2017-2021
Footprints From The Past
Finding out about the past
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Footprints From The Past
Contents
Contents
2
Basic Information
4
Learning Goals
5
Assessment for Learning
8
The Entry Point
11
Knowledge Harvest
12
Unit Summary
14
Explaining The Theme
14
The Big Picture
16
History Learning Goals
20
History Task 1
21
History Task 2
23
History Task 3
25
History Extension Task
27
Geography Learning Goals
29
Geography Task 1
30
Geography Task 2
32
Geography Extension Task
34
Science Learning Goals
36
Science Task 1
37
Science Task 2
39
Science Task 3
41
Science Task 4
43
Science Task 5
46
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Footprints From The Past
Science Extension Task
48
Art Learning Goals
50
Art Task 1
51
Art Task 2
53
Art Task 3
55
Art Extension Task
57
International Learning Goals
58
International Task
59
International Extension Task
61
The Exit Point
63
Resources
64
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Footprints From The Past
Basic Information
This section details the time allocation for this unit of work, links to other subjects and Assessment for
Learning opportunities.
Timings
This unit of work is intended to last about 7 ¼ weeks.
The following suggested timings are approximate guides and are dependent on each school's individual
context.
Entry Point, Knowledge Harvest, Explain the Theme
History
Geography
Science
Art
International
Exit Point
No of Hours
6
10
6
18
8
4
6
No of Weeks
¾
1¼
¾
2¼
1
½
¾
Links to other IPC subjects
ICT & Computing learning goals are included in the subject learning. Links to Art and Science are
provided at the end of tasks where appropriate.
Language Arts and Mathematics links
Suggestions of how to include links to Language Arts and Mathematics are provided where appropriate at
the end of tasks.
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Footprints From The Past
Learning Goals
Art Learning Goals
Children will:
2.01 Know how a number of artists - including some from their home country and the host country use forms, materials and processes to suit their purpose
2.02 Know about some of the work of artists in the host country
2.03 Be able to use art as a means of self expression
2.04 Be able to choose materials and techniques which are appropriate for their task
2.05 Be able to explain their own work in terms of what they have done and why
2.06 Be able to talk about works of art, giving reasons for their opinions
Geography Learning Goals
Children will:
2.02 Know how particular localities have been affected by natural features and processes
2.05 Be able to use geographical terms
2.08 Be able to use maps at a variety of scales to locate the position and geographical features of
particular localities
2.09 Be able to use secondary sources to obtain geographical information
2.11 Be able to communicate their geographical knowledge and understanding to ask and answer
questions about geographical and environmental features
2.12 Understand how places fit into a wider geographical context
History Learning Goals
Children will:
2.01 Know about the main events, dates and characteristics of the past societies they have studied
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Footprints From The Past
2.02 Know about the lives of people in those periods
2.03 Know about the main similarities and differences between the past societies they have studied
2.04 Be able to give some reasons for particular events and changes
2.05 Be able to gather information from simple sources
2.06 Be able to use their knowledge and understanding to answer simple questions about the past
and about changes
2.07 Understand that the past can be considered in terms of different time periods
2.08 Understand that the past has been recorded in a variety of different ways
International Learning Goals
Children will:
2.01 Know about some of the similarities and differences between the different home countries and
between them and the host country
2.02 Know about ways in which these similarities and differences affect the lives of people
2.03 Be able to identify activities and cultures which are different from but equal to their own
Science Learning Goals
Children will:
2.01a Be able to carry out simple investigations
2.01b Be able to prepare a simple investigation which is fair, with one changing factor
2.01c Be able to predict the outcome of investigations
2.01d Be able to use simple scientific equipment
2.01e Be able to test ideas using evidence from observation and measurement
2.01f Be able to link evidence to broader scientific knowledge and understanding
2.01g Be able to use evidence to draw conclusions
2.02 Be able to gather information from simple texts
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Footprints From The Past
2.03 Understand the importance of collecting scientific evidence
2.06 Know about processes and conditions that have an effect on living things
2.07 Know about the principles of nutrition, growth, movement and reproduction
2.08 Know about the living things that are supported by different environments
2.09 Know about ways in which animals and plants are suited to different environments
2.13 Know about the function and care of teeth in humans and other animals
2.15 Know about the functions of skeletons and muscles in humans and some other animals
2.20 Be able to classify animals according to their features
ICT & Computing Opportunities
The table below shows you where you can cover the following ICT & Computing Learning Goals.
