03_Home_Reading2 (03_Home_Reading2)
Name:_____________________________________________
Date:________________________
Finding a fossil is fun, and so is making one. Read the directions on how to do it and then answer the questions
that follow.
Activity: Make Your Own Fossil
Finding a real fossil is terrific! Fossils are rocks that contain the imprint of bones, shells, or leaves that existed
thousands—maybe even millions—of years ago. You may not find a real fossil very often—or ever. But you can
make your own fossil. Here are directions for making your own fossil.
You will need:
· 1 small bag of plaster of Paris (ask at a hardware store)
· Water
· 1 empty coffee can
· 1 old aluminum pie or cake pan
· Something to stir with (like a paint-stirring stick)
· Some small objects to press into your fossil (shells, leaves, stones, buttons, bottle caps, even your hand will
do)
· A piece of picture-hanging wire (if you want to hang your fossil on the wall)
· A cup
How to do it:
1. Spread newspapers on the floor or table where you are going to work. (This can get messy!)
2. Collect your "fossil objects."
3. Pour a cup of plaster of Paris into the coffee can.
4. Stir in enough water until it looks like thick pancake batter, following the directions on the box.
5. Pour the plaster of Paris mixture into the aluminum pan.
6. Place your fossil objects on the plaster and press down firmly.
7. If you want to hang your fossil on the wall when it's dry, twist a piece of wire into a loop and stick it into
the top of the mold.
8. Wait 5 minutes, then carefully remove the objects.
9. Let the plaster dry, remove it from the pan, and YOU HAVE MADE A FOSSIL!!
If you can't get plaster of Paris, you can also make a fossil with clay.
1.
Which would NOT be good to use to make a fossil?
A. a chicken feather
B. dead leaf
C. a piece of paper
D. fish bones
2.
Someone might read this story to
A. find a project for science class.
B. learn how to make plaster of Paris.
C. discover where to look for fossils.
D. find out how fossils form in nature.
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3.
When making a fossil, the coffee can is used to
A. wash the pie pan.
B. pour the water.
C. hold the fossil objects you collect.
D. mix the plaster of Paris.
4.
What can you use in place of plaster of Paris to make a fossil?
A. flour
B. glue
C. clay
D. sugar
5.
You must remove the "fossil objects" 5 minutes after you put them in place. If you do not do so, what will
happen?
A. They will not leave an imprint.
B. The plaster of Paris will not get hard.
C. They will get stuck in the hard plaster.
D. They will sink into the plaster.
6.
The writer gives step 4 to tell how
A. thick the plaster of Paris must be.
B. long to stir the mixture.
C. much plaster of Paris to use.
D. to make pancake batter.
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03_Home_Reading2 (03_Home_Reading2)
Sometimes children are made to do things they do not wish to do. "My Mom Made Me Go to Camp" tells how
one child felt about going to camp. Read it and answer the questions.
from My Mom Made Me Go to Camp
by Judith Delton
"Camp," I said. "I'm not old enough to go to camp."
"Sure you are," said my mom. "Camp is fun. You will weave baskets and swim and fish and learn the names of
wildflowers. You will put up a tent and gather firewood. You will roast hot dogs and marshmallows over an open
fire."
The marshmallows sounded like fun.
The grass got greener. The sun got warmer. Flowers started coming up in our yard. And school was out. I knew it
was summer.
"We have to shop for your camp things," said my mother.
"What things?" I said.
"Shoes and a swimsuit and a sleeping bag. Shorts and bug spray and a first-aid kit."
"I don't want to sleep in a sleeping bag. I hate bugs. And I don't want any first aid."
"You'll have a good time," said my mother. "We have a lot to do. I have to sew labels in all your clothes."
"Don't they know who I am?" I cried. "I don't want to be labeled!"
"That's just in case they lose your things," she said.
"Or if they lose ME," I muttered.
