About this worksheet
Mary Anning grew up poor in Lyme Regis, England, collecting fossils from crumbling cliffs to sell to tourists, and she searched right after storms because that is when new fossils came loose. Around age twelve she dug out an ichthyosaur skeleton, and later found the first complete plesiosaur, which some scientists first called a fake.
The true or false questions are set up to catch quick readers: Mary did not find the whole ichthyosaur alone, because her brother found the skull a year earlier. The last question asks how she was treated unfairly using two details, and the passage gives enough to build a real answer about the Geological Society and the scientists who left her name out.
What students will practice
- Read a biography and explain the reasons behind events
- Check true or false statements against the text
- Use two details from the text to support an answer
Details
- Grade level
- Grade 4
- Subject
- Reading · Comprehension
- Standard
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1
- Pages
- 1
- Format
- PDF · US Letter and A4 included
- License
- Free for classroom use · Attribution appreciated
- Last updated
- October 23, 2026
