You are going to read a dinosaur mystery. Here are four facts to know first.
Learning Objective: Students will learn background knowledge about dinosaurs before they read this issue’s Big Read, “The Last Days of the Dinosaurs.”
1. Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.
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Brachiosaurus;Tyrannosaurus rex; Parasaurolophus; Ankylosaurus; Triceratops
They are some of the biggest animals that ever lived! There were more than 700 kinds of dinosaurs. Some dinosaurs walked on two legs, and some walked on four legs. Some dinosaurs ate other animals, but some ate only plants.
2. Dinosaurs are now extinct.
That means they aren’t alive anymore. Around 66 million years ago, the dinosaurs died out.
3. Fossils tell us what happened long ago.
© Natural History Museum, London/Bridgeman Images (scientist); Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Alamy Stock Photo (T-Rex fossil)
A scientist digging up a fossil; A T. rex fossil in a museum
Fossils are what is left of plants and animals from a long time ago. Dinosaur bones turned into fossils over many, many years. Scientists have dug up many dinosaur fossils from the ground.
4. Asteroids are a kind of space rock.
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asteroid
Asteroids are rocks that move around the sun. Some are huge and some are small. They are made up of rock, dust, and metal.
What do space rocks have to do with dinosaurs? Turn the page to see!