Task
Art Task 1
Art Task 3
Geography Extension Task
Geography Task 2
History Extension Task
History Task 1
History Task 2
History Task 3
International Extension Task
Science Extension Task
Science Task 2
Science Task 3
Science Task 4
Science Task 5
Goals
2.4
2.5
2.2, 2.4
2.4
2.4, 2.5
2.4
2.2, 2.4
2.4
2.2, 2.4, 2.5
2.4
2.4
2.4
2.4, 2.5
2.4
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Footprints From The Past
Assessment for Learning
Are your children busy, or are they busy learning? This is the question that we need to be able to answer
throughout each IPC unit – what improvements are being made to children’s learning as a result of
studying this theme?
There are three areas of learning to reflect on, and three types of learning to assess.
The Three Areas of Learning: Academic, Personal and International
The three areas include academic, personal and international learning. To reflect on these, you will need
access to the IPC Learning Goals for each subject (including International) and the IPC Personal Goals – a
list of these can be found in Appendix A of the IPC Implementation File. You can also find a full list of IPC
Learning Goals in the Assess section of the Members’ Lounge.
The Three Types of Learning: Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
The three types of learning include knowledge, skills and understanding. We believe that differentiating
between knowledge, skills and understanding is crucial to the development of children’s learning. We
also believe that knowledge, skills and understanding have their own distinct characteristics that impact
on how each is planned for, learned, taught, assessed and reported on. The implications of these
differences are therefore far-reaching and deserve proper consideration.
Knowledge refers to factual information. Knowledge is relatively straightforward to teach and assess
(through quizzes, tests, multiple choice, etc.), even if it is not always that easy to recall. You can ask your
children to research the knowledge they have to learn but you could also tell them the knowledge they
need to know. Knowledge is continually changing and expanding – this is a challenge for schools that
have to choose what knowledge children should know and learn in a restricted period of time.
The IPC does not provide examples of knowledge assessment (tests or exams) as the knowledge content of the
curriculum can be adapted to any national curricula requirements.
Skills refer to things children are able to do. Skills have to be learned practically and need time to be
practiced. The good news about skills is the more your practice, the better you get at them! Skills are also
transferable and tend to be more stable than knowledge – this is true for almost all school subjects.
The IPC supports skills tracking and assessment through the IPC Assessment for Learning Programme. This
programme includes Teachers’ Rubrics, Children’s Rubrics and Learning Advice.
Understanding refers to the development or ‘grasping’ of conceptual ideas, the ‘lightbulb’ moment that
we all strive for. Understanding is always developing.
The IPC units can’t assess understanding for you, but they do allow you to provide a whole range of different
experiences through which children’s understandings can deepen.
(Please note: as well as the IPC Assessment for Learning Programme, we also offer an online Assessment
Tracking Tool, developed in partnership with Classroom Monitor. Please email
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Footprints From The Past
members@fieldworkeducation.com for more information on how to sign up to this tool.)
Planning for Assessment
Once you have planned for the different IPC Learning Goals for each subject it is important to plan for
assessment opportunities within each unit of work. Assessment needs to be balanced but rigorous to
ensure that the children have learned what we planned for them to learn. The diagram below illustrates
the processes you may want to use to ensure this happens.
Helping Children Reflect on Their Own Learning
In addition to teacher assessment, it is also vital to include children in reflecting on their learning and
setting next steps for improvement. Ask the children to carry out self-assessments throughout each unit
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Footprints From The Past
(using the Children’s Rubrics to assess skills, and other methods chosen by the school for knowledge and
understanding).
They could use the following headings to list/make notes on their newly acquired knowledge, skills and
understanding – ‘new things I now know’, ‘new things that I can do’ and ‘new things I am beginning to
understand’.
Ask the children to evaluate different aspects of their learning – what did they do well, what could
improve next time and how, what did they find the most/least interesting? How did they prefer to learn –
as an individual/in pairs/small groups/large groups/as a whole class? What was their preferred method of
researching and recording - writing/talking/making, etc.? This evaluation aspect will also support the
development of the IPC Personal Goals.
