Finding Fossils
Finding Fossils
Level I/15
Science
Teacher’s Guide Skills & Stragegies Anchor Comprehension Strategy
•• Identify Cause and Effect •• Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details Phonemic Awareness
•• Manipulate initial sounds
Phonics
•• Variant vowel /ûr/
Vocabulary
•• Words associated with fossils
Grammar/Word Study
•• Time-order words and phrases
Science Big Idea
•• Fossils tell us about the life of animals in the remote past.
Theme: Learning about Earth’s Past Science Concept: Fossils can tell us about Earth’s history. We can learn about dinosaurs by looking at fossils. Different dinosaurs had different characteristics to help them survive in their environment. B
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
C
o m p a n y
Small-Group Reading Lesson What I Know
What I Want to Learn
• Fossils are found in the ground. • People have found a lot of dinosaur fossils.
• What are fossils? • How do we find fossils? • Where do we find fossils? • How do fossils help us learn about dinosaurs?
ell
What I Learned
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Build Background Knowledge When defining the word fossil, show students the pictures on pages 4 and 5 of Finding Fossils. Explain that fossils may be parts of animals or plants, such as bones or leaves, or they may be marks left by animals or plants, such as footprints or imprints. Use modeling clay and a coin to demonstrate how the coin leaves a mark when pressed into the clay.
Build Vocabulary and Language Patterns As students preview the book, have students look at the picture on page 5. Say the word footprints and explain that footprints are the marks people’s and animals’ feet leave on the ground. Help students trace around their feet on butcher paper so that they can see their footprints. Have students look at the picture on page 15. Say the word sap and explain that sap is a sticky liquid inside trees. If a tree is cut, sap is found inside.
Before Reading.... Build Background Knowledge • Write the word fossils on the board. Ask students if they have ever heard of fossils. If not, define fossil and explain that because of dinosaur fossils, we have learned about dinosaurs. • Have pairs of students discuss what they know about fossils and dinosaurs. Have the pairs share their ideas with the group. Record their ideas in the K column of a KWL chart, like the one shown.
Model Asking Questions • Show students the cover illustration and read the title. Say: When I look at the cover and read the title, I think about what I know about the subject and what I would like to learn. Then I ask myself questions about what I see. This helps me understand what I read. When I look at this picture, I ask myself, “What are fossils? How do we find fossils?” • Ask students what questions they think of after looking at the cover. Write the questions in the W column of the KWL chart.
Preview the Book • Show students the table of contents and read through the chapter headings. Ask: Do these headings make you think of any questions we can add to the chart? • Preview each page in the book and ask students to describe what they see in the pictures. Ask them what new questions they have now about the topic of the book. Record these on the KWL chart. Say: Now I know more about what the book is about. I see that dinosaur fossils are not the only kind of fossils people have found.
Model Reading Strategies • Point out the word millions on page 2 and ask students what strategies they could use to read the word. • Suggest the following reading strategies: You could use what you know about letters and sounds. You could recognize the sounds for the letters m, i, l, n, and s, and you could try different vowel sounds for the io combination. Then you could see if the word makes sense in the sentence.
Set a Purpose for Reading • Ask students to read the book to find out about fossils. Remind them to look for answers to their questions and to ask more questions as they read.
2
Finding Fossils
Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-4108-1394-7
During Reading....Ï Monitor Student Reading • Have students put self-stick notes next to words they have trouble with. • Observe students as they whisper read. Intervene as necessary to guide them to use appropriate strategies to read difficult words.
After Reading....Ï Reflect on Reading Strategies • Ask students whether they thought of any new questions about fossils as they read the book. Remind them that asking questions as they read will help them understand and stay involved with what they read. • Ask students to share words they found difficult to read. Ask them what strategies they used to read the words. Use these words, and any words you noticed students having difficulty with, to model appropriate reading strategies.
Assessment Tip
To check a student’s reading strategies, ask him to read a section of the text aloud to you while other students are whisper reading. Note whether the student is using visual, structure, and meaning cues to self-correct and/or make sense of the text.
ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Reflect on Reading Strategies Note the words English-language learners are having difficulty with. Ask them to define or use words to help you determine whether their problems relate to unfamiliar vocabulary or syntax.
