Title of Book:Dinosaur Hunters

Author: Kate McMullan

Non Fiction

Level L Number of Pages 48

Major Characters / Minor Characters / Setting(s) / Summarized Problem and Solution
Chapter / A Monster in Stone
Key Vocabulary / Ferns
Mesozoic Era / Flesh
Dissolving / Minerals / Evaporates / Glaciers / Currents
Summary / Jim Jensen is a dinosaur hunter. We go back140 million years where there are warm and shallow oceans, sunny and dry weather, and palmlike trees grow everywhere. Dinosaurs range from the size of a chicken to as large as a six-story building. After time, the dinosaurs die out. Their hard bones sink into the mud. They are protected by the ground for millions of years. Little by little what was bone turns to stone. They have now become fossils. Dinosaur Jim hunts for these fossils.
Questions / 1.  “Its footsteps echo like thunder through the forest.” What does the author mean when she wrote this.
2.  On page 10 the author writes, “When Dinosaur Jim finds a fossil, he tries to figure out what that fossil can tell him.” What do you think a fossil could tell you?
3.  What did you learn about fossils?
4.  Do you think it would be interesting to be a paleontologist? Why do you feel this way?
5.  Was the title “ A Monster in Stone” a good title for this chapter, why or why not?
Ideas for Writing Tasks
Chapter / Two
Key Vocabulary / Ogres / Serpents / Potion / Extinct / Reptile
Summary / People have found dinosaur bones for thousands of years. People from many years ago did now know that dinosaurs existed. Native Americans thought they were from Serpents. Chinese thought they were dragon bones. They ground the bones into powder, mixed them into a potion and drank it. They thought it would make them powerful. Bernard Palissy lived about four hundred years ago. He thought that fossils were the remains of creatures that once lived. In 1822 Mary Ann Mantell found a tooth. Her and her husband knew it was very old. He found even more teeth where Mary Ann had found the original. He took the teeth to a museum. He wrote a very important document which stated that before people, huge reptiles lived on earth.
Questions / 1.  Why do you think people were frightened of Palissy’s ideas?
2.  What does it mean when the author wrote, “ They became more open to new ideas about the world”
3.  What would you do if you were Mary Ann and you found the tooth?
4.  Compare and Contrast the iguana tooth with the tooth that Mary Ann found.
5.  It was discovered that the Iguanadon was 30 feet long-what else is about 30 feet long?
6.  What did you learn from the pictures on page 21?
7.  What questions do you have about Iguanadons?
8.  Compare and contrast the first drawing with the later found fossil drawing.
9.  How was the tooth a mystery as the title of the chapter states?
10.  What was the most interesting fact you learned?
11.  Compare and Contrast Reptiles with Mammels.
Ideas for Writing Tasks / What would you do if you found a fossil? What would be the most exciting fossil to find? Explain.
Chapter / Three
Key Vocabulary / Newspaper / Prospectors / Rugged / Chisels / headlines
Summary / Many people wanted to know more about dinosaurs in the 1850’s. New fossils were being discovered in the United States. There were people called dinosaur hunters who went out searching for fossils. Two important bone collectors are Othniel Marsh and Edward Cope. They were friends but ended up as enemies. They each wanted more bones than the other. One good thing was that the war between the two led to tons of dinosaur bones found.
Questions / 1.  What questions would you like to ask Othniel Marsh and Edward Cope about their findings?
2.  What does the author mean by Dinosaur Hunter?
3.  What was surprising to you in this chapter. discuss pg. 27, pg. 29
4.  How does the word ashamed describe how the scientist felt about of the way Cope and Marsh fought?
Ideas for Writing Tasks / Choose between the Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops. Find three facts about each and write them in your notebook. Be prepared to share your findings in our group tomorrow.
Chapter / Four
Key Vocabulary / Brittle / Shellac
Summary / Dinosaur hunting today is very different. Hunters use modern tools and trucks. When they find fossils, they make a camp. They are very careful when they find bones. When it comes to finding big dinosaur bones nobody is better than Dinosaur Jim.
Questions / 1.  Compare and Contrast dinosaur hunting long ago and today.
2.  How is Dinosaur Jim like a master spy?
3.  If you could ask Dinosaur Jim a question, what would you ask him?
Ideas for Writing Tasks
Chapter / Five
Key Vocabulary / Geologist / Experts / Chemicals / Uranium
Summary / Geologists study the rocks around fossils. The rock around a fossil can tell a dinosaurs age and what it ate. Paleontologists also study fossils to learn more. Fossil footprints are also studied. Many fossils have been found to date, but there are many more out there to find.
Questions / How do bones tell stories? Give an example.
If you found a dinosaur nest what would you wonder?
Why are geologist important?
What are some things that can be found as fossils. What do you think would be the most interesting thing to find and why?
Ideas for Writing Tasks