What can we Learn from Fossils?

Comprehension Questions:
1. On page 2, look at the paragraph beginning: Sometimes,
amazing fossils… Find and copy one word that means to allow
something to be seen that has been hidden.
The word reveal
2. “This remarkable fossil captures a larger fish eating a smaller
fish when they died. The event has been frozen in time since
the Paleogene Period.” What does the word remarkable tell
you about the fossil?
The word "remarkable" tells us that this fossil is very special and
amazing. It's not like most fossils because it shows a big fish eating a
smaller fish when they both died. People think it's really cool and
important because it's like a snapshot from a very long time ago. So,
"remarkable" means that this fossil is interesting and unique.
3. Look at page 1. What is the name given to someone who
studies fossils?
Scientists who study fossils are called paleontologists.
4. Look at pages 11 -12. Complete the table with facts from the
text.
The name of the Mary Anning
paleontologist who
discovered the first plesiosaur
The name of the Charles Marsh
paleontologist who gave the
Triceratops its name.
The name of the Sir Richard Owen
paleontologist who first used
the word “dinosaur”.
The name of the geologist William Buckland
who named the first dinosaur

5.Look at pages 9 and 10. Some fossil sites have become

famous for the extraordinary fossils they contain. List the four
fossil sites and the reason they are famous.
Fossil site Reason it is famous
the Solnhofen Limestone in One of the most fossil-rich
Germany areas in the world contains
millions of Jurassic fossils,
including some with
preserved feathers.
The Valley of the Moon, in is most famous for containing
Argentina fossils of the earliest-known
dinosaurs. They are from the
Triassic Period.
The Gobi Desert in China and It has revealed some
Mongolia spectacular finds from the
Cretaceous, including the first
dinosaur eggs and nests
Burgess Shale, and it is found The first fossils were
in Canada discovered here in 1909 by
paleontologist Charles
 Doolittle Walcott.

6. Look at pages 5 and 6. Explain the two main differences

between an ammonite fossil and how an ammonite would have
looked when it was living.
 Shape:
 Ammonite Fossil: Ammonite fossils are usually flat, or
spiral-shaped rocks with a pattern of a coiled shell on them.
They are like a flat, hard circle made of rock.
 Living Ammonite: When ammonites were alive, they had a
beautiful, curved, spiral-shaped shell. Their shells were
more 3D, like a snail's shell, and not flat like the fossils.
 Color:
 Ammonite Fossil: Ammonite fossils are often just one
color, like gray, brown, or black because they are made of
rock. They don't have bright colors.
 Living Ammonite: Ammonites that were alive had colorful
shells! They could have been red, brown, green, or even
have pretty patterns on them. They were much more vibrant
when they were swimming in the sea.
So, the main differences are in their shape flat fossil vs. 3D
spiral shell and their color dull in fossils, colorful in life.

8. In one sentence summaries the information shown on pages

7 and 8.
On pages 7 and 8 it talks about Early Earth, Paleozoic Era,
Mesozoic Era, Cenozoic Era.