Bones, tracks and digs: new words
Some people study the past. An archaeologist digs very carefully and finds things that people made long ago, such as pots and tools. A fossil is the shape of a very old plant or animal in rock. A skeleton is all the bones of a body: you have a skeleton inside you, too. Tracks are footprints that an animal leaves on the ground. A clue is a small sign that helps us understand something. A nature trail is a path in a park with plants and animals to see. In Egypt, Wadi Al-Hitan in Al Fayoum has fossils of very old whales from the time when the sea covered the land.
Uncle Karim, look! There are tracks in the sand.
Good looking, Hoda. They are small. I think a fox walked here.
Is that a clue?
Yes. A clue tells us who was here.
An archaeologist works carefully. She digs with a small spoon and a brush. She writes notes and takes photos of everything. She never takes things home. A fossil is different from a pot. A pot is made by people. A fossil is the shape of an animal or plant in rock, and nobody made it. Some fossils are very rare.
Word detective. Put six word cards face down: dig, fossil, skeleton, tracks, clue, archaeologist. The child takes a card, reads it and says what it means. The grown-up asks: Is it a person, a thing or an action? Then use the word in a sentence: An archaeologist digs with a brush.
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