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Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Dinosaurs
Life in the Triassic Period

Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs


Life in the Triassic Period
Print Life in the Triassic Period Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 8 to 9
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.4

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    prosauropod, prosauropods, Armor-plated, herbivorous, beginning, Ichthyosaurs, Pterosaurs, reign, spikes, plant-eating, evergreen, carnivore, evidence, fossil, continent, giant
     content words:    Triassic Period, Armor-plated Actosaurs, Jurassic Period


Life in the Triassic Period
By Sharon Fabian
  

1     The Triassic Period was the beginning of the dinosaurs' reign on earth. The Triassic period began with all of the land pushed together into the one giant continent called Pangaea. It ended with the land splitting up into the continents much like they are today. During the Triassic period the climate was dry and hot, and much of the middle section of Pangaea was a desert.
 
2     At the beginning of the Triassic Period, there were already many plants and animals living on earth. Plant life included giant ferns, evergreen trees, and trees that looked a lot like today's tropical palm trees. Insects had been here for some time. Now there were also mammals, and especially reptiles. Turtles, frogs, salamanders, and lizards had all found a habitat on earth. So had marine reptiles.
 
3     Since this was such a long time ago, there were probably many plants and animals that we don't know about yet, but we do know about lots of them from fossil evidence. For instance, we know that a four-foot long crocodile, called Protosuchus, lived in what is now the state of Arizona at that time. The earliest turtle that we know about is called Proganochelys; its fossils were found in both Germany and Thailand. From the fossils, scientists can tell that Proganochelys was about two feet long, had no teeth, and had protective spikes around its neck. It had a long tail with a club at the end, like some dinosaurs you have probably heard of. It probably lived near a pond.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
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Dinosaurs
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Science
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    Careers in Science  
 
    Caring for Earth  
 
    Clouds  
 
    Dinosaurs  
 
    Earth's Land  
 
    Earth  
 
    Earthquakes  
 
    Electricity  
 
    Energy  
 
    Erosion  
 
    Food Pyramid  
 
    Food Webs and Food Chain  
 
    Forces and Motion  
 
    Fossils  
 
    Health and Nutrition  
 
    How Things Work  
 
    Landforms  
 
    Life Science  
 
    Light  
 
    Magnets  
 
    Matter  
 
 
    Moon  
 
    Natural Disasters  
 
    Photosynthesis  
 
    Plant and Animal Cells  
 
    Plants  
 
    Rocks and Minerals  
 
    Science Process Skills  
 
    Scientific Notation  
 
    Seasons  
 
    Simple Machines  
 
    Soil  
 
    Solar System  
 
    Sound  
 
    Space and Stars  
 
    Sun  
 
    Tsunami  
 
    Volcanoes  
 
    Water Cycle  
 
    Water  
 
    Weather  
 



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