Paul Holmes -
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The Fantastic Fossil

A young boy's discovery of a mysterious fossil leads to a village's newfound fame and unity.

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In a small village surrounded by a big, green forest, there was a boy named Max who loved old history and exploring. One day, he found a special rock in the forest. It turned out to be a very old fossil.

Max was super excited and showed everyone his fossil. It made him famous, and experts came to see it. They said it was from a creature that lived a long, long time ago. Max felt like a hero.

A man from a museum wanted to take the fossil away to show more people. Max didn’t want it to go, but he understood that sharing is important. So he said okay, even though he was sad.

When the museum people tried to take the fossil, a big storm came. The car broke down, and they had to leave the fossil in the village. Max thought maybe the storm meant the fossil should stay. He saw that like the fossil, his village was also special.

Max convinced the museum man to leave the fossil in the village. Everyone was happy and celebrated. They learned to look for their own treasures in the forest. The village got famous, and Max kept finding cool things. People still talk about the village and the fossil story.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

1surroundedBeing all around something, like a fence around a yard
2exploringLooking around to find new things or places
3fossilThe remains of a plant or animal from a very long time ago that has turned into rock
4expertsPeople who know a lot about a certain thing
5creatureAn animal or person
6heroSomeone who is admired for doing something brave or good
7museumA place where old and important things are kept and shown to people
8sharingLetting others use or enjoy something you have
9stormA very bad weather with a lot of rain, wind, and thunder
10convincedMade someone believe or agree to something
11celebratedHad a party or did something fun to show you are happy
12treasuresVery special items that are often hidden or hard to find

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is the main character in the story?
2. What did Max find in the forest?
3. How did Max feel when he showed everyone his fossil?
4. Why did Max feel sad when the museum man wanted to take the fossil?
5. What happened when the museum people tried to take the fossil?
6. Why did Max convince the museum man to leave the fossil in the village?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a small village surrounded by a big, green forest, there was a boy (1)______ Max who loved old history and exploring. One day, he found a special (2)______ in the forest. It (3)______ out to be a very old fossil.

Max was super excited and showed everyone his fossil. It made him famous, and experts came to see it. They said it was from a creature that lived a long, long time ago. Max felt like a hero.

A man from a museum (4)______ed to take the (5)______ away to show (6)______ people. Max didn’t want it to go, but he understood that sharing is important. So he said okay, even though he was sad.

When the museum people tried to take the fossil, a big storm (7)______. The car (8)______ down, and they had to leave the fossil in the (9)______. Max thought maybe the storm meant the fossil should stay. He saw that like the fossil, his village was also special.

Max convinced the (10)______ man to leave the fossil in the village. Everyone was happy and celebrated. They learned to look for their own treasures in the forest. The village got famous, and Max kept finding cool (11)______. (12)______ still talk about the village and the fossil story.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a fossil? Why do you think Max was excited to find one?
2. How would you feel if you found something really special, like Max did? Why?
3. Do you like exploring? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it was fair for the museum man to take the fossil away? Why or why not?
5. How do you think Max felt when the storm came and the museum people had to leave the fossil behind? Why?
6. What do you think Max meant when he said the village was special, like the fossil?
7. Why do you think the village got famous after the fossil story?
8. Have you ever found something special or valuable? How did it make you feel?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. surrounded
2. exploring
3. fossil
4. experts
5. creature
6. hero
7. museum
8. sharing
9. storm
10. convinced
11. celebrated
12. treasures

Meanings:
(A) Someone who is admired for doing something brave or good
(B) Looking around to find new things or places
(C) Had a party or did something fun to show you are happy
(D) Being all around something, like a fence around a yard
(E) A very bad weather with a lot of rain, wind, and thunder
(F) Letting others use or enjoy something you have
(G) An animal or person
(H) People who know a lot about a certain thing
(I) Made someone believe or agree to something
(J) A place where old and important things are kept and shown to people
(K) The remains of a plant or animal from a very long time ago that has turned into rock
(L) Very special items that are often hidden or hard to find
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did Max find in the forest?
(a) A treasure chest
(b) A magic wand
(c) A fossil
(d) A dinosaur

2. Why did Max become famous?
(a) Because of the fossil he found
(b) Because he won a singing competition
(c) Because he solved a mystery
(d) Because he climbed Mount Everest

3. Who wanted to take the fossil away?
(a) Max’s best friend
(b) Max’s teacher
(c) Max’s mom
(d) A man from a museum

4. What happened when the museum people tried to take the fossil?
(a) Max’s dog chased them away
(b) Max’s friends hid the fossil
(c) The fossil disappeared
(d) A big storm came and their car broke down