Further Information
For more information on assessment, and knowledge, skills and understanding, please refer to:
The IPC Implementation File
The Assessment for Learning Implementation File
The IPC Self-Review Process
Or contact the Membership Support team at members@fieldworkeducation.com
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Footprints From The Past
The Entry Point
A few days before you plan to start the unit, you should secretly bury some plastic dinosaur models or
dinosaur toys in tubs of plaster of Paris. Follow the instructions on the packet of plaster to make a weak
solution. Allow about 12 hours to dry. The containers only need to be a little bit bigger than the models.
Empty plastic ice-cream tubs make good containers. When dry, gently tip out the plaster ‘fossils’.
Dress the children up as ‘palaeontologists’, who are looking for fossils in the dust and heat of the Egyptian
desert. Equip them with goggles, gloves, white coats or aprons, paintbrushes, and simple hand tools such
as small hammers and chisels. Tell them to gently chip away at the plaster ‘fossil’ to find out what’s inside
but don’t tell them what it’s going to be. Show them how to use the various tools properly and the
paintbrushes to carefully brush away the plaster without damaging the fossil inside. In another container
you could bury a ‘dinosaur’ egg (substitute a toy egg).
Perhaps you could invite a ‘palaeontologist’ in to school to talk them through this entry point and set
them the challenge – it could just be another teacher or parent or someone linked to the school acting in
the role of a palaeontologist and really setting the ‘Dinosaur Detectives’ scene.
Take lots of photographs of the children working on this activity and display them so that they can refer
back to them later in the unit when they will find out more about palaeontology.
When the dinosaurs and the eggs are revealed you can ask them if they can guess what the topic of the
next unit is going to be!
Note: make sure you instruct the children in the safe use of hand tools. You must follow your school’s
guidelines on health and safety at all times.
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Footprints From The Past
Knowledge Harvest
What do the children already know about dinosaurs? Probably quite a lot!
Have a game of True or False.
Write 10 facts and 10 myths about dinosaurs on separate pieces of paper and stick them around the room.
Children have to group them as true or false. Don’t tell them that there are 10 of each. Here are some
sample facts and myths you can use.
Ask the children to keep a record of their responses and move the facts and myths from one set to
another as needed as the unit progresses and the children identify any mistakes they have made, or
repeat the activity individually at the end of the unit to assess their learning.
Now you can ask the children what they would like to find out about dinosaurs. You could ask each child
to think of, say, three or more key questions about dinosaurs that they would like to discover answers to.
They might want to write these in thought bubbles and display them in the classroom. Later, as they work
through the tasks they can write the answers next to them.
Dinosaurs is a topic that inspires many children from a young age and many of them will have no problem
in creating detailed mind maps from their existing knowledge. You could use mind mapping software
such as Inspiration 9 (inspiration.com/Kidspiration) or 2connect (2simple.com/product/2connect).
Display the mind maps prominently in the classroom, encouraging the children to refer back to them and
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Footprints From The Past
add to them as their knowledge grows.
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Footprints From The Past
Unit Summary
Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago – long before people lived on Earth. No one has ever seen a
dinosaur so how do we know anything about them? Fossil evidence and dinosaur bones provide our only
clues.
Like detectives, we will try to discover what dinosaurs looked like, what they ate and what might have
happened to them in the end.
Explaining The Theme
In History, we’ll be finding out:
About the different time periods when dinosaurs lived
How to make a time line
About fossil hunters from around the world
About different ideas to explain why the dinosaurs died out
In Geography, we’ll be finding out:
What the Earth looked like millions of years ago
Where to look for dinosaur bones
In Science, we’ll be finding out:
What a fossil is and how a fossil is formed
About different types of rock
How to make a dinosaur fossil
How to find out what dinosaurs looked like
What dinosaurs ate
How to sort and classify dinosaurs
About the other animals and plants that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs
In Art, we’ll be finding out:
About how artists draw dinosaurs
How to make a sculpture of a dinosaur
How to make reptile-skin patterns
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Footprints From The Past
In International, we’ll be finding out:
Where dinosaurs have been found
About the rules of exploration
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Footprints From The Past
The Big Picture
Who found the first dinosaur fossils?
