CCSS ELA Review Week 5
How a 12-year-old Girl Made an Incredible Discovery that
Changed the World
By Lauren Tarshis
In 1811, a 12-year-old girl stood on
a beach in southern England. There, she
found something that shocked the world.
The girl was Mary Anning. She lived in a
small town called Lyme Regis. Her father
had died a few months before. Now the
family was broke.
Mary had been close to her father.
For years, they had gone together to the
beach a mile from their house. There, they
searched for unusual shells and rocks they
could sell.
But this new find was not like
anything Mary—or scientists—had ever
seen. Mary unearthed it from the beach. It
was 17 feet long. It was the skeleton of a
creature with the face of a crocodile, the
body of a lizard, dolphin-like flippers, and a
tail like a shark’s. It seemed like a monster
from a story.
But this creature came from a place
stranger than any book. It was a huge
marine reptile. It would later be named
Ichthyosaurus.
It had lived perhaps 200 million years
before, in the time of the dinosaurs.
A Dazzling World
Imagine what it was like to see such
a skeleton in 1811. Back then, no one on
Earth had heard of dinosaurs. Today,
experts have told us what the Earth would
have been like 200 million years ago.
We can almost feel the hot, moist air. We
can picture the oceans full of marine
reptiles, some as big as cars. And on land
walked the giants. The Allosaurus had
huge jaws. The Brachiosaurus was so tall
that its head seem to skim the clouds. The
lightning- fast Dilophosaurus had sharp
claws. There were likely thousands of
types of dinosaurs on Earth during the
different prehistoric eras. But they died out
millions of years before humans first
appeared.
That world was completely
unknown when Mary found the skeleton.
The most respected scientists in the world
believed that Earth was only about 6,000
years old. Few believed that an animal
could become extinct. The word dinosaur
did not yet exist.
Monsters and Giants
There had been odd fossil finds
before. People had seen strange bones in
dried riverbeds and gruesome skeletons
smiling out from cliffsides. They’d found
huge footprints embedded in rocks. How
did they explain such finds? It’s likely that
many of the giants and monsters from
ancient myths were inspired by fossils. The
Greeks believed that this half eagle, half
lion guarded gold mines. It looks a lot like
the skeleton of the Protoceratops, a fourlegged dinosaur with a huge beak. Maybe
gold miners in the Gobi Desert found
Protoceratops skeletons; there are many in
this region. The remains had huge-beaked
skulls and long, spiny tails. Is it so strange
that the miners thought they came from a
type of monster? And were they so wrong?
By the 19th century, many believed
that fossil skeletons came from creatures
that still lived somewhere on Earth. In
1801, a farmer in New York found a
complete skeleton of a huge creature in
one of his fields. Was it a new species of
carnivorous elephant? The skeleton was
displayed in a Philadelphia museum.
Scientists thought this creature
could still be found somewhere in America.
But where? Two years later, President
Thomas Jefferson sent two men to lead a
team of explorers in the American West.
CCSS ELA Review Week 5
The men were Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark. Back then, the West was an
unmapped wilderness.
Lewis and Clark helped map the
West. They brought home specimens of
many birds, reptiles, and mammals. But
they brought no giant elephants. A few
years later, the famous skeleton was
correctly identified as a mastodon. This
large land mammal once roamed North
America. It died out about 10,000 years
ago.
New Ideas
It was just a few years after Lewis
and Clark came home that Mary found her
skeleton. First her brother saw a 4-footlong skull buried in the sand. Then Mary
found the rest. Each day for months, she
went back to the beach. She braved huge
waves and falling rocks. With care, she
chipped away at the rock around the
skeleton. It took four men to help her get it
home. She soon sold it. The money she
got fed her family for months. The skeleton
was displayed in a small London museum.
People came from all over to see it.
Mary’s skeleton was one of the
most important fossils ever found. By then,
new ideas had come up. Experts
wondered if the
Earth could be older than they’d thought.
And they thought fossils might be
remnants of long-extinct animals. Unlike
the mastodon bones, Mary’s skeleton
clearly did not come from any creature still
living on Earth. To many experts, it proved
that animals could become extinct. Mary’s
find helped start a new field of science—
paleontology, the study of fossils. Soon
scientists would change our view of Earth’s
natural history.