5. Why did Max convince the museum man to leave the fossil in the village?
(a) Because he wanted to sell the fossil for a lot of money
(b) Because he thought the storm meant the fossil should stay
(c) Because he wanted to keep the fossil all to himself
(d) Because he didn’t want anyone else to see the fossil

6. How did the village react when the fossil stayed?
(a) They were happy and celebrated
(b) They were angry and protested
(c) They were sad and disappointed
(d) They didn’t care about the fossil

7. What did people learn from the fossil story?
(a) To never go into the forest again
(b) To look for their own treasures in the forest
(c) To always listen to the museum people
(d) To forget about the fossil and move on

8. What happened to the village after the fossil story?
(a) It disappeared
(b) It was destroyed by a volcano
(c) It became famous
(d) It became a ghost town

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. A big storm prevented the museum people from taking the fossil away.
2. The village became famous because of the fossil story and Max continued to find cool things.
3. Max found a relatively recent fossil in the forest near his village.
4. Max agreed to let the museum take the fossil, even though he was sad.
5. Max became infamous after showing everyone his fossil.
6. Amateurs confirmed that the fossil was from a creature that lived a long time ago.
7. A man from a museum wanted to take the fossil away to show more people.
8. Max convinced the museum man to take the fossil out of the village.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this story in two sentences. Here are some hints:
Who are the main characters?
What happens in the story?

Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who is the main character in the story?
Max is the main character in the story.

2. What did Max find in the forest?
Max found a special fossil in the forest.

3. How did Max feel when he showed everyone his fossil?
Max felt super excited when he showed everyone his fossil.

4. Why did Max feel sad when the museum man wanted to take the fossil?
Max felt sad because he didn’t want the fossil to go away from the village.

5. What happened when the museum people tried to take the fossil?
A big storm came and the car broke down, so the museum people had to leave the fossil in the village.

6. Why did Max convince the museum man to leave the fossil in the village?
Max convinced the museum man to leave the fossil in the village because he thought the storm meant the fossil should stay. He also realized that his village was special like the fossil.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) named
(2) rock
(3) turned
(4) want
(5) fossil
(6) more
(7) came
(8) broke
(9) village
(10) museum
(11) things
(12) People
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. surrounded
Answer: (D) Being all around something, like a fence around a yard

2. exploring
Answer: (B) Looking around to find new things or places

3. fossil
Answer: (K) The remains of a plant or animal from a very long time ago that has turned into rock

4. experts
Answer: (H) People who know a lot about a certain thing

5. creature
Answer: (G) An animal or person

6. hero
Answer: (A) Someone who is admired for doing something brave or good

7. museum
Answer: (J) A place where old and important things are kept and shown to people

8. sharing
Answer: (F) Letting others use or enjoy something you have

9. storm
Answer: (E) A very bad weather with a lot of rain, wind, and thunder

10. convinced
Answer: (I) Made someone believe or agree to something

11. celebrated
Answer: (C) Had a party or did something fun to show you are happy

12. treasures
Answer: (L) Very special items that are often hidden or hard to find
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did Max find in the forest?
Answer: (c) A fossil

2. Why did Max become famous?
Answer: (a) Because of the fossil he found

3. Who wanted to take the fossil away?
Answer: (d) A man from a museum

4. What happened when the museum people tried to take the fossil?
Answer: (d) A big storm came and their car broke down

5. Why did Max convince the museum man to leave the fossil in the village?
Answer: (b) Because he thought the storm meant the fossil should stay

6. How did the village react when the fossil stayed?
Answer: (a) They were happy and celebrated

7. What did people learn from the fossil story?
Answer: (b) To look for their own treasures in the forest

8. What happened to the village after the fossil story?
Answer: (c) It became famous
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. A big storm prevented the museum people from taking the fossil away. (Answer: True)
2. The village became famous because of the fossil story and Max continued to find cool things. (Answer: True)
3. Max found a relatively recent fossil in the forest near his village. (Answer: False)
4. Max agreed to let the museum take the fossil, even though he was sad. (Answer: True)
5. Max became infamous after showing everyone his fossil. (Answer: False)
6. Amateurs confirmed that the fossil was from a creature that lived a long time ago. (Answer: False)
7. A man from a museum wanted to take the fossil away to show more people. (Answer: True)
8. Max convinced the museum man to take the fossil out of the village. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧

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