Discuss Concepts • Ask: Why are fossils valuable? Have students answer the question. Then have them go back to the book and read aloud the parts that give this information. • Have pairs of students discuss the following questions: What are some different kinds of fossils? How is each kind of fossil made? Have the pairs share their answers with the group. • Refer to the KWL chart. Help students determine whether all the questions have been answered. If some have not been answered, ask students how they might find the answers.
Extend Concepts • Say: People are finding more fossils all the time. These fossils will tell us more about life millions of years ago. • Have pairs of students imagine that they are scientists who have recently found a new fossil. Ask them to be prepared to answer these questions about their fossil: Where was it found? What does it look like? What does it tell us about life on Earth millions of years ago?
Make Fiction-to-Fact™ Concept Connections If students have read Charlie’s Museum Adventure, ask: • Why do you think the scientists who find and study fossils put them in museums for people to see, as Charlie does in Charlie’s Museum Adventure? (They want everyone to be able to learn about dinosaurs and other forms of life from millions of years ago.) • What dinosaur that Charlie saw at the museum is named in Finding Fossils? (the triceratops, which Charlie compared to a rhinoceros)
• Have pairs draw a picture or make a model of their fossil. • Have pairs take turns telling the group about their fossil.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Finding Fossils
3
Small-Group Reading Lesson ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Model You may need to begin with the details in the chapter of a familiar book and use those to identify the main idea. Show students the relevant pictures and ask them what they see. Once they have named the details, ask them what all the pictures are about. Write their responses on chart paper under the headings Details and Main Idea. Explain how the two are related.
Practice and Apply If English-language learners have trouble finding facts that support each main idea, repeat the main idea sentence and ask questions that elicit the supporting details. For example, ask: What kind of fossil does the picture on page 4 show? How is it different from the kind of fossil on page 5?
Build Comprehension:
IDENTIFY MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS Model • Choose a familiar nonfiction book with chapters. Review the first chapter with students. Ask them what the chapter is about. Write a main idea sentence, for example, This chapter tells about different kinds of trees. Ask students what details the author gives that support, or help show, the main idea, for example, oaks, aspens, maples, and pines. Write the details under the main idea sentence. • Say: In a book with chapters, there is usually one “big idea” in each chapter. This big idea is supported by details, such as facts or examples. Practice • Distribute copies of the Main Idea and Details blackline master. Point out that students can use the chapter headings in Finding Fossils to help them identify the main idea in each chapter. Have them read the first chapter heading and find the answer to the question. Have them write the answer in the first box under Main Idea. • Help students identify the facts on pages 2–5 that support the main idea and state them in their own words. Have them write the facts in the first box under Details. Apply • Have students complete the blackline master by writing the main idea and details for chapters 2, 3, and 4 in the book. • Have students share their main ideas and details with the group. If some ideas conflict, have students use the text to review and correct any incorrect information. Chapter
1
Assessment Tip
Observe how students go about identifying main ideas and details. Note whether they are able to express the “big idea” in a chapter and point to facts that support that idea. If students have difficulty, you might want to provide additional modeling using the Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details Early Comprehension Strategy Poster referenced in Related Resources.
42
Louis Pasteur Finding Fossils
2
3
4
Main Idea Fossils are parts of or marks left by long-ago plants and animals.
Details
➔
Fossils are made when plant and animal parts or marks are saved in rock.
Fossils tell us about plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.
There are many different kinds of fossils.
Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago. Fossils tell us about dinosaurs.
➔
A plant or animal dies. It is covered with sand and dirt. More and more sand and dirt covers it. Over time, the sand and dirt turn into rock. Some parts of the plant or animal are saved in the rock. These are fossils.
➔
People put dinosaur fossils together. They build models of the dinosaurs based on how the fossils fit together. The models help them predict what dinosaurs looked like.
➔
dinosaur fossils fish fossils fern fossils insect fossils © 2003 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Writing Mini-Lesson: Asking Questions for Effect • Reread page 2 while students follow along. Say: The chapter heading is a question. We know that the text that follows will answer that question. But the author wrote questions in the text on this page too. Why do you think she did that? • Involve students in a discussion about using questions for effect: What questions does the author use in the text on the first page? (Have you ever heard of dinosaurs? How do we know about dinosaurs if they lived so long ago?)
writing Checklist
As students review their piece of writing, have them ask themselves: • Did I use any questions in my writing? • Do my questions make readers feel involved in my topic? • Did I use a question at the beginning? Should I? • Did I use a question at the end? Should I?
