Read about it: Fossils

25

What Can We Learn from Fossils

1 Relate

What do you already
know about fossils?
What would you like
to know about
fossils?

2 Identify

As you read, think about
what fossils can tell us
about extinct plants and
animals.

3 Share

Talk with a partner
about what you learned.
Write a summary that
describes the main idea
of the text.

​Grab a text, read with your partner and answer the questions!!

Open Ended

How do scientists use fossil footprints to make inferences about extinct animals?

Sentence stem: Scientists can infer using fossil footprints by.....

Open Ended

 What can trace fossils tell scientists about the past?

Sentence stem: Trace fossils can tell scientists.......

Multiple Choice

What can we learn from fossils of extinct plants?

• We can learn about past climates, ecosystems, and what plants looked like

• Fossils show how plants can fly.
• Fossils indicate the exact age of the Earth.
• Fossils provide recipes for ancient plant dishes.

Open Ended

What do animal fossils provide?

Sentence stem: Animal fossils can provide.....

Match

Match the following Vocabulary words. Use the text.

• All living and nonliving parts of a location including air, water, plants, and animals

• The remains of an organism, plant, or animal that lived long ago

• A term used to describe a species that no longer exists

• Information that helps prove that something is true

• To make a guess

Ecosystem

Fossil

Extinct

Evidence

Infer

• Ecosystem

• Fossil

• Extinct

• Evidence

• Infer