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Dinosaur Reading Comprehension

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Dinosaur Reading Comprehension

Read the passage, then use details from it to answer the questions. For written answers, use complete sentences when you can.

A Fossil Discovery

At the Natural History Museum, Diego and Lucy stopped beside a large fossil skeleton. Its long tail stretched behind it, and sharp teeth filled its open jaws. A sign said the fossil belonged to an Allosaurus, a meat-eating dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago. “Did this dinosaur really look exactly like this?” Lucy asked. The museum guide explained that scientists compare fossils to learn about dinosaurs. Fossils are the remains or traces of ancient living things preserved in rock. Some fossils are bones. Others are footprints or marks left by plants. Scientists study the shape of bones and teeth to make careful guesses about how a dinosaur moved and what it ate. The Allosaurus’s pointed teeth were useful for cutting meat. Its strong legs may have helped it run after prey. But scientists cannot know every detail of its life. They share ideas supported by evidence, and new fossil discoveries can change what scientists think. Diego noticed a small footprint cast beside the skeleton. The sign explained that the original footprint had been found in stone. A cast is a model made to show the shape of something real. Diego imagined the dinosaur walking across soft ground long ago. He and Lucy left the museum with a new idea: fossils are clues that help us investigate the distant past.

Read Like a Dinosaur Detective

Use evidence from the passage in your answers.

1.What is the passage mostly about?

How fossils give scientists clues about dinosaurs
How to build a dinosaur model
Why museums should have fewer signs

2.Choose TWO details that support the main idea.

Scientists study the shape of bones and teeth.
Fossils can include footprints.
Diego and Lucy visited a museum.
Lucy asked a question.

3.In the passage, what is a fossil?

4.What clue suggests that the Allosaurus ate meat? Explain how the clue helps you know.

5.Scientists can know every detail about how an Allosaurus lived.

TrueFalse

6.Scientists compare fossils to learn about dinosaurs. Fossils are like from the past.

7.Number these events from 1 to 3 in the order Diego and Lucy encounter them in the passage.

They notice a footprint cast.
They stop beside a fossil skeleton.
They learn how scientists study fossils.

_____
_____
_____

8.What is a cast, and how did it help visitors understand the footprint?

9.The passage says the Allosaurus had strong legs that may have helped it run after prey. What does the word “may” tell you about this idea?

10.Imagine you could ask a paleontologist one question about fossils. Write a question that could help you learn more about how scientists investigate dinosaurs.