What is the purpose of the questions? (They keep readers involved and interested in the book. The author hopes readers will try to answer the questions and then read on to find the answers.) What other questions can you find in the book beside those in the chapter headings? What does that question add to the book? (Can you? is the final sentence of the book. It is a good ending, once again drawing readers in to take a personal interest in the subject.) • Use nonfiction books to show how other writers use questions for effect. Discuss with students how the questions keep readers interested and involved in what they are reading. • Write examples on chart paper to serve as models for students.
Link to Journal Writing Have students find a piece of nonfiction writing in their journals. Have them look to see whether they used any questions for effect in their writing. Have them decide whether they should use some questions to get readers more involved in their topic. If students don’t have a piece of nonfiction writing in their journal, ask them to begin a new piece of writing in which they include questions that capture reader’s interest.
Reread for fluency Read aloud sections of Finding Fossils using appropriate phrasing, intonation, and expression to model fluent reading. Have pairs of students take turns reading the pages of the book to each other.
Connect to home Have students read the take-home version of Finding Fossils to family members. Suggest that they talk about how fossils have helped people learn more about dinosaurs.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Finding Fossils
5
Skills Bank ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Phonics If students have difficulty hearing /ûr/ in words, say the following pairs of words and have them identify whether both words have the same vowel sound: fur/fee, bone/burn, turn/teen, stir/stay, dot/dirt, fern/fine, had/herd. Then repeat each pair of words and have students identify the word with /ûr/.
Vocabulary Pair English-language learners with native speakers to find words in the book that are related to fossils. Then have the pairs brainstorm additional words to add to the word web.
Word Study Reinforce the concept of time words and phrases by saying sentences about the class’s daily schedule using words such as first, next, later, after lunch, and in the morning. For example, First we check to see who is here. Later, we read books. After lunch, we have recess. In the afternoon, we have math and science. Have students repeat each sentence and identify the time word or phrase.
Phonemic Awareness: Manipulating Initial Sounds • Have students listen as you say the word rock. Ask: What is the beginning sound in rock? Let’s change /r/ to /l/. What is the new word? (lock) Now let’s change /l/ to /st/. What is the new word? (stock) • Have students change /d/ in dirt to /h/ and /sk/ (hurt, skirt), /s/ in sap to /tr/ and /scr/ (trap, scrap), /m/ in marks to /sp/ and /sh/ (sparks, sharks), and /s/ in sand to /gr/ and /b/ (grand, band).
Phonics: Variant Vowel Sound /ûr/ • Write the word dirt on the board and say it with students. Ask: What vowel sound do you hear in dirt? What letters stand for /ûr/ in dirt? Explain that the letters ir stand for the /ûr/ sound in dirt. Circle ir. • Continue in the same way with each of the following words: turned, learn, fern, were. Note that although all the words have /ûr/, each word has a different spelling for the sound. Explain that ir, ur, ear, er, and ere can all stand for the /ûr/ sound. • Write the following words on the board: earn, burn, third, perch, earth, hurt, shirt, herd. Have students sound out the words as you run your finger under each one. Remind them to use what they learned about spellings for /ûr/.
Vocabulary: Words Associated with Fossils • Have students look through the book and find words associated with fossils, such as dinosaurs, plants, animals, sand, dirt, footprints, bones, rock, and amber. Write fossils in the center circle of a word web. Record students’ words in the outer circles of the word web. • Have students explain how the words they chose are related to the concept of fossils. Encourage them to suggest related words that are not in the book. Add these to the word web.
Word Study: Time-Order Words and Phrases • Reread the second sentence on page 6. Point out the phrase after an animal died. Say: Some words or groups of words tell us when something happened. What does this group of words tell us? Which happened first— the animal died or it was covered with sand and dirt? Why is it important to know when things happened when we read about fossils? Help students recognize that to explain how fossils are made, the author must tell when each step in the process happens. • Help students find other words and phrases in the book that tell when.
