17 mysteries from long ago - houghton mifflin harcourt · words • many multisyllable words:...

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Number of Words: 936

Characteristics of the Text Genre • Informational Text

Text Structure • Three sections with headings, each 3-4 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 evidenceThemes 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: prehistoric, evidence, migrated, hibernated • Animal body parts, some of which may be unfamiliar: snout, fl ippers

Words • Many multisyllable words: prehistoric, Antarctica, hibernated• Dinosaur names respelled in phonetic spelling

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

Mysteries from Long Ago 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. 3

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

locations – the places where something is found, p. 14

proved –shown that something is true, p. 8

remains – n. things that are left over, p. 6

skeletons – what humans and many animals rely on to support their bodies and protect their organs, p. 10

uncovering –taking the cover off, digging up something, or revealing something, p. 2

Target Vocabulary

Mysteries from Long Ago 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, so the words and photos will give factual information about the topic.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Pages 2-3: Explain that this is a book about how scientists use fossils to learn about creatures that lived long ago.Suggested language: Turn to page 2. In the picture, we see people looking at giant skeletons made from fossils of dinosaur bones. Fossils are parts of things like bones, skin, and footprints left behind from plants or animals many, many years ago. In this book, we will read about how scientists use fossils as evidence to help prove the answers to questions they have about dinosaurs.

Page 4: Draw attention to the inset map on this page and help students to identify the perspective shown. Notice the round map on this page. It is very unusual. That’s because this map shows the North Pole, the very “top” of the globe that we are used to seeing in school.

Page 8 Draw attention to the picture on page 8. Read the caption: The Pakicetus (pak i SET us) might be an early relative of whales. Can you imagine how this animal could be related to a whale? That is a mystery.

Let’s read from the beginning of the book fi nd out how scientists solve fossil mysteries.

2Grade 3© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Lesson 17: Mysteries from Long Ago

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ReadHave students read Mysteries from Long Ago 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 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 17.8.

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 lived only in hot places. Then they found a footprint near the North Pole so they changed their ideas. I can write about 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• In paragraph 1 on page 3, fi nd the word that means almost the same as weather.

• 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 Make sure the text matches the student’s reading level. Language and content should be accessible with regular teaching support.

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

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: a 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 fi rst clue told scientists that

dinosaurs once lived in cold places?

A dinosaur footprint was found in the Arctic.

2. Think within the text What is one reason the skulls of

baby titanosaurs are important to scientists?

Possible response: They give clues to how titanosaurs might be related to other

animals.

3. Think beyond the text Scientists have already made

many dinosaur discoveries. Do you think they should

continue to dig for more clues? Explain your answer.

Possible response: Yes, because there is still more new information to learn, such

as that dinosaurs lived all over the Earth.

4. Think about the text In what way do the pictures in

Mysteries from Long Ago help you understand the ideas

in it?

Possible response: The pictures help me imagine what these ancient animals

looked like.

Making Connections Ancestors of modern-day whales may have walked on Earth. Describe the ancestors of another modern-day animal you have read about.

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

10

Mysteries from Long Ago

Critical Thinking

Lesson 17B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 7 . 8

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Name Date

Mysteries from Long AgoThinking Beyond the Text

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

Choose one of the mysteries that scientists tried to solve in this book. Then think about the fossil evidence scientists used to solve that mystery. Do you believe that the evidence they found was good enough to solve the mystery? Why or why not? Explain your answer.




Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What fi rst clue told scientists that

dinosaurs once lived in cold places?

2. Think within the text What is one reason the skulls of

baby titanosaurs are important to scientists?

3. Think beyond the text Scientists have already made

many dinosaur discoveries. Do you think they should

continue to dig for more clues? Explain your answer.

4. Think about the text In what way do the pictures in

Mysteries from Long Ago help you understand the ideas

in it?

Making Connections Ancestors of modern-day whales may have walked on Earth. Describe the ancestors of another modern-day animal you have read about.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

Mysteries from Long Ago

Critical Thinking

Lesson 17B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 7 . 8

7 Lesson 17: Mysteries from Long AgoGrade 3© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company


1414071

Student Date Lesson 17

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 7 . 1 2

Mysteries from Long Ago LEVEL P

Mysteries from Long AgoRunning Record Form

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

cat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

2

3

If you like learning about dinosaurs and other prehistoric

animals, you probably know what fossils are. Fossils help

scientists figure out what these animals looked like, where they

lived, and what they ate.

Today, scientists keep uncovering new fossils. These fossils

help them solve mysteries. They tell scientists what life was

like on Earth thousands—and even millions—of years ago.

When you think of dinosaurs, you probably imagine fierce

animals that roamed swampy jungles or hot deserts millions of

years ago. That’s just what many scientists thought, too. They

believed that dinosaurs needed to live in warm climates to

keep them warm.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read

correctly/103 × 100)

%

Total Self- Corrections

8 Lesson 17: Mysteries from Long AgoGrade 3© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company


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