New Discoveries
Over the next few decades, Mary
found more fossils. Scientists came to
Lyme Regis to comb the beach and talk
with her.
So why isn’t Mary Anning famous
like other great scientists from history?
You’ve heard of Thomas Edison and Albert
Einstein. Why not Mary?
The reason is this: She was a
woman. At the time, women were barred
from colleges and most professions. In
Europe and America, scientists were
almost all rich men. Many of them met
Mary. They admired her knowledge. They
praised her talents for finding and
identifying fossils. But they did not ask her
to join their scientific groups or write for
their magazines. Some even took credit for
her work. Mary resented this. Still, she
loved science. She stuck with it until she
died, at age 47.
Since then, new fossils have been
found. They’ve taught us more about the
prehistoric world. Today, experts study
fossils with 21st- century tools. They’re
learning more about what prehistoric
creatures looked like and how they
behaved. And they’re learning why these
creatures died out. Most likely it was years
of climate changes, volcanic eruptions, and
a huge meteor strike that caused the
dinosaurs to die out about 66 million years
ago.
Today, we still have just a glimpse
of the prehistoric world. Experts say we’ve
identified barely .0001 percent of the
dinosaur species that lived. Each new find
creates a clearer view of the world that
Mary helped open for us. These fossils can
also help us understand our world. They
tell us about our environment, the web that
connects all the creatures on Earth.
And who knows? Perhaps right
now, a 12-year-old girl or boy is on a
beach somewhere, about to find something
that will change our thoughts once more.
CCSS ELA Review Week 5
ARTICLE
Dinosaurs for Sale
Why some of today’s important fossils will never be studied
It was one of the most
important fossil finds
ever. The specimen of
two dinosaurs locked in
battle was perfectly
preserved. The fossils
were found in 2006 on a
ranch in Montana. They
were nicknamed the
“Dueling Dinosaurs.” This
rare find could help
experts learn more about
the prehistoric world.
But it might never be
studied by scientists.
Today, many prized
fossils don’t go to
museums. They end up
in the homes of rich
collectors. In recent
years, the price of fossils
has risen. Dinosaur eggs,
skulls, and skeletons can
sell for hundreds of
thousands of dollars. A
Tyrannosaurus skull can
sell for millions. To many
collectors, these fossils
are like works of art to be
displayed. One New York
City banker shows off his
3-foot-long
Psittacosaurus skeleton
in his office. The beaked
dinosaur is a huge hit
with his customers.
Once a fossil is in
private hands, it is often
lost to science.
So why don’t
museums just make sure
they buy important
fossils?
Most can’t afford
them.
By law, a fossil found
on private land belongs to
the owner of the land.
The Dueling Dinosaurs
were found on the land of
Mary Ann and Lige
Murray. They want to
earn as much as they can
from the rare find. Some
say it might be worth
between $7 million and
$9 million.
No one has offered
that much yet. But the
owners are in no rush.
For now, the Dueling
Dinosaurs are locked
away. And so are the
secrets they could share
with scientists.
CCSS ELA Review Week 5
Find the Evidence
Directions: Read each question below carefully. Some will ask you to select text evidence – or details in the story – to
support a statement. Others will ask you to respond in your own words, support your ideas with text evidence.
1. The skeleton that Mary found was very unusual. Circle the letter of the piece of text evidence that best
demonstrates its strangeness:
a. “Mary unearthed it from the beach.”
b. “the face of a crocodile, the body of a lizard, dolphin-like flippers, and a tail like a shark’s”
c. “a 4-foot-long skull embedded in the sand”
d. “Mary found the rest.”
2. In your own words, describe Mary’s relationship with her father and how his death affected her. Use specific
evidence from the text.
3. Mary’s skeleton discovery was more surprising in 1811 than it would be today. Circle the letter of the piece of
text evidence that best explains why this is so:
a. “Imagine what it was like to see such a skeleton in 1811, when not a person on Earth had heard of—or imagined—
dinosaurs.”
b. “We can almost feel the hot and steamy air . . .”
c. “the lightning-fast Dilophosaurus, with its slicing claws”
d. “There were likely thousands of different kinds of dinosaurs that thrived on Earth during the different prehistoric
eras.”