6
Finding Fossils
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _______________________________________________________ Date ___________________
Main Idea and Details Chapter
Main Idea
Details
1
➔
2
➔
3
➔
4
➔
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Skills Bank Build Comprehension Identify Cause and Effect ••Explain Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Finding Fossils” or draw it on the board. Say: Nonfiction books sometimes tell about things that happen and why they happen. The reason something happens is the cause. What happens is the effect. If you find an effect, you can ask “Why?” to find the cause. ••Model Say: Let’s figure out the cause-and-effect relationships in Finding Fossils. Ask students to turn to pages 6 and 7. Say: We read that animal bones buried in sand and dirt turned into fossils. This is the effect. In the first Effect box, write Animal bones buried in sand and dirt turned into fossils. Then say: I wonder why they turned into fossils. On pages 6 and 7, I read that sand and dirt hardened into rock around the animal bones. This tells me why the animal bones turned into fossils. It is the cause. In the first Cause box, write Sand and dirt hardened into rock around the animal bones. ••Guide Say: Let’s find another cause and effect. Look on pages 8 and 9. What are these pages about? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, these pages tell about people studying fossils. “People study fossils” is the effect. Why do people study fossils? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, they study fossils because they want to learn about plants and animals that lived long ago. That is the cause. Write the cause and effect in the second row of the graphic organizer. ••Apply Ask students to work with a partner to find other causes and effects in the book. Remind them that a cause tells why an effect happens. After each partnership shares, agree on how to word the entries on the graphic organizer. Finally, invite volunteers to read the completed graphic organizer aloud.
8
Finding Fossils ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _______________________________________________________ Date __________________
Finding Fossils Fossils Identify Identify Cause Cause and and Effect Effect Cause
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Effect
Notes
10
Finding Fossils ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Notes
Finding Fossils ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
11
Name _______________________________________________________ Date ___________________
Words with /ûr/ bird
river
burn
stir
Earth
turn
learn
girl
her
first
1. Dad will _ __________________________ the leaves in the yard. 2. We read each day in _______________________________ grade. 3. A little red ___________________________ is singing in the tree. 4. I want to ____________________________________ how to swim. 5. Mom lets me_______________________________ the cake batter. 6. Let’s ________________________________ the page and read on. 7. That _______________________________________ is new in school. 8. The boat crossed the ________________________________________. 9. She left ______________________________________ coat at home. 10. Fossils tell us about _ __________________________ long ago.
Directions: Have students use the /ûr/ words from the word bank to complete the sentences. Then have them circle the letters that stand for /ûr/ sound in each word. © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Level I/15
Science
Teacher’s Guide Skills & Stragegies Anchor Comprehension Strategy
•• Identify Cause and Effect •• Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details Phonemic Awareness
•• Manipulate initial sounds
Phonics
•• Variant vowel /ûr/
Vocabulary
•• Words associated with fossils
Grammar/Word Study
•• Time-order words and phrases
Science Big Idea
•• Fossils tell us about the life of animals in the remote past.
Theme: Learning about Earth’s Past Science Concept: Fossils can tell us about Earth’s history. We can learn about dinosaurs by looking at fossils. Different dinosaurs had different characteristics to help them survive in their environment. B
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
C
o m p a n y
Small-Group Reading Lesson What I Know
What I Want to Learn
• Fossils are found in the ground. • People have found a lot of dinosaur fossils.
• What are fossils? • How do we find fossils? • Where do we find fossils? • How do fossils help us learn about dinosaurs?
ell
What I Learned
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Build Background Knowledge When defining the word fossil, show students the pictures on pages 4 and 5 of Finding Fossils. Explain that fossils may be parts of animals or plants, such as bones or leaves, or they may be marks left by animals or plants, such as footprints or imprints. Use modeling clay and a coin to demonstrate how the coin leaves a mark when pressed into the clay.
Build Vocabulary and Language Patterns As students preview the book, have students look at the picture on page 5. Say the word footprints and explain that footprints are the marks people’s and animals’ feet leave on the ground. Help students trace around their feet on butcher paper so that they can see their footprints. Have students look at the picture on page 15. Say the word sap and explain that sap is a sticky liquid inside trees. If a tree is cut, sap is found inside.
Before Reading.... Build Background Knowledge • Write the word fossils on the board. Ask students if they have ever heard of fossils. If not, define fossil and explain that because of dinosaur fossils, we have learned about dinosaurs. • Have pairs of students discuss what they know about fossils and dinosaurs. Have the pairs share their ideas with the group. Record their ideas in the K column of a KWL chart, like the one shown.
