SUBJECT: Archaeology
TOPIC: Dinosaurs
GRADE LEVEL: Early Elementary
CREATORS: Lisa Campbell, Christina DeLong, Josephine Gaglio,
Jennifer Morris, Andrea Smith
Dinosaur Discovery
Unit Objectives
Students participating in this unit study should have basic reading
and writing skills.
Students will be introduced to and encouraged to use library reference
books on dinosaurs. The use of library reference material is a skill that
will b directly taught to the students.
The goals or learning objectives of Dinosaur Discovery include:
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Several dinosaur names and their physical descriptions
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Dinosaurs lived long ago (65 million years) and that they existed for a
very long time (160 million years).
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Dinosaurs were various sizes and had various physical features.
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Dinosaurs were plant eaters and meat eaters. This distinction determined
habitat (land or water), and accounts for various physical features (long
necks, teeth, and tails)
-
There were no humans living during the time of the dinosaurs. The only
other creatures that shared the earth (that live today) were crocodiles,
fish, and turtles.
-
We have learned about dinosaurs from Paleontologists.
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Paleontologists have discovered fossils and have assembled dinosaur skeletons.
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Recovering fossils is a difficult process.
-
Dinosaurs are now extinct and we can only speculate why.
Unit Rationale
We selected this topic due to overwhelming student interest and because
dinosaurs have recently been made an elementary curriculum requirement
in some Michigan school districts. Dinosaur provide an excellent end of
the year unit when student interest is often strained.
Unit Integration of Five Senses
The five human senses will be integrated into the unit with the following
lessons and activites.
| Touch: |
Fossil finds in trays of sand |
| Hearing: |
Wee Sing Dinosaur Sing-Along, Dinosaur counting chant |
| Taste: |
Explore the plant eating dinosaur vs. The meat eating dinosaur |
| Smell: |
Review the things we smell today that dinosaurs were not
exposed to |
| Sight: |
Visit and view the dinosaur exhibit at Dominos Farm |
Schedule of Events for Dinosaurs Unit
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Week One
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Introduction to Dinosaur Discover
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Names of dinosaurs
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Habitats of dinosaurs
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Body structures and characteristics of dinosaurs
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Differences in body structures and characteristics of
dinosaurs
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Lifestyles of dinosaurs - how we believe they lived
-
Week Two
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Discovery of fossils
-
What is a Paleontologist?
-
How Paleontologists remove dinosaur fossils from a site
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How Paleontologists package and assemble dinosaur bones
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Museum displays
-
Field Trip
-
Week Three
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What the earth was like during the reign of dinosaurs
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How the earth has changed since the reign of dinosaurs
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land formations
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temperatures and seasons
-
other life forms
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Culminating activity
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Activites to be conducted everyday of unit
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Review dinosaur flash cards - new dinosaur highlighted each day
-
Record responses in personal Dinosaur Fact Books
-
Calendar count down to field trip
Dinosaur Discovery Bulletin Board
We chose to create an interactive bulletin board to support the Dinosaur
Discovery unit. The bulletin board is simple to create and requires minimal
supplies. The bulletin board begins with only the outline of a dinosaur
(preferably a long neck dinosaur). The children will then take turns speculating
and creating the interior skeletal structure of the dinosaur (rotation
can be determined by child of the day, royalty, alphabetically, etc.).
The children will create this structure by gluing toothpicks, popsicle
sticks or tongue depressors onto the bulletin board. The students can then
compare their progress by researching the bone structure in their reference
and reading material. The children will have an opportunity to compare
their work with that of paleontologists during the field trip.
In addition to the bulletin board, a majority of student work will be
displayed in the classroom.
Outline of Assessment Components
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Observe and note responses given during morning flash card review.
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Observe and note responses given during carpet discussions.
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Review responses recorded in personal dinosaur journals.
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Observe and note completion and accuracy of class assignments.
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Review completion and accuracy of homework assignments.
