Register for free
Access thousands of resources
1 sold
Digital Download
INSTANT DOWNLOAD
Files will be available for download from your account once payment is confirmed. Learn more.
Please contact the seller about any problems with your order using the question button below the description.
The La Brea Tar Pits are the world’s most famous Ice Age fossil excavation site. One amazing thing about this site it that it lies in the very center of Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. For thousands of years these swamps of asphalt have been fed by springs of oil that were covered with water during the last Ice Age. Coming to drink in the area, animals of all types went to the pools, where any misstep or slip caught them in sticky asphalt. Their struggles and cries attracted predators and scavengers which, in turn, became trapped in the asphalt in a self-perpetuating pattern. The thousands of fossils retrieved from the La Brea Tar Pits provide much of the knowledge we have about Ice Age wildlife.
This informational article for Grades 5-8 explores the La Brea tar pits, focusing on the process by which animals became trapped and the types of fossilized animals found. It can be implemented in a number of ways by teachers (close reading, direct instruction in class, independent practice, absence work, homework, test prep, assessment, centers, etc).
The resource includes:
1) An engaging and informative 950-word article called “Sticking Around: The La Brea Tar Pits”
2) A total of 29 questions, from basic comprehension to creative and critical thinking, written to align with Common Core Standards RI.4.7, RI.5.2, RI.5.3, RI.5.4, and RH.6-8.8
3) An additional crossword puzzle for early finishers or to use as another form of assessment.
4) Answers to every question.
by Mark Aaron
Domesticated animals, whether in homes or on farms, are usually an important topic of study in lower elementary grades. Younger children learn about horses, chickens, pigs, cats, and other very…
by Mark Aaron
This is a history reading passage and comprehension assessment on Jacques Cartier, the French explorer who sailed to North America in the 16th century. He made three voyages to Canada,…
by Mark Aaron
This informative historical text tells the story of the famous Wall Street Crash of October, 1929, which caused financial ruin to the nation and set off the Great Depression in…
by Mark Aaron
Ideal for independent and student-directed learning or use with sub plans! Are you going to be gone from your Grade 4-8 Social Studies/Ancient History classroom for a single day or…
by Mark Aaron
This is a history passage with follow-on comprehension assessment on John Cabot, the Italian-born English explorer of the late 15th century. Sailing under the English flag in 1497, Cabot is…
by Mark Aaron
The “elixir of life”, the Philosopher’s Stone, turning lead into gold. These are all practices associated with alchemy. Alchemy was a philosophical and scientific tradition practiced throughout Europe for almost…