For thousands of years, our ancestors recorded and studied accounts of legendary mythical beasts, such as
dragons, sea serpents and basilisks. Were people in ancient history recalling prehistoric creatures they
had seen, or giant fossilised bones they’d found, or just those from their imagination?
Modern scientific interest in dinosaurs started in the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe and America, as
many fossilized specimens were being dug out of stone quarries, mines and cliff faces all over the world.
People were interested in these huge, bizarre creatures. When were they alive? How did they live? What
did they look like?
The word ‘dinosaur’ comes from the Greek words ‘deinos’ and ‘sauros’ meaning ‘terrible reptile’, a name
coined by Richard Owen in 1841. He was a comparative anatomist who went on to found the Natural
History Museum in London, England.
Distinguished scientists including Darwin and Huxley wanted to explain prehistory and evolution. Both
scientists and enthusiastic amateurs such as Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh and Mary
Anning, set about exploring, digging out and reconstructing the fossilized bones of dinosaurs and other
extinct creatures for scientific study and public exhibition in museums and travelling shows. It became
big business, and many staked their reputations and fortunes on it.
When did dinosaurs live? What was the world like then?
Geologists were beginning to understand that our planet was far older than previously thought. They
conjectured that it may be more than 30 million years old but now we estimate it is 4.6 billion years old!
We know this from radiometric or chronometric dating techniques of the oldest rocks known on Earth.
We also now know that the continents are always in a process of very slow movement called Plate
Tectonics or Continental Drift. This theory explains why the fossils of certain species of prehistoric
animals and plants can be found in rock strata in southern Africa and in South America, thousands of miles
away across the Atlantic Ocean.
The rock strata from which fossilized dinosaurs are found originated in the Mesozoic era, from about 250
million years ago, until its end 65 million years ago. The Mesozoic is divided into three periods: the
Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. Each period’s end was marked by an extinction event. The most
famous of these was at the end of the Cretaceous period when the vast majority of dinosaurs became
extinct. The most popular theory for this catastrophe was a very large asteroid colliding with Earth in
what is now Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula. This would have caused a ‘nuclear winter’ from which the
declining dinosaur populations could not recover.
Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods
At the beginning of the Triassic period, the world would have looked very different, as one half of the
planet was a giant, joined-together super-continent called Pangaea. The other half was an immense
ocean. By the end of the Cretaceous period, the super-continent was breaking apart, creating the outlines
of continents we now know, and new shallow seas.
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Footprints From The Past
The Triassic was marked by dry conditions with a distinct rainy season and large red deserts. It was here
that the first small dinosaurs appeared. The Jurassic was much wetter and lusher, causing a great
expansion of dinosaur evolution, with increasingly bigger species of herbivorous dinosaur feeding on
conifer and cycad forests, and carnivorous predators keeping pace in size and agility.
The climate during the Cretaceous was affected by the breaking up of Pangaea, forming continents called
Laurasia and Gondwana. Most of modern Europe was like the Caribbean, with shallow tropical sea and
islands. New, different types of dinosaur had evolved, as well as birds and small mammals, turtles and
snakes, etc. There were new types of flowering and fruiting plants to feed on such as ginkgo and
magnolia.
What is a dinosaur?
Of all the creatures that lived during the Mesozoic era, it is the dinosaurs that are most remembered.
To qualify for being a dinosaur you have to be, firstly, a reptile. Secondly, you have to be land-living,
either walking on two or four legs. Thirdly, you have to have lived only within the Mesozoic era. In such a
long space of time (more than 160 million years reign) many types of dinosaurs will have evolved, and
with new discoveries all over the world, the list gets longer.
Are birds descended from dinosaurs?
What science now acknowledges, from new finds around the world, is that birds are evolved from early
dinosaurs. An important fossil found in Solnhofen, Germany in 1861 was of a small creature with both
dinosaur features (such as teeth and claws) and features of modern birds (such as feathers) – it was a
missing link called Archaeopteryx (or ‘ancient wing’). Since then, many intermediate types of
bird/dinosaur ancestors have been unearthed, some with detail of feathers visible on the rock.
What did dinosaurs really look like?