-
Review score achieved on end of unit test.
| STRANDS |
| Strand 1 |
Historical Perspective: Students use knowledge of the past to construct
meaningful understanding of our diverse cultural heritage and to inform
their civic judgments. |
|
1.1 |
Time and chronology |
|
1.2 |
Comprehending the past |
|
|
1.3 |
Analyzing and interpreting the past |
|
|
1.4 |
Judging decisions from the past |
|
| Strand 2 |
Geographic Perspective: Students will use knowledge of spatial patterns
on earth to understand processes that shape human environments and to make
decisions about society. |
|
2.2 |
Human/environment interaction |
|
|
2.3 |
Location, movement, and connections |
|
|
2.4 |
Regions, patterns, and processes |
|
| BENCHMARKS |
| 1.1.2 |
|
use weeks, months, and years as intervals of time |
| 1.1.3 |
|
distinguish among the past, present, and future |
| 1.1.4 |
|
place events of their lives and the lives of others in
chronological order |
| 1.2.1 |
|
identify who was involved, what happened, and where it
happened |
| 1.2.2 |
|
describe the past through the eyes and experiences of those
who were there as revealed through their records |
| 1.3.2 |
|
differentiate between historical facts and historical representations |
| 1.3.3 |
|
explain why accounts of the same event differ |
| 2.1.2 |
|
describe the natural characteristics of places and explain
some basic causes for those characteristics |
| 2.2.2 |
|
describe the ways in which their environment has been changed
by people, and the ways their lives are affected by the environment |
| 2.3.1 |
|
identify locations of significance in their immediate environment
and explain the reasons for their location |
| 2.4.3 |
|
describe changes in the region over time as well as presently |
Lesson Plan Day 1: Introduction to Dinosaurs
Objectives
To share with students an introductory picture book on dinosaurs. To
conduct a KWL discussion with the students I order to determine the direction/depth
of the unit. To prepare a specific dinosaur journal for students to record
new dinosaur facts.
Content
An introduction to dinosaurs. The picture book includes time of existence,
names and pronunciations, sizes, and lifestyle of various dinosaurs.
Materials
-
Picture/story book Dinosaur Days
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Construction paper front and back for journal covers
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White paper for pages of journals.
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Scissors, stapler, and crayons
Procedure
Teacher Procedure
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Assemble students on the carpet area.
-
Advise the children that we are about to begin a unit study on dinosaurs.
Explain that we will learn all types of information - such as time of existence,
names/pronunciation, sizes, skeletal structure, and lifestyles of various
dinosaurs.
-
Ask the children to share what they already know about dinosaurs. Record
their responses on a large KWL chart.
-
Read to the students the story/picture book titled Dinosaur Days
by Joyce Milton.
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Ask the students to share what information form the book was new to them.
Ask them to share what they thought was interesting. Review the picture
cards to see if new information is applied. Ask compare and contrasting
questions regarding the differences among the dinosaurs.
-
Explain to the students that our unit is going to teach us a lot of information
about various dinosaurs and that keeping track of all the information is
important. In order to record all of our discoveries, we will make a special
journal for dinosaur facts. Provide the students with a model.
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Have the students return to their work stations.
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Pass out supplies for the dinosaur journals.
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Assist the students in assembling their journals.
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As a class decide upon one new fact that we should record in our journals.
Suggest that we start as our story did, stating that dinosaurs lived a
very long time ago.
Learner Procedure
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Share information with the class as to what you already know about dinosaurs.
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Demonstrate good listening and manners while other students are sharing.
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Listen attentively to the dinosaur story.
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Work diligently to complete the assembly of personal dinosaur journal.
Evaluation
Allow a substantial amount of time for students to share dinosaur facts.
If a student provides misleading or incorrect information, suggest that
we review to find out if the fact is accurate.
Dinosaur Characteristics Lesson Plan
Objective
Students will recognize that dinosaurs were not all alike. Dinosaurs
can be distinguished from one another in several ways: number of legs,
size, skeletal structure and by their diet.
Content
Some dinosaurs were meat eaters.
Some dinosaurs were plant eaters.
Meat eaters had pointed teeth, plant eaters had flat teeth.
Materials
-
Pattern sheets (head and teeth)
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Colored paper and white paper
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Paper fasteners
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Glue and scissors
Anticipatory Set
Read big book pages 18-25 on carpet as a class.
