LESSON 17 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Mysteries from Long Ago
by Anne Finn
Fountas-Pinnell Level P
Informational Text
Selection Summary
Scientists 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.
Number of Words: 936
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Informational Text
• Three sections with headings, each 3-4 pages
• Each section describes a scientific mystery and follows the process scientists have taken
to solve it.
• 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
• 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.
• Writer addresses the reader directly (second person)
• Terms defined within the text
• A mix of short and more complex sentences
• Many sentences begin with introductory clauses.
• Vocabulary related to content: prehistoric, evidence, migrated, hibernated
• Animal body parts, some of which may be unfamiliar: snout, flippers
• Many multisyllable words: prehistoric, Antarctica, hibernated
• Dinosaur names respelled in phonetic spelling
• 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 poles
• 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.
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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Mysteries from Long Ago
by Anne Finn
Build Background
Ask 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 Text
Guide 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 find out how scientists solve fossil
mysteries.
Target Vocabulary
buried – something covered or
hidden, often underground, p.
14
fossils – parts of things that lived
long ago, such as bones or
footprints, p. 2
clues – facts that help solve a
problem or mystery, p. 5
locations – the places where
something is found, p. 14
evidence – facts or signs that
show something is true, p. 3
proved –shown that something is
true, p. 8
fierce – wild, strong, or
dangerous, p. 3
remains – n. things that are left
over, p. 6
Grade 3
2
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
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Read
Have students read Mysteries from Long Ago silently while you listen to individual
students read. Support their problem solving and fluency as needed.
Remind students to use the Visualize Strategy
to picture what is happening as they read.
and use selection details
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite 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 Thinking
As 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.
• A scientist’s job is to solve
mysteries about the natural
world.
• The illustrations show what
dinosaurs and other extinct
animals may have looked like.
• 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 photographs of fossils
include humans or other markers
to show scale.
• Animals alive today are related to
animals that were alive long ago.
• Animal species change and
evolve over time.
• 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.
Grade 3
3
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 17.8.
Responding
Have 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 Skill
Conclusions
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 first box.
Practice the Skill
Have students write two sentences telling a conclusion they have made about fossils from
reading the book.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have 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, find 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, find the detail that showed scientists that the Pakicetus might be related to
a whale.
Grade 3
4
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English Language Development
Reading 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 Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency 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 1: What were “winter
dinosaurs”?
Speaker 2: (Student turns to page 4.)
Speaker 2: Winter dinosaurs were
dinosaurs that lived in cold places.
Speaker 1: What is one mystery
that scientists still do not know
the answer to?
Speaker 1: Do fossils take a long time
or a short time to form?
Speaker 2: a long time
Speaker 1: What is one kind of fossil
that scientists found?
Speaker 2: Possible responses: dinosaur
footprints; bones from dinosaurs.
Speaker 2: Possible responses:
How dinosaurs survived in
cold places; what dinosaurs
ate during cold winters; where
whales came from.
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Lesson 17
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 17.8
Date
Critical Thinking
Mysteries from Long Ago
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text What first 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.
Read directions to students.
10
Critical Thinking
Grade 3, Unit 4: Extreme Nature
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Grade 3
5
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Name
Date
Mysteries from Long Ago
Thinking 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.
Grade 3
6
Lesson 17: Mysteries from Long Ago
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Lesson 17
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 17.8
Date
Critical Thinking
Mysteries from Long Ago
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text What first 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.
Grade 3
7
Lesson 17: Mysteries from Long Ago
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Student
Lesson 17
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 17.12
Mysteries from Long Ago
Mysteries from Long Ago
Running Record Form
LEVEL P
page
2
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
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.
3
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:
(# words read
correctly/103 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 3
Behavior
Error
0
0
1
8
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
Word told
T
cat
cat

Error
1414071
Behavior
1
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