4. In your own words, describe the connection between the mythical griffin and the Protoceratops.
5. Circle the letter of the piece of text evidence that best explains why Lewis and Clark did not bring a huge,
meat-eating elephant back from the West:
a. “By the 19th century, many believed that fossil skeletons were remains of animals that still existed but were tucked
away in the far-off corners of Earth.”
b. “Scientists were convinced that this animal must still be lurking somewhere in America.”
c. “Lewis and Clark helped map the West.”
d. “This large elephant-like land mammal once roamed throughout North America. It became extinct about 10,000
years ago.”
6. Explain how Mary’s discovery convinced scientists that animals could become extinct.
7. What is one conclusion you could draw from the article?
a. Science is a constantly changing field, with new discoveries leading to new ideas all the time.
b. Children make the best scientists.
c. In the 1800s, people weren’t very smart.
d. Scientists now know all there is to know about dinosaurs.
8. Although Mary brought talent and passion to her career, she was not recognized as a great scientist. Describe
the challenges she faced that might not exist for her if she lived today.
CCSS ELA Review Week 5
ANSWER KEY – “Find the Evidence”
Constructed-response answers will vary but should be similar to:
1. b
2. Mary and her father were close; the text says so and refers to him as “her beloved father.” Her
father died when she was only 12, “leaving the family penniless.” You can infer that the need for
money became one reason Mary searched the beach for “unusual shells and rocks they could sell,”
as she had once done with her father.
3. a
4. The griffin’s body is shaped like a Protoceratops skeleton. Fossils from the dinosaur might have
inspired ancient Greeks to think up the mythical creature.
5. d
6. The skeleton that Mary found clearly did not belong to any animal that could be found on Earth at
the time. Scientists concluded that it must have come from a creature that no longer existed.
7. a
8. In the early 1800s, women were barred from colleges and most professions. Today, women have
most of the same opportunities that men have.
CCSS ELA Review Week 5
Directions: Read the article “The Girl Who Discovered the Dinosaurs.” Then select the best answer for
each question below.
1. The article “The Girl Who Discovered the Dinosaurs” explains how ________ came to be.
a. dinosaurs
b. fossils
c. science museums
d. the science of paleontology
2. The skeleton that Mary Anning found came from a marine reptile. Marine means that it lived –
a. million of years ago
b. near a cliff
c. in the sea
d. in England
3. Which of the following statements is true?
a. A. Some monsters in ancient myths were based on fossil finds.
b. Nineteenth-century scientists knew that the mastodon was extinct.
c. Lewis and Clark brought a giant elephant back from their explorations.
d. Lewis and Clark found a Protoceratops skeleton.
4. Why was Mary’s discover important?
a. It helped scientists understand that animals could become extinct.
b. It made Mary’s family very wealthy.
c. It made Lewis and Clark famous.
d. It earned Mary a college scholarship.
5. According to the text, why didn’t Mary become famous?
a. because she was very young when she found the skeleton
b. because she was a girl
c. because it was really her brother who found the skeleton
d. because she found only one skeleton
6. According to “Dinosaur for Sale” why don’t museums buy all important fossils?
a. Museums don’t have enough room for all those fossils.
b. Most museums want art, not fossils.
c. Most fossils are not put up for sale.
d. Private collection can often pay more for fossils than museums can.
7. The author’s tone at the end of “The Girl Who Discovered the Dinosaurs” can best be described as –
a. disappointed
b. hopeful
c. humorous
d. tense
8. The author’s tone at the end of “Dinosaurs for Sale” can best be described as –
a. cheerful
b. disapproving
c. excited
d. uncaring
9. The author points out that when Mary found the skeleton in 1811, the word dinosaur did not yet exist.
Why is this an important detail?
10. The Dueling Dinosaur is described as “one of the most important fossil finds in history.” Why?
CCSS ELA Review Week 5
ANSWER KEY - “The Girl Who Discovered the Dinosaurs”
1. D (main idea)
2. C (vocabulary)
3. A (text evidence)
4. A (main idea)
5. B (key detail)
6. D (cause/effect)
7. B (tone)
8. B (tone)
9. The detail is important because it shows how strange the skeleton must have seemed. The word
dinosaur didn’t exist because no one knew the creatures had existed. (author’s craft)
10. The fossils are a perfectly preserved specimen of two dinosaurs fighting and are described as “rare.”
They can probably tell scientists things about dinosaurs that a fossil from a single dinosaur cannot.
(inference)