Procedure
Teacher Procedure
-
Review with students the difference in animals today (pigs to giraffe -
monkey to cow, etc.)
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Ask the students how they eat an ice cream cone.
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Ask the students how they eat a hot dog.
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Ask them to compare the differences. Would you like to only be able to
like a hot dog? What if ice cream was hard like a hot dog - would it taste
as good?
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Explain to the students that we will be making models of the mouths of
meat eating dinosaurs and plant eating dinosaurs.
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Provide the students with pattern sheet of the dinosaur heads. Ask them
to trace, cut and assemble the heads from colored paper. Then provide them
with a pattern sheet of teeth. Have the students cut out the teeth and
glue them into the mouths of the dinosaurs.
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Ask them to identify the meat eater and the plant eater.
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Have the students record this new dinosaur fact in their personal dinosaur
journal.
Learner Procedure
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Respond and participate in the class discussion.
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Demonstrate good listening and manners while other students are sharing.
Evaluation
Provide the students with a sample of the completed assignment. A follow
up lesson would be to look up whether the class's favorite dinosaurs were
plant or meat eaters. We could make a classroom chart to classify all of
the dinosaurs we have discussed.
Dinosaur Discovery Field Trip
| Destination: |
Domino's Farms |
| Address: |
24 Franklin Lloyd Wright Dr |
|
Ann Arbor, MI |
| Contact: |
Group Tours Office |
| Telephone: |
(313) 930-5032 |
| Hours/Days: |
Monday - Friday 9 to 4 |
|
Saturday 10 to 4 |
| Cost: |
Depends upon exhibit. Group discounts available. |
|
Transportation Fees required. |
| Food: |
Bring your own food |
| Length of Tour: |
Varies with tour selection |
| Comments: |
Over one hundred dinosaur exhibits are currently on display. |
Field Trip Lesson Plan
Objective
Students will record facts obtained from the 100+ dinosaur exhibits
at Domino's Farms in Ann Arbor, MI.
Content
To record the height, length, and weight of dinosaurs.
Materials
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Six 3x5 index cards per student
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Photocopies of dinosaur pictures
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Crayons, pencils and glue
Anticipatory Set
The students will be making dinosaur trading cards. Just like sport
figure trading cards, the dinosaur trading cards will contain statistics.
The cards will be completed in class, with the exception of the 3 facts
(height, length, and weight) that will be researched and recorded at the
field trip site. Students will also be provided with one blank card that
they can create at the site that represents what display they found to
be the most interesting (should relate to a dinosaur).
Procedure
Teacher Procedure
-
Prior to the field trip students will be provided with five 3x5 index cards.
The students will record a dinosaur name on the top of the card and list
the statistics that they are looking for (h,l, and w) leaving a blank space
for this information to be added. The students will decorate the front
of the trading cards by coloring photocopies of the matching dinosaurs
and pasting them to the front of the cards.
-
The chaperones will be provided with the dinosaur trading cards and pencils.
He/she will distribute the cards when the children come to an exhibit that
is included in their card set. The chaperone will collect the cards and
hold them until the next exhibit. Domino's Farms currently has over one
hundred dinosaur exhibits on display - the students are only asked to record
the statistics for 5 specific dinosaurs.
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The students will complete the cards by reading the exhibit information
plaques on display with each dinosaur.
Learner Procedure
-
Complete the classroom assignment of designing the dinosaur trading cards.
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Pay close attention to the information plaques that are on display in front
of each exhibit. Ask the chaperone for your set of cards if you have found
a match.
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Return the completed trading card and pencil to the chaperone.
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Decide as a group what exhibit should be the subject of the blank trading
card.
-
Review the personal dinosaur journal for accuracy.
Evaluation
Provide chaperones with a listing of the dinosaurs that are included
in the trading card set. Have the students turn in the trading cards to
the instructor so that they can be reviewed in class the following day.
The students can trade cards with each other of keep their own set. The
students should all be provided with an opportunity to share what they
chose as the subject of their blank trading card.
Lesson Plan: How the World Has Changed Since the Dinosaurs
Objective
Students will create an accurate visual depiction of dinosaurs and the
environment in which they lived.