Archaeopteryx was, for many scientists, the missing link that connected theropod dinosaurs (bipedal
carnivores, such as Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Velociraptor) to the evolution of the bird that we
recognize today. However, a more recent find in Siberia has led to hot debate in scientific circles as to
whether dinosaurs shared these bird-like characteristics much earlier in their evolution. The discovery of
Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus (a small plant-eating dinosaur that would have existed around 150 million
years ago, during the middle Jurassic era) and study of its fossil remains has revealed that it had feathers
as well as scales. Not only does this dinosaur come from a different family of dinosaurs (to the bird-like
theropods) but the existence of feathers tells us that feathered dinosaurs existed many millions of years
earlier than previously thought. This has led some scientists to claim that our existing vision of dinosaurs
(with dry scaly skin) may be completely wrong – and in fact, they may well have had feathers as well as
scales, particularly when young. This also ties in with theories that dinosaurs were warm blooded, and
therefore may have used their feathers for insulation.
How are fossils formed?
There is a very small chance that a creature will become fossilized and eventually dug up and collected
by us. In the first place, the creature has to die in or near water, then become covered in mud or silt in
order for the carcass to degrade without being torn apart and scattered by predators or other
disturbances. Mostly, it is the bones that are converted, but sometimes the internal and external features
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Footprints From The Past
are preserved, such as skin impressions or feathers, stomach contents and ‘coprolites’ (dinosaur
droppings!). Over the millennia, the mud layers must be pressed down and become rock strata, and the
minerals within the corpse converted to stone minerals that will eventually be uplifted intact, and
hopefully, discovered.
Where have dinosaur fossils and bones been found?
The easiest places to find fossils are in sedimentary rocks at the bottom of cliffs, whether on the coast, in
quarries or on mountainsides, or scattered about deserts, or dug out of mines underground.
Many other countries around the world can claim to have unearthed valuable finds of Mesozoic life, such
as France, Belgium, Spain, India, Australia and South Africa.
Why did dinosaurs die out?
Some of the extinction theories:
Asteroid or comet collision(s) with Earth (citing Chicxulub, Yucatan peninsula, Mexico crater as
evidence). The collision would have thrown billions of tons of dust and vapour into the atmosphere,
causing a period of ‘nuclear winter’, or the greenhouse effect in which only smaller scavenging
creatures alive today could have survived. These included birds, mammals, crocodilians, lizards, turtles
and snakes.
Climate change due to the breaking up of super-continent Pangaea and formation of new shallow
seas between land masses. Fossil records of plant species on land and plankton species in the oceans
show the extinction of types that ruling reptiles were dependent on in the food chain.
The continental drift of land masses such as India caused massive volcanic activity for many
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Footprints From The Past
thousands of years and formed a geological feature called the Deccan Traps in central India. The
pollution would have affected the climate on Earth as above.
A disease specific to the ‘ruling reptiles’ wiped them out.
A supernova explosion caused a bombardment of ultraviolet rays that affected the dinosaurs’ fertility.
References
Some useful reference books for teachers:
A Really Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, Doubleday, 2010
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, Doubleday, 2003
Dinosaurs - global view, by Sylvia J. Czerkas and Stephen A. Czerkas, Dragon’s World
Great Dinosaur Discoveries, by Darren Naish, A & C Black, 2009
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Footprints From The Past
History Learning Goals
Children will:
2.01 Know about the main events, dates and characteristics of the past societies they have studied
2.02 Know about the lives of people in those periods
2.03 Know about the main similarities and differences between the past societies they have studied
2.04 Be able to give some reasons for particular events and changes
2.05 Be able to gather information from simple sources
2.06 Be able to use their knowledge and understanding to answer simple questions about the past
and about changes
2.07 Understand that the past can be considered in terms of different time periods
2.08 Understand that the past has been recorded in a variety of different ways
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Footprints From The Past
History Task 1
Learning Goals
2.05 Be able to gather information from simple sources
2.06 Be able to use their knowledge and understanding to answer simple questions about the past
and about changes
2.07 Understand that the past can be considered in terms of different time periods
Research activity
Ask the children to find out how long dinosaurs lived on the Earth. Have humans lived on
Earth for longer than the dinosaurs?
The children should use books and the internet to find the answers. The following websites
provide useful reference:
science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world.html – National Geographic
website has an interactive time line going back 4.5 billion years ago.
tinyurl.com/n9zr7ke – the Natural History Musuem has an interactive time line.