Model Asking Questions • Show students the cover illustration and read the title. Say: When I look at the cover and read the title, I think about what I know about the subject and what I would like to learn. Then I ask myself questions about what I see. This helps me understand what I read. When I look at this picture, I ask myself, “What are fossils? How do we find fossils?” • Ask students what questions they think of after looking at the cover. Write the questions in the W column of the KWL chart.
Preview the Book • Show students the table of contents and read through the chapter headings. Ask: Do these headings make you think of any questions we can add to the chart? • Preview each page in the book and ask students to describe what they see in the pictures. Ask them what new questions they have now about the topic of the book. Record these on the KWL chart. Say: Now I know more about what the book is about. I see that dinosaur fossils are not the only kind of fossils people have found.
Model Reading Strategies • Point out the word millions on page 2 and ask students what strategies they could use to read the word. • Suggest the following reading strategies: You could use what you know about letters and sounds. You could recognize the sounds for the letters m, i, l, n, and s, and you could try different vowel sounds for the io combination. Then you could see if the word makes sense in the sentence.
Set a Purpose for Reading • Ask students to read the book to find out about fossils. Remind them to look for answers to their questions and to ask more questions as they read.
2
Finding Fossils
Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-4108-1394-7
During Reading....Ï Monitor Student Reading • Have students put self-stick notes next to words they have trouble with. • Observe students as they whisper read. Intervene as necessary to guide them to use appropriate strategies to read difficult words.
After Reading....Ï Reflect on Reading Strategies • Ask students whether they thought of any new questions about fossils as they read the book. Remind them that asking questions as they read will help them understand and stay involved with what they read. • Ask students to share words they found difficult to read. Ask them what strategies they used to read the words. Use these words, and any words you noticed students having difficulty with, to model appropriate reading strategies.
Assessment Tip
To check a student’s reading strategies, ask him to read a section of the text aloud to you while other students are whisper reading. Note whether the student is using visual, structure, and meaning cues to self-correct and/or make sense of the text.
ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Reflect on Reading Strategies Note the words English-language learners are having difficulty with. Ask them to define or use words to help you determine whether their problems relate to unfamiliar vocabulary or syntax.
Discuss Concepts • Ask: Why are fossils valuable? Have students answer the question. Then have them go back to the book and read aloud the parts that give this information. • Have pairs of students discuss the following questions: What are some different kinds of fossils? How is each kind of fossil made? Have the pairs share their answers with the group. • Refer to the KWL chart. Help students determine whether all the questions have been answered. If some have not been answered, ask students how they might find the answers.
Extend Concepts • Say: People are finding more fossils all the time. These fossils will tell us more about life millions of years ago. • Have pairs of students imagine that they are scientists who have recently found a new fossil. Ask them to be prepared to answer these questions about their fossil: Where was it found? What does it look like? What does it tell us about life on Earth millions of years ago?
Make Fiction-to-Fact™ Concept Connections If students have read Charlie’s Museum Adventure, ask: • Why do you think the scientists who find and study fossils put them in museums for people to see, as Charlie does in Charlie’s Museum Adventure? (They want everyone to be able to learn about dinosaurs and other forms of life from millions of years ago.) • What dinosaur that Charlie saw at the museum is named in Finding Fossils? (the triceratops, which Charlie compared to a rhinoceros)
• Have pairs draw a picture or make a model of their fossil. • Have pairs take turns telling the group about their fossil.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Finding Fossils
3
Small-Group Reading Lesson ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Model You may need to begin with the details in the chapter of a familiar book and use those to identify the main idea. Show students the relevant pictures and ask them what they see. Once they have named the details, ask them what all the pictures are about. Write their responses on chart paper under the headings Details and Main Idea. Explain how the two are related.
Practice and Apply If English-language learners have trouble finding facts that support each main idea, repeat the main idea sentence and ask questions that elicit the supporting details. For example, ask: What kind of fossil does the picture on page 4 show? How is it different from the kind of fossil on page 5?