Content
There were no humans, there was land and water, dinosaurs eat plants
and meat, dinosaurs were different sizes.
Materials
-
Take home notice to parents
-
Extra show boxes for those who do not have one
-
Miscellaneous colored paper and art supplies for those who do not have
any
Anticipatory Set
Display sketches of various dinosaurs in their natural environment.
Procedure
Teacher Procedure
-
Explain to students that they are responsible for creating a diorama of
a dinosaur living in it's natural environment.
-
Inform the students that this is a project that they should complete with
their parents or guardian.
-
Show the students a sample diorama - advise the children that bigger shoe
boxes will make their work easier and that they can use whatever types
of materials they can find at home.
-
Provde students with a take home notice to parents advising parents to
have the children describe to them what the world of a dinosaur was like
and how this representation should appear. Parents can assist, but the
work should be that of the student.
Learner Procedure
-
Take home the homework notice for the parent or guardian.
-
Gather materials to create a diorama and try to incorporate what has been
discussed and taught in school into the visual representation/diorama.
-
Bring the completed diorama to school and be prepared to show and explain
to the class what and why items were included in the diorama.
Evaluation
When the students return to school with their dioramas, have them show
the class and explain why they have included what they did - determine
by their responses if they have gathered a comprehensive understanding
of dinosaurs and how they lived.
Lesson Plan: Culminating Experience
Objective
Students will reflect upon and evaluate the information that has been
presented during the unit.
Content
Dinosaurs lived long ago.
Dinosaurs were different sizes.
Dinosaurs eat either plants or meat.
Dinosaurs live on land and in water.
Humans did not live when dinosaurs lived.
Paleontologists student dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are now extinct.
Materials
-
Completed KWL chart
-
Personal dinosaur journals
-
Dinosaur trading cards
-
Butcher paper
Anticipatory Set
have the students share their favorite fact from their personal journal
or from their dinosaur trading cards.
Procedure
Teacher Procedure
-
Read to the students the information they provided in the original introductory
activity (KWL chart).
-
Compare the new information and ask students to share what they thought
previously and what they now know. Ask them to share how and why their
ideas changed.
-
Record on a classroom chart what we know about dinosaurs for display.
Learner Procedure
-
Share facts from personal dinosaur journal.
-
Share facts from dinosaur trading cards.
-
Offer thoughts on what I thought before the lesson and what I now know
to be true about dinosaurs.
-
Demonstrate good listening and manners while other students are sharing.
-
Share what additional information I would like to know about dinosaurs.
Evaluation
Based upon the student responses determine if the students have learned
all that they originally stated they hoped to learn. Determine if students
have offered new information about dinosaurs. Determine if they are continuing
to hold on to any common misconceptions about dinosaurs or the conditions
under which they lived.
Bibliography
More Amazing Dinosaurs, Cartwright, J. Watermill Press, 1988
I can read about Dinosaurs, Howard, J. Troll Associates, 1972
Dinosaur Bones, Aliki, Harper Trophy, 1988
Bones, Bones, Bones, Baron, B. Trumpet Club, 1990
Dinosaur Days, Milton, J. Random House, 1985
A book to bein on Dinosaurs, Holsaert, E., American Book 1959
Dinosaurs, Watson, J. Golden Press, 1990
The incredible Dinosaurs, Gelman, R., Random House, 1980
Dinosaur Babies, Penner, L. Random House, 1991
Dinosaurs, Douglas, C. Elsevier-Dutton Publishing, 1990
In the time of Dinosaurs, Wise, W., Scholastic, 1963
Extended Reading List - Fictional Sources
The Dinosaur who lived in my backyard, Hennessy, B.,Puffin Books,
1988
Daniel's Dinosaurs, Carmine, M., Scholastic Books, 1990
Danny and the Dinosaur, Hoff, S., Harper and Row, 1958
If the Dinosaurs came back, Most, B., Trumpet Club, 1978
Too many Dinosaurs, Barner, B. Rooster Books, 1995
Count:a:saurus, Blumenthal, N., Scholastic, 1989
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