Soon it was time to go to camp. It was pouring rain. I didn't know anybody. And my new sneakers gave me a
blister.
"Good-by!" called my mother, outside of the bus window. "Have a good time! Don't go into deep water! Be
careful near the fire! Take your vitamin pill! Write me a postcard!"
The bus started and soon my mother was just a little dot in front of the drugstore. I was on my way to camp.
7.
"My mother was just a little dot in front of the drugstore." This sentence means that the mother
A. was hidden in the crowd of people.
B. looked in the drugstore at all the small things.
C. was left behind and soon forgotten.
D. looked tiny because she was so far away.
8.
This story is mostly about a
A. camper trying to put up a tent.
B. child getting ready to go to camp.
C. bus driver taking children on a trip.
D. mother shopping for shoes and shorts.
9.
A COMPOUND word is a new word made of two other words. Which word is a compound word?
A. window
B. sleeping
C. firewood
D. sneakers
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10.
The child went to camp in the
A. fall.
B. spring.
C. winter.
D. summer.
11.
Which word means the OPPOSITE of colder?
A. roast
B. fire
C. deep
D. warmer
12.
Which did the child like about what campers do?
A. roasting marshmallows
B. swimming and fishing
C. sleeping in a sleeping bag
D. learning about wildflowers
13.
How did the child get to camp?
A. on a bus
B. in a car
C. on a train
D. walked
14.
How did the child feel about going away to camp?
A. afraid
B. angry
C. unhappy
D. excited
15.
What kind of writing is "My Mom Made Me Go To Camp"?
A. a poem
B. a story of everyday life
C. a letter
D. a folk tale
16.
Look at the words below.
we you me anybody
How are they alike?
A. They are words that tell WHO.
B. They are words that tell WHEN.
C. They are DESCRIBING words.
D. They are ACTION words.
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Princess Poem
I have a dog named Princess
Her coat is golden brown
She always helps me laugh and smile
Whenever I feel down.
If I am feeling joyful
She's there to join the fun
We run and jump and tumble
We play out in the sun.
Sometimes I feel silly
I dress her up in clothes
I even put a hat on her
Or glasses on her nose.
Princess is my best friend
She's loyal and she's smart
If I could have my wish come true
We'd never be apart.
Next year I go to first grade
I wonder how it will be
Will the teacher be a good one?
Can Princess come with me?
17.
I will meet a lot of new friends
And learn to read and write
If I can take my Princess there
Then it will be all right.
But if I have to leave her
All day at home alone
I know that she'll be lonely
Just chewing on her bone.
Someday when I am grown-up
I'd like to start a school
Where every child must bring a dog
And it would be a rule.
But since I am still little
And I still don't call the shots
When I go off to school next year
I'll miss my Princess lots.
This passage was probably written by
A. a mother.
B. a teacher.
C. a young adult.
D. a small child.
18.
This passage is mostly about
A. a special dog.
B. a beautiful day.
C. going off to school.
D. meeting new friends.
19.
What problem does the writer have near the end of the passage?
A. The writer wants to go to first grade.
B. Princess has a new best friend.
C. The writer can't take Princess to school.
D. Princess doesn't have any bones to chew.
20.
The author wishes that Princess
A. will like going to school.
B. will always be close by.
C. would make new friends.
D. would stay in dress-up clothes.
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Answer Key
1. C) a piece of paper
2. A) find a project for science class.
3. D) mix the plaster of Paris.
4. C) clay
5. C) They will get stuck in the hard plaster.
6. A) thick the plaster of Paris must be.
7. D) looked tiny because she was so far away.
8. B) child getting ready to go to camp.
9. C) firewood
10. D) summer.
11. D) warmer
12. A) roasting marshmallows
13. A) on a bus
14. C) unhappy
15. B) a story of everyday life
16. A) They are words that tell WHO.
17. D) a small child.
18. A) a special dog.
19. C) The writer can't take Princess to school.
20. B) will always be close by.
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