Build Comprehension:
IDENTIFY MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS Model • Choose a familiar nonfiction book with chapters. Review the first chapter with students. Ask them what the chapter is about. Write a main idea sentence, for example, This chapter tells about different kinds of trees. Ask students what details the author gives that support, or help show, the main idea, for example, oaks, aspens, maples, and pines. Write the details under the main idea sentence. • Say: In a book with chapters, there is usually one “big idea” in each chapter. This big idea is supported by details, such as facts or examples. Practice • Distribute copies of the Main Idea and Details blackline master. Point out that students can use the chapter headings in Finding Fossils to help them identify the main idea in each chapter. Have them read the first chapter heading and find the answer to the question. Have them write the answer in the first box under Main Idea. • Help students identify the facts on pages 2–5 that support the main idea and state them in their own words. Have them write the facts in the first box under Details. Apply • Have students complete the blackline master by writing the main idea and details for chapters 2, 3, and 4 in the book. • Have students share their main ideas and details with the group. If some ideas conflict, have students use the text to review and correct any incorrect information. Chapter
1
Assessment Tip
Observe how students go about identifying main ideas and details. Note whether they are able to express the “big idea” in a chapter and point to facts that support that idea. If students have difficulty, you might want to provide additional modeling using the Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details Early Comprehension Strategy Poster referenced in Related Resources.
42
Louis Pasteur Finding Fossils
2
3
4
Main Idea Fossils are parts of or marks left by long-ago plants and animals.
Details
➔
Fossils are made when plant and animal parts or marks are saved in rock.
Fossils tell us about plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.
There are many different kinds of fossils.
Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago. Fossils tell us about dinosaurs.
➔
A plant or animal dies. It is covered with sand and dirt. More and more sand and dirt covers it. Over time, the sand and dirt turn into rock. Some parts of the plant or animal are saved in the rock. These are fossils.
➔
People put dinosaur fossils together. They build models of the dinosaurs based on how the fossils fit together. The models help them predict what dinosaurs looked like.
➔
dinosaur fossils fish fossils fern fossils insect fossils © 2003 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Writing Mini-Lesson: Asking Questions for Effect • Reread page 2 while students follow along. Say: The chapter heading is a question. We know that the text that follows will answer that question. But the author wrote questions in the text on this page too. Why do you think she did that? • Involve students in a discussion about using questions for effect: What questions does the author use in the text on the first page? (Have you ever heard of dinosaurs? How do we know about dinosaurs if they lived so long ago?)
writing Checklist
As students review their piece of writing, have them ask themselves: • Did I use any questions in my writing? • Do my questions make readers feel involved in my topic? • Did I use a question at the beginning? Should I? • Did I use a question at the end? Should I?
What is the purpose of the questions? (They keep readers involved and interested in the book. The author hopes readers will try to answer the questions and then read on to find the answers.) What other questions can you find in the book beside those in the chapter headings? What does that question add to the book? (Can you? is the final sentence of the book. It is a good ending, once again drawing readers in to take a personal interest in the subject.) • Use nonfiction books to show how other writers use questions for effect. Discuss with students how the questions keep readers interested and involved in what they are reading. • Write examples on chart paper to serve as models for students.
Link to Journal Writing Have students find a piece of nonfiction writing in their journals. Have them look to see whether they used any questions for effect in their writing. Have them decide whether they should use some questions to get readers more involved in their topic. If students don’t have a piece of nonfiction writing in their journal, ask them to begin a new piece of writing in which they include questions that capture reader’s interest.
Reread for fluency Read aloud sections of Finding Fossils using appropriate phrasing, intonation, and expression to model fluent reading. Have pairs of students take turns reading the pages of the book to each other.
Connect to home Have students read the take-home version of Finding Fossils to family members. Suggest that they talk about how fossils have helped people learn more about dinosaurs.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Finding Fossils
5
Skills Bank ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Phonics If students have difficulty hearing /ûr/ in words, say the following pairs of words and have them identify whether both words have the same vowel sound: fur/fee, bone/burn, turn/teen, stir/stay, dot/dirt, fern/fine, had/herd. Then repeat each pair of words and have students identify the word with /ûr/.
Vocabulary Pair English-language learners with native speakers to find words in the book that are related to fossils. Then have the pairs brainstorm additional words to add to the word web.
Word Study Reinforce the concept of time words and phrases by saying sentences about the class’s daily schedule using words such as first, next, later, after lunch, and in the morning. For example, First we check to see who is here. Later, we read books. After lunch, we have recess. In the afternoon, we have math and science. Have students repeat each sentence and identify the time word or phrase.