Scientists usually agree that dinosaurs lived for 160 million years while modern humans
have lived for 200,000 years.
The children will find it hard to comprehend the difference in these large numbers so
making a time line will help.
You could draw a time line that shows the children how long dinosaurs lived compared to
how long humans have lived.
You will need:
A long roll of plain paper
Coloured felt-tipped marker pens
Ruler
1. Mark the 24 hours in a day at equal intervals along the length of paper, starting at
0:01 then every hour at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00... up to 22:00, 23:00, finally ending on
24:00.
2. Colour in the area from 0:01 to 17:00 and label this the ‘dinosaur era’.
3. Colour in the time from 1½ minutes to midnight and label this the ‘human era’.
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Recording activity
Explain to the children that the timeline represents all the time from when the dinosaurs
appeared until now, viewed in a single day. Dinosaurs appeared at midnight and lived until 5
o’clock in the afternoon. Humans appeared at just 1½ minutes before midnight.
Display the time line on the classroom wall and illustrate the background with a colour key,
as well as pictures of dinosaurs and people, the sun at midday and the moon at night.
As an extension to this activity, perhaps as a home-learning task, you could ask the children
to research what happened after 17:00 until just before humans arrived. The children could
then add this information to the time line.
Mathematics link: in your maths lessons revise telling the time using analogue and digital
clocks.
Personal Goals
Adaptability
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
History Task 2
Learning Goals
2.05 Be able to gather information from simple sources
2.06 Be able to use their knowledge and understanding to answer simple questions about the past
and about changes
2.07 Understand that the past can be considered in terms of different time periods
2.08 Understand that the past has been recorded in a variety of different ways
Research activity
Set the scene for your class to time travel back to the age of the dinosaurs by showing them
a video clip from a movie featuring dinosaurs.
The following website and DVDs provide a useful staring point:
bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Dinosaur – the BBC Nature website has an excellent section on
dinosaurs, with videos and images taken from their popular Walking with
Dinosaurs series.
Walking with Dinosaurs Box Set, BBC Earth, 2013
Planet Dinosaur, BBC, 2011
Divide the class into three groups. Invite each group to time travel to one of the three
periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic or the Cretaceous period and report back to the class on
what they find. You could also refer them to the time line created for the previous task.
They should study pictures in books and on the internet to find out about the dinosaurs and
other prehistoric creatures living at that time. They could make sketches of dinosaurs in
their art sketchbooks to use and review in the art tasks later in the unit. The following books
and websites provide a useful starting point:
First Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life,by Sam Taplin, Usborne Publishing,
2011
Dinosaur Art: The World’s Greatest Paleoart, by Steve White, Titan Books, 2012
Dinosaur Encyclopedia (First Reference), by Caroline Bingham, Dorling Kindersley, 2009
bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Dinosaur – BBC website has a dinosaur section including details
of what the world was like in the Mesozoic era (the Triassic, Jurassic and
Cretaceous periods).
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Footprints From The Past
science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world – National Geographic
website has photo galleries of all three periods in the Mesozoic era.
Recording activity
Ask each group to draw pictures and/or make models (from air-drying clay or dough) of the
dinosaurs found in the period they studied. They should label them accurately and then
paste their dinosaur drawings on to a large poster for each period and display their models
beneath them. They could also add to the display with any dinosaur models they have from
home.
Can the children position the posters on the classroom wall in the correct chronological
order?
Encourage the children to draw comparisons between the dinosaurs found in each period.
Which period sees the biggest dinosaurs? In which period does Tyrannosaurus live?
(Cretaceous) In which period does the Allosaurus first appear? (Jurassic)
Mathematics link: fix a strip of paper across one of the classroom walls. Mark out
approximate lengths for the three time periods from left to right: Triassic – 37 million years,
Jurassic – 62 million years, and Cretaceous – 81 million years. Help the children to work out
an accurate scale for doing this. Colour it in three shades and add dates and labels.
