EL Education: G2, M2, EUA2 - Flex Curriculum - Laurie Gingrich | Library

Reread the passage.  Read the questions. Choose the best answer.

“Digging Up the Past”
1. Earth was different millions of years ago. Plants and animals were different too. But how do we know that? Some plants and animals became fossils. Scientists study collections of fossils to learn about the past.

Just the Remains
2. Different plants and animals lived on the earth long ago. Some them became fossils after they died. The fossils formed from their remains. Remains are the parts left behind after a plant or animal dies. Bones are a type of remains. Sometimes they become fossils.

A Long Process
3. Making fossils takes a long time. When animals die, their bodies decay. Decay means to rot and go away. The soft parts like skin decay first. This takes months. Then hard parts like bones decay. This takes a few years. But sometimes the bones become fossils. This takes many, many years. Wind and water cover the bones with sand and mud. The sand and mud make layers on top of the bones. The layers slowly become rock. The bones can become fossils.

Big Discoveries
4. Finding fossils is hard. They are covered by layers of sand and rock. Fossils can be uncovered a few different ways. Erosion helps us find fossils. Erosion is when wind and water push away layers of sand and rock. The fossil gets uncovered. Another way is when water dries up. You can find fossils that used to be at the bottom of a river. In other places, rocks may crumble and crack. This can uncover a fossil too. Maybe one day you will find a fossil!

Written by EL Education for instructional purposes.

1

What information is learned from the photograph?

1

What is the main idea of paragraph 2? What did the author describe?

1

About how long does it take for bones to become fossils?

1

Which section in the article explains how fossils are made?

1

What is the main idea of paragraph 4? What did the author describe?

1

Why did the author write “Digging Up the Past”?

1

Write the gist of "Digging Up the Past." (The gist should be only a sentence or two.)

1

Reread paragraph 4. What is one way fossils are uncovered? Write a sentence and draw a picture in the box below that describes how a fossil can be uncovered.

Source: Open Up Resouces (Download for free at openupresources.org.)