Phonemic Awareness: Manipulating Initial Sounds • Have students listen as you say the word rock. Ask: What is the beginning sound in rock? Let’s change /r/ to /l/. What is the new word? (lock) Now let’s change /l/ to /st/. What is the new word? (stock) • Have students change /d/ in dirt to /h/ and /sk/ (hurt, skirt), /s/ in sap to /tr/ and /scr/ (trap, scrap), /m/ in marks to /sp/ and /sh/ (sparks, sharks), and /s/ in sand to /gr/ and /b/ (grand, band).
Phonics: Variant Vowel Sound /ûr/ • Write the word dirt on the board and say it with students. Ask: What vowel sound do you hear in dirt? What letters stand for /ûr/ in dirt? Explain that the letters ir stand for the /ûr/ sound in dirt. Circle ir. • Continue in the same way with each of the following words: turned, learn, fern, were. Note that although all the words have /ûr/, each word has a different spelling for the sound. Explain that ir, ur, ear, er, and ere can all stand for the /ûr/ sound. • Write the following words on the board: earn, burn, third, perch, earth, hurt, shirt, herd. Have students sound out the words as you run your finger under each one. Remind them to use what they learned about spellings for /ûr/.
Vocabulary: Words Associated with Fossils • Have students look through the book and find words associated with fossils, such as dinosaurs, plants, animals, sand, dirt, footprints, bones, rock, and amber. Write fossils in the center circle of a word web. Record students’ words in the outer circles of the word web. • Have students explain how the words they chose are related to the concept of fossils. Encourage them to suggest related words that are not in the book. Add these to the word web.
Word Study: Time-Order Words and Phrases • Reread the second sentence on page 6. Point out the phrase after an animal died. Say: Some words or groups of words tell us when something happened. What does this group of words tell us? Which happened first— the animal died or it was covered with sand and dirt? Why is it important to know when things happened when we read about fossils? Help students recognize that to explain how fossils are made, the author must tell when each step in the process happens. • Help students find other words and phrases in the book that tell when.
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Finding Fossils
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
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Skills Bank Build Comprehension Identify Cause and Effect ••Explain Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Finding Fossils” or draw it on the board. Say: Nonfiction books sometimes tell about things that happen and why they happen. The reason something happens is the cause. What happens is the effect. If you find an effect, you can ask “Why?” to find the cause. ••Model Say: Let’s figure out the cause-and-effect relationships in Finding Fossils. Ask students to turn to pages 6 and 7. Say: We read that animal bones buried in sand and dirt turned into fossils. This is the effect. In the first Effect box, write Animal bones buried in sand and dirt turned into fossils. Then say: I wonder why they turned into fossils. On pages 6 and 7, I read that sand and dirt hardened into rock around the animal bones. This tells me why the animal bones turned into fossils. It is the cause. In the first Cause box, write Sand and dirt hardened into rock around the animal bones. ••Guide Say: Let’s find another cause and effect. Look on pages 8 and 9. What are these pages about? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, these pages tell about people studying fossils. “People study fossils” is the effect. Why do people study fossils? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, they study fossils because they want to learn about plants and animals that lived long ago. That is the cause. Write the cause and effect in the second row of the graphic organizer. ••Apply Ask students to work with a partner to find other causes and effects in the book. Remind them that a cause tells why an effect happens. After each partnership shares, agree on how to word the entries on the graphic organizer. Finally, invite volunteers to read the completed graphic organizer aloud.
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Finding Fossils ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
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©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
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Finding Fossils ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
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Words with /ûr/ bird
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1. Dad will _ __________________________ the leaves in the yard. 2. We read each day in _______________________________ grade. 3. A little red ___________________________ is singing in the tree. 4. I want to ____________________________________ how to swim. 5. Mom lets me_______________________________ the cake batter. 6. Let’s ________________________________ the page and read on. 7. That _______________________________________ is new in school. 8. The boat crossed the ________________________________________. 9. She left ______________________________________ coat at home. 10. Fossils tell us about _ __________________________ long ago.
Directions: Have students use the /ûr/ words from the word bank to complete the sentences. Then have them circle the letters that stand for /ûr/ sound in each word. © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
