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The Fossil That Was Really Fruitcake

8th grade fiction passage about a science club's mistaken discovery: 272 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction a science club's mistaken discovery 272 words

The Fossil That Was Really Fruitcake

The Brookfield Middle School science club had been searching the edge of the soccer field for six weeks when Imani Okafor struck something hard with her trowel. She brushed away the dirt and revealed a dark, lumpy object with odd speckles, studded with what looked like tiny colored pebbles. "It is a fossil," she whispered. "A fossil with gemstones." Within minutes the whole club had gathered, and someone had already named it "Dinosaur Treasure."

Their advisor, Ms. Delgado, suggested that real scientists check their evidence before announcing a discovery. The club took measurements, photographed the object, and weighed it on the kitchen scale from the cafeteria. They noticed that it was oddly light, that the pebbles had a faint shine like candy, and that it gave off a smell that could only be described as "old holiday." Skyler, the most careful member, scraped off a tiny crumb and tasted it before anyone could stop him. He announced, with great dignity, that it was fruitcake.

The club was crushed for about a minute and then began to laugh. Digging through school records, they learned that the cafeteria had held a winter party years earlier, and that someone had buried a leftover cake near the field to hide the evidence. Instead of giving up, the club created a display called "The Fruitcake Era," complete with a sign that explained how they had tested their idea and changed their minds when the facts did not fit. Ms. Delgado said it was the finest example of the scientific method she had ever seen, and the cake itself, which was still mysteriously solid, became the club's mascot.

Questions

  1. Who found the object near the soccer field? in the text

  2. What did the club name the object at first? in the text

  3. What did Skyler discover when he tasted a crumb? in the text

  4. What did the club build after solving the mystery? in the text

  5. Why did Ms. Delgado ask the club to gather evidence first? think about it

  6. Why did Ms. Delgado say the club showed the scientific method? think about it

Words to know

fossil
the preserved remains or print of a plant or animal from long ago
evidence
facts or clues that help show what is true
advisor
an adult who gives guidance to a group
dignity
a calm, serious and proud manner
mascot
a person, animal or object that brings a group good luck
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 233 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

The Brookfield Middle School science club had searched the edge of the soccer field for six weeks. Then Imani Okafor hit something hard with her trowel. She brushed off the dirt. It was dark and lumpy, with odd speckles and bits like tiny colored pebbles. "It is a fossil," she whispered. "A fossil with gems." Soon the whole club was there. Someone named it "Dinosaur Treasure."

Their advisor, Ms. Delgado, said real scientists check their evidence first. The club took measurements. They took photos. They weighed it on the kitchen scale from the cafeteria. They saw that it was oddly light. The pebbles had a faint shine like candy. And it smelled like an old holiday. Skyler was the most careful member. He scraped off a tiny crumb and tasted it before anyone could stop him. He said, with great dignity, that it was fruitcake.

The club was sad for about a minute. Then they laughed. They read school records. Years ago, the cafeteria had a winter party. Someone had buried a leftover cake by the field. The club did not give up. They made a display called "The Fruitcake Era." A sign told how they tested their idea and changed their minds when the facts did not fit. Ms. Delgado said it was the best use of the scientific method she had seen. The cake, still strangely hard, became the club's mascot.

▲ This passage · 272 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.3

The Brookfield Middle School science club had been searching the edge of the soccer field for six weeks when Imani Okafor struck something hard with her trowel. She brushed away the dirt and revealed a dark, lumpy object with odd speckles, studded with what looked like tiny colored pebbles. "It is a fossil," she whispered. "A fossil with gemstones." Within minutes the whole club had gathered, and someone had already named it "Dinosaur Treasure."

Their advisor, Ms. Delgado, suggested that real scientists check their evidence before announcing a discovery. The club took measurements, photographed the object, and weighed it on the kitchen scale from the cafeteria. They noticed that it was oddly light, that the pebbles had a faint shine like candy, and that it gave off a smell that could only be described as "old holiday." Skyler, the most careful member, scraped off a tiny crumb and tasted it before anyone could stop him. He announced, with great dignity, that it was fruitcake.

The club was crushed for about a minute and then began to laugh. Digging through school records, they learned that the cafeteria had held a winter party years earlier, and that someone had buried a leftover cake near the field to hide the evidence. Instead of giving up, the club created a display called "The Fruitcake Era," complete with a sign that explained how they had tested their idea and changed their minds when the facts did not fit. Ms. Delgado said it was the finest example of the scientific method she had ever seen, and the cake itself, which was still mysteriously solid, became the club's mascot.

■ Harder · 279 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.8

The Brookfield Middle School science club had been combing the edge of the soccer field for six weeks when Imani Okafor struck something unyielding with her trowel. She brushed away the soil and uncovered a dark, lumpy object with peculiar speckles, studded with what appeared to be tiny colored pebbles. "It is a fossil," she whispered. "A fossil with gemstones." Within minutes the entire club had crowded around, and somebody had already christened it "Dinosaur Treasure."

Their advisor, Ms. Delgado, gently reminded them that genuine scientists verify their evidence before announcing any discovery. The club took careful measurements, photographed the object from every angle, and weighed it on the kitchen scale borrowed from the cafeteria. They observed that it was strangely light, that the pebbles had a faint shine like candy, and that it gave off an aroma that could only be described as "old holiday." Skyler, the most meticulous member of the club, scraped off a tiny crumb and tasted it before anyone could stop him. He announced, with tremendous dignity, that it was fruitcake.

The club was crushed for roughly a minute and then dissolved into laughter. Digging through school records, they learned that the cafeteria had hosted a winter party years earlier, and that someone had buried a leftover cake near the field to hide the evidence. Rather than surrendering, the club assembled a display called "The Fruitcake Era," complete with a sign explaining how they had tested their idea and revised it when the facts failed to fit. Ms. Delgado declared it the finest example of the scientific method she had ever witnessed, and the cake itself, which remained mysteriously solid, became the club's mascot.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put fossil, evidence, advisor, dignity and mascot on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the story will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 3 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to retell the story in three sentences: how it began, what the problem was, and how it ended.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Fossil That Was Really Fruitcake"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 272 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 9.3. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 3 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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