LESSON 17 TEACHER’S GUIDE
The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
by Katrina Van Horn
Fountas-Pinnell Level Q
Informational Text
Selection Summary
As a young person, paleontologist Jack Horner had trouble in
school due to dyslexia. In spite of this, Horner became a successful
paleontologist and made many important fossil discoveries. His
accomplishments were ultimately recognized when he received,
among other distinctions, a MacArthur “Genius Award.”
Number of Words: 1,278
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
• Introduction begins with Horner’s childhood and his problems in school
• Four sections with headings, from 2-5 pages long
• Part of text is biographical and follows a generally consecutive sequence of events
• Dinosaur fossils and what they can show scientists about dinosaur behavior
• Biography of paleontologist Jack Horner
• People achieve success in spite of a learning disability.
• Seeing things differently can lead to important discoveries.
• Following your dreams can bring success and a joy in your work.
• Fossil clues help solve questions that scientists have about the past.
• Conversational language
• Third person narrator
• Subject of the book is referred to by his last name
• Includes quotations from Jack Horner
• Compound and complex sentences
• Content vocabulary: paleontologist, extinct, fossils, predator, scavenger, behavior, mates,
offspring, adapting, species, colony, evidence
• Vocabulary related to education: dyslexia, memorize, expertise, honorary degree
• Several challenging multisyllable words
• Dinosaur names, such as Orodromeus and achelousaurus horneri are phonetically
respelled.
• Photographs of Horner at work and realistic illustrations of dinosaurs
• Most illustrations with captions
• Thirteen pages of text, with illustrations on every other page
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly
permitted by federal copyright law.
Permission is hereby granted to individual teachers using the corresponding (discipline) Leveled Readers to photocopy student worksheets from this publication
in classroom quantities for instructional use and not for resale. Requests for information on other matters regarding duplication of this work should be
addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 SouthPark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819.
Printed in the U.S.A.
978-0-547-30611-7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and
they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.
Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
3_306117_AL_LRTG_L17_ManDigsDinos.indd 1
11/2/09 9:43:10 PM
The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
by Katrina Van Horn
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of dinosaurs and the scientists who study them.
Build interest by asking questions such as the following: What facts do you know about
dinosaurs? How do you think scientists discovered those facts? Read the title and author
and talk about the cover photograph. Tell students that this book is informational text so
the words and photos 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:
Page 2: Explain that the subject of this text is a famous scientist named Jack
Horner who discovered many dinosaurs.
Suggested language: This book is about a paleontologist named Jack Horner. A
paleontologist is a scientist who studies life from long ago. Horner always loved
science and found his first dinosaur bones when he was eight years old! Have you
ever imagined that someone your age could find fossils?
Page 4: Explain that when Jack Horner was a boy, he wasn’t good at math or
reading because he had dyslexia. How do you think a learning disability like
dyslexia would make a young boy who loved science feel?
Page 5: Help students read the dinosaur names using the phonetic spelling
provided in parentheses. Scientists often give dinosaurs long names that can
be difficult to read, so in this book, the writer gives the reader help. Look at the
bottom of page 5. The last sentence includes three tricky dinosaur names. To help
you read the names, read the syllables that are shown between parentheses. Let’s
try them: trie SER a tops; ti RAN oh SAWR us REX; ANG ki lo SAWR us.
Page 12: Explain that Jack Horner made so many dinosaur discoveries that he won
many important awards. One of the awards Horner won was called the “Genius
Award.” How do you think a man who had trouble reading in school could end up
winning an award for being so smart?
Now turn back to the beginning of this book to learn about Jack Horner’s important
dinosaur discoveries.
Expand Your Vocabulary
adapting – to change so as to
fit a new or specific use or
situation, p. 12
dyslexia – a learning disability
that is usually marked by
problems in reading, spelling,
and writing, p. 4
Grade 3
expertise – the skill of an expert,
p. 12
hunch – n. a strong feeling about
what will happen, p. 10
genius – a very gifted person, p.
12
unearthed – dug up, discovered,
p. 7
herbivore – a plant-eating animal,
p. 7
2
Lesson 17: The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
3_306117_AL_LRTG_L17_ManDigsDinos.indd 2
7/28/09 4:11:22 PM
Read
Have students read The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs 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 did you learn about dinosaurs and paleontologists that you
didn’t know before?
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
• Jack Horner had trouble in
school when he was a boy
because he had dyslexia.
• Looking at things from a
different perspective can lead to
important discoveries.
• The section headings give a
good idea of what information
will be covered.
• As an adult, he made many
important dinosaur discoveries.
• Even if you fail at doing one
thing, you could be very
successful doing something else.
• The picture of Horner with a
group of boys reminds the
reader of when Horner dug for
dinosaurs
• He believed that learning what
dinosaurs looked like is less
important than learning about
their behavior.
• Studying dinosaur fossils can
teach scientists about dinosaur
behavior, even though they
have never observed the living
animals.
• The pictures of Horner and the
Maiasaurus and the illustration
of his license plate show the
reader that he really loves his
work.
© 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 in the
dinosaur names, which are spelled 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 that when they come to a new word
they can look for smaller words within it that they know. For example, in the word
remains on page 2, they can read the smaller word main, then remains. Continue with
these examples from the book: in, tell—intelligent; in, rest,—interested; expect—
expectations; cover—discoveries; man—manage.
