5 3 2 da vincis designs TG

Paleontology: Digging for Dinosaurs and More SUMMARY This book explores various aspects of paleontology, focusing on information gathered from fossils and how knowledge and opinions of d

Paleontology: Digging

for Dinosaurs and More

SUMMARY This book explores various aspects

of paleontology, focusing on information

gathered from fossils and how knowledge and

opinions of dinosaurs have changed over time

LESSON VOCABULARY

erected foundations mold

occasion proportion tidied

workshop

INTRODUCE THE BOOK

INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR Discuss

with students the title and the author of

Paleontology: Digging for Dinosaurs and More

Go over the definition of paleontology

(See page 3.) Ask students to try to identify

what the man on the cover is doing Then

ask students what they think the book will

be about

BUILD BACKGROUND Ask students to share

any knowledge of how fossils are formed,

excavated, and put together, as well as what

can be learned from them Also, encourage

students to discuss any knowledge of

dinosaurs: when they lived, what they ate,

what different kinds there were, etc

PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES Have students

look through the book before reading After

students have looked at the section headings

and pictures in the book, ask what kind of

information students think they will learn

about paleontology Point out that the pictures

and captions on pages 4–5 show steps in the

process of how an animal becomes a fossil

READ THE BOOK SET PURPOSE Have students set purposes for reading Paleontology: Digging for Dinosaurs and More Students’ own interest in dinosaurs

should help guide their purpose If prompts are needed, tell students that new informa-tion about dinosaurs has been discovered in recent years, causing some people to change the way they think about dinosaurs

STRATEGY SUPPORT Discuss that students should always be able to justify their predictions They can use the text or their own knowledge Have students read page

3 and then look at pages 4 and 5 together

Have students tell what they think they will learn about how a fossil is formed Then have them tell how they came to that prediction

Help students judge whether or not their predictions were logical, based on their knowledge and text information Tell students that as they read, they should not only make predictions about what they will learn next, but they should also be aware of why they are making those predictions

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 8 Is the first sentence on this page a statement of fact or a statement of opinion?

(opinion)

PAGE 12 What are some things a paleontologist

needs to study? (chemistry, biology, zoology, geology, math, computer science, languages)

PAGES 14–16 How does the section heading and pictures on these pages help you predict

what information you might learn? (Answers will vary.)

PAGE 15 What caused scientists to think that some dinosaurs may have been

warm-blooded? (discovery of feathers on a fossil skeleton)

5.3.3

FACT AND OPINION

PREDICT

Paleontology: Digging for Dinosaurs and More

60

REVISIT THE BOOK

READER RESPONSE

1 Possible response: Facts: Sue Hendrickson

discovered a well-preserved Tyrannosaurus

rex in 1990 Scientists in China found a

fossil skeleton of a small dinosaur that

they named Sinosauropteryx Sets of fossil

footprints were discovered in Colorado and

Texas Opinions: Answers will vary

2 Answers will vary, but students should

justify predictions

3 Possible response: pottery; statues; cases

for radios, electric razors, phones, etc

4 Answers will vary but should reflect

understanding of what paleontologists do

EXTEND UNDERSTANDING Ask students to think

about how the photos and drawings helped

them to understand the different sizes of

dinosaurs For example, on page 11, students

should see that they can compare the size of

the dinosaur to the size of human beings

RESPONSE OPTIONS

WRITING Tell students to pretend they are

scientists and have just made one of the

discoveries in this book Have them write

postcards home telling about their discoveries

and how they felt about making them

SCIENCE CONNECTION

Have students each pick one

of the dinosaurs mentioned in

the book and do more research on

it Then have each student use the research

information to create a diorama showing a

possible scene from that dinosaur’s life

TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY

Have students use a classroom dictionary

to look up all the words and find the ones that have more than one meaning or can

be used in more than one way Have stu-dents predict which meaning will be used in this book

Use the illustrations in the book

to help students understand vocabulary

concepts For words like occasion and tidied, give a variety of synonyms until the

meanings are clear

TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY

FACT AND OPINION Remind students that

a statement of fact can be proved true or false A statement of opinion is someone’s

judgment, belief, or way of thinking To prac-tice distinguishing fact from opinion, read pages 14 through 16 together Discuss which statements are fact and which are opinion and note how the opinions changed with new information Tell students to continue to apply this skill as they read

PREDICT Remind students that to

predict means to tell what you think might

happen next in a book, article, or story based on what has already happened and prior knowledge of the subject Discuss that

it is important to keep revising or changing predictions, based on new information

ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION

CAUSE AND EFFECT Remind students that

cause refers to why something happened, and effect refers to what happened As

students read the book, they will not only learn some possible causes for the disappearance of the dinosaurs, but also circumstances that caused scientists to change their opinions on dinosaur sizes, behavior, and environments

Paleontology: Digging for Dinosaurs and More 61

Skill Work

Fact and Opinion

• A statement of fact is one that can be proved true or false.

• A statement of opinion is a statement of someone’s judgment, belief, or way of thinking.

Directions Read the following passage Some of the sentences are statements of fact, and some are

statements of opinion On the lines below, write the sentence or sentences that are statements of facts

Then write the sentence or sentences that are statements of opinion

Many scientists believe that Tyrannosaurus rex was mainly a hunter

However, new information about its sense of smell suggests that it might also have been a scavenger Scavengers are animals that eat dead and decaying things

1 Statements of Fact

2 Statements of Opinion

Directions Answer the following question.

3 How did you figure out which sentences showed facts and which showed opinions?

Paleontology

62

Vocabulary

Directions Choose the word that best completes each sentence

1 I my messy room

2 The scientists made a of the fossil

3 Good buildings have strong

4 A good ice-cream sundae has the right of ice cream to syrup

5 We made the kitchen table in our

6 After we the frame, we were able to attach the dinosaur bones

7 The day I won the pie-eating contest was a very special

Directions Write a sentence of your own for each vocabulary word.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

Paleontology

Check the Words You Know

erected proportion

foundations tidied

mold workshop

occasion

63