suggested language: What is a question that you have about animals from long ago that you would like to have solved some day?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Fossil clues help solve mysteries from the past.

• Animals alive today are related to animals that were alive long ago.

• Animal species change and evolve over time.

• A scientist’s job is to solve mysteries about the natural world.

• Different kinds of animals that share some things in common could be related to a common ancestor long ago even if they don’t seem to look alike.

• The illustrations show what dinosaurs and other extinct animals may have looked like.

• The photographs of fossils include humans or other markers to show scale.

• The section headings give a good idea of what information will be covered.

• The maps show where certain fossils were found.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to read aloud. Remind them

to pay attention to appropriate stress on word syllables, including those in the long names of prehistoric animals, which are respelled phonetically in the text.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind students to solve longer, unfamiliar words by breaking them into smaller, more manageable parts. For example, Antarctica becomes ant ARC ti ca.




Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 17.10.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillConclusions

Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that they can use clues in the text to make

smart guesses about the book. Model the skill, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below.

Think Aloud

Look at the graphic organizer on page 15. What text clues would help me conclude that what scientists know about dinosaurs changes over time? On page 3, the text says that scientists once thought that dinosaurs needed to live in hot places to keep them warm. Then they found dinosaur footprints in the Arctic, one of the coldest places on Earth, so they changed their ideas. I can write that text clue in the fi rst box.

Practice the SkillHave students write two sentences telling a conclusion they have made about fossils from reading the book.

Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about what happens in the story.

Assessment Prompts• On page 6, which words help you to understand the meaning of the word hibernated?

• Complete this sentence in your own words: Even though scientists have learned many things by studying fossils, there are still many _____________________________ .

• On page 8, fi nd the detail that showed scientists that the Pakicetus might be related to a whale.




English Language DevelopmentReading Support Pair English-speaking and English language learners so that they can check their understanding with each other. Or have students use the audio or online recordings.

Cognates Make a list of cognates from the text, asking Spanish-speaking students to help pronounce the Spanish words. Some examples: dinosaur/dinosaurio, fossils/fósiles, evidence/evidencia.

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/Advanced

Speaker 1: Find the fossil of the footprint.

Speaker 2: [Student turns to page 4.]

Speaker 1: Do fossils take a long time or a short time to form?

Speaker 2: long time

Speaker 1: What were “winter dinosaurs”?

Speaker 2: Winter dinosaurs were dinosaurs that lived in cold places.

Speaker 1: What is one kind of fossil that scientists found?

Speaker 2: Possible responses: dinosaur footprints; bones from dinosaurs.

Speaker 1: What is one mystery that scientists still do not know the answer to?

Speaker 2: Possible responses: How dinosaurs survived in cold places; what dinosaurs ate during cold winters; where whales came from.

Read directions to students.

Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What is one thing that scientists

learn from studying fossils?

Possible responses: what animals looked like, where they lived, what they ate

2. Think within the text Why were scientists surprised to

fi nd dinosaur fossils in cold places?

Possible response: They thought that dinosaurs lived only in warm places.

3. Think beyond the text Why do you think scientists

gather so much information before deciding if something

is true?

Possible response: They need many pieces of information to tell a complete story.

4. Think about the text Do you think it is useful to learn

about animals that no longer live on Earth? Why or why

not?

Responses will vary.

Making Connections Scientists study things found in nature to learn about life long ago. Describe something you have found in nature. What did you learn from it?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Grade 3, Unit 4: Extreme Nature

Name Date

12

Learning from Fossils

Critical Thinking

Lesson 17B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 7 . 1 0

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Name Date

Learning from FossilsThinking Beyond the Text

Think about the question below. Then write your answers in one or two paragraphs.

Choose one of the mysteries described in this book. Explain why you think that mystery is interesting. What do scientists think caused the mystery? What proof do they have? Do you think the scientific proof solves the mystery? Why or why not?




Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What is one thing that scientists

learn from studying fossils?

2. Think within the text Why were scientists surprised to

fi nd dinosaur fossils in cold places?

3. Think beyond the text Why do you think scientists

gather so much information before deciding if something

is true?

4. Think about the text Do you think it is useful to learn

about animals that no longer live on Earth? Why or why

not?

Making Connections Scientists study things found in nature to learn about life long ago. Describe something you have found in nature. What did you learn from it?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

Learning from Fossils

Critical Thinking

Lesson 17B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 7 . 1 0




1414

298

Student Date Lesson 17

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 7 . 1 4

Learning from FossilsRunning Record Form

Learning from Fossils • LEVEL P

Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

7

8

Did whales walk on land long ago? Whales look like very big

fish, but they are mammals. Mammals are a different kind of

animal from fish. Scientists think whales are related to some

mammals that used to live on land. Scientists think that long

ago, these mammals walked into the sea to find food or to

escape from enemies. After these mammals lived in the sea for

a very long time, they started to grow flippers instead of feet.

Flippers helped them swim.

After many years, scientists found fossils of mammals called

Pakicetus (PAK I set us). These mammals were as big as large

dogs today.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read correctly/102 ×

100)

%

Total Self- Corrections




17 learning from fossils - hmhco.com

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