Grade 3
3
Lesson 17: The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
3_306117_AL_LRTG_L17_ManDigsDinos.indd 3
12/21/09 6:52:34 PM
Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 17.9.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the strategy 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 Jack Horner is good at his work? On page 13, the text says
that he had two dinosaur species named after him. I can write about that
text clue in the second box. I can look for one more text clue and then
write my conclusion in the bottom box.
Practice the Skill
Have students write two sentences telling a conclusion they have made about Jack
Horner’s childhood 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
• Explain what page 6 is mostly about.
• In paragraph 1 on page 7, find the word that means almost the same as dug up.
• At the end of the book, the reader can probably tell that
________________________________________________________________.
Grade 3
4
Lesson 17: The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
3_306117_AL_LRTG_L17_ManDigsDinos.indd 4
11/2/09 9:43:36 PM
English Language Development
Reading Support Lead a class discussion about what it feels like to have problems
understanding something in school. Have students draw comparisons between their
personal experience with learning English or other challenges they have faced in school
and Jack Horner’s difficulties with memorizing information and learning how to read.
Idioms A phrasal verb is an idiom that combines a verb and a preposition to give new
meaning to the original verb. The meanings of phrasal verbs can be difficult for English
learners. Some of the phrasal verbs in this text include: grew up (p. 2); figured out (p. 7);
left behind (p. 10); named after (p. 13); and back up (p. 14).
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: Is this book about a pretend
character or real person?
Speaker 1: What was difficult for Jack
Horner when he was a child?
Speaker 1: What did Jack Horner
learn about dinosaur mothers?
Speaker 2: a real person
Speaker 2: Reading and math were
difficult for Jack Horner.
Speaker 2: The dinosaurs had to
travel away from their nests to
get food for their babies. They
took good care of their babies.
Speaker 1: What is the mother
dinosaur doing in the picture on page
8?
Speaker 2: giving food to the baby
dinosaurs
Speaker 1: What did Horner learn by
studying the dinosaur egg nests on
page 8?
Speaker 2: He learned that dinosaurs
took good care of their babies.
3_246239RTXEAN_L16-20CT.indd Page Sec1:11 3/7/09 12:04:35 AM user-043
/Volumes/118/HS00117/work%0/indd%0/Critical_Thinking/3_246239RTXEAN_U04L16-20CT
Lesson 17
Name
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 17.9
Critical Thinking
The Man Who Digs
Dinosaurs
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text Why did Jack Horner have trouble
in school, even though he was smart and tried hard?
He had a learning problem called dyslexia.
2. Think within the text Why is Jack Horner more
interested in studying existing fossils than finding new
ones?
He thinks the fossils we already have continue to tell us how
dinosaurs lived.
3. Think beyond the text Why do you think Horner does
not want his students to memorize information for tests?
Possible response: Memorizing information is not the same as understanding it.
4. Think about the text What trait or ability has most
helped Jack Horner succeed as a scientist?
Responses will vary.
Making Connections Jack Horner believes that it is “just as okay
to be wrong as it is to be right.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain
your opinion.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Read directions to students.
Critical Thinking
11
Grade 3, Unit 4: Extreme Nature
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Grade 3
5
Lesson 17: The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
3_306117_AL_LRTG_L17_ManDigsDinos.indd 5
7/28/09 4:11:24 PM
Name
Date
The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one or two
paragraphs:
The author says on page 11 that “while other paleontologists focus on
finding new species, Horner is much more interested in studying existing
fossils.” Name two of Jack Horner’s discoveries that made other scientists
think about dinosaurs in new ways. How did Horner’s discoveries convince
them that their old ways of thinking were incorrect?
Grade 3
6
Lesson 17: The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
3_306117_AL_LRTG_L17_ManDigsDinos.indd 6
7/28/09 4:11:25 PM
Lesson 17
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 17.9
Date
Critical Thinking
The Man Who Digs
Dinosaurs
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text Why did Jack Horner have trouble
in school, even though he was smart and tried hard?
2. Think within the text Why is Jack Horner more
interested in studying existing fossils than finding new
ones?
3. Think beyond the text Why do you think Horner does
not want his students to memorize information for tests?
4. Think about the text What trait or ability has most
helped Jack Horner succeed as a scientist?
Making Connections Jack Horner believes that it is “just as okay
to be wrong as it is to be right.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain
your opinion.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 3
7
Lesson 17: The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
3_306117_AL_LRTG_L17_ManDigsDinos.indd 7
7/28/09 4:11:27 PM
Student
Lesson 17
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 17.13
The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
The Man Who Digs
Dinosaurs
Running Record Form
LEVEL Q
page
7
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
One of Horner’s most famous discoveries took place in 1978,
when he unearthed a dinosaur no one had ever found before.
Horner carefully studied the dinosaur’s bones for clues about
how the creature looked and lived. He figured out the dinosaur
was a big, duck-billed plant-eater, or herbivore, that roamed
around Montana about 77 million years ago.
Horner named the dinosaur Maiasaura (MAY ya SAWR a),
which means “good mother lizard.” He gave it that name
because its bones were near nests containing remains of eggs
and baby dinosaurs. Horner studied these nests and eggs
carefully, too.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/95 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 3
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414012
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
Lesson 17: The Man Who Digs Dinosaurs
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
3_306117_AL_LRTG_L17_ManDigsDinos.indd 8
7/28/09 4:11:27 PM