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Resilience
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
History Task 3
Learning Goals
2.01 Know about the main events, dates and characteristics of the past societies they have studied
2.02 Know about the lives of people in those periods
2.03 Know about the main similarities and differences between the past societies they have studied
2.05 Be able to gather information from simple sources
Research activity
Remind the children of the entry point and what it is that a palaeontologist does. Show
them an old suitcase or collection of belongings, including some tools, a hat, a book about
fossils, a picture of a Megalosaurus and a British passport with the name ‘Richard Owen’
written on it.
Ask the children, in small groups, to find out about the English palaeontologist, Richard
Owen, who first coined the term ‘dinosaur’ and, as a home-learning exercise, study other
notable palaeontologists from the host or home country.
From biographical information, encourage the children to find out about the following:
Where and when they were born
Family background and education
Successful finds
Other interesting information about them
The following book has a section on the palaeontologists from around the world who have
contributed to our knowledge of dinosaurs:
Dinosaur, e. explore series, by Dougal Dixon and John Malam, Dorling Kindersley Ltd,
2004
You may also wish to view the following video which explores the work of modern-day
paleontologists:
youtube.com/watch?v=tjhDV_GzTM8 – YouTube hosts this short video, documenting a
day in the life of a paleontologist
(To watch a YouTube video in safe mode, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the ‘safety’ tab which brings up the
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Footprints From The Past
‘Safety mode’ information. Under this section, select the ‘on’ option, then click ‘save’)
Recording activity
As a hot-seating activity, you could take on the role of Richard Owen and ask the children to
think of questions they would like to ask him based on their research.
Now you can invite the children to interview each other. They should pretend that they are
the famous palaeontologists they have studied and answer in role as they think they would
have replied.
The teacher could ask the interview questions or children from other groups could act as
interviewers, e.g. they might pretend to be from the national press at the time and want to
be first to hear about the latest excavations and finds.
You could record the children’s interviews and later play them back to the class. Discuss the
responses. Were the replies accurate and based on the children’s research and known facts?
Are there any similarities in the background stories of the palaeontologists.
Language Arts link: the children could write a newspaper report based on ideas from their
interviews in the activity above. Younger children in the age group could draw a time line of
a notable palaeontologist from the host or home country, labelling key dates, events and
successes in their lives.
Personal Goals
Adaptability
Communication
Cooperation
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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History Extension Task
Learning Goals
2.04 Be able to give some reasons for particular events and changes
2.05 Be able to gather information from simple sources
2.06 Be able to use their knowledge and understanding to answer simple questions about the past
and about changes
2.07 Understand that the past can be considered in terms of different time periods
2.08 Understand that the past has been recorded in a variety of different ways
Extension activity
Dinosaurs lived successfully on Earth for 160 million years. Why then did dinosaurs die out?
As a class, discuss the children’s ideas and explore all the other extinction theories you can
find.
The children could draw cartoon images to symbolise their ideas and use these for
discussion, comparing the probability of each one. Which of their ideas sounds the most
convincing? Which sounds the least likely? The children could vote on the theory they
think is the most likely. The following website illustrates how cartoons could be used for
this:
conceptcartoons.com –Concept Cartoons website shows how cartoons can be used in
the curriculum to discuss different viewpoints or theories.
The teacher could scribe their thoughts in a table in order to help analyse and compare the
different theories, for example:
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Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Geography Learning Goals
Children will:
2.02 Know how particular localities have been affected by natural features and processes
2.05 Be able to use geographical terms
2.08 Be able to use maps at a variety of scales to locate the position and geographical features of
particular localities
2.09 Be able to use secondary sources to obtain geographical information
2.11 Be able to communicate their geographical knowledge and understanding to ask and answer
questions about geographical and environmental features
2.12 Understand how places fit into a wider geographical context
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Geography Task 1
Learning Goals
2.02 Know how particular localities have been affected by natural features and processes
2.11 Be able to communicate their geographical knowledge and understanding to ask and answer
questions about geographical and environmental features
Research activity
Everything we know about dinosaurs comes from fossils of their bones, footprints and
droppings.
Help the children to understand how fossil footprints are formed by inviting them to make a
cast of their own footprint or a ‘dinosaur’s’ footprint.
Note: you must ensure the safety of the children when carrying out this activity. We
recommend they use gloves and goggles. Please also consult your school’s health and safety
policy.
You will need:
Shallow tray of wet sand
Packet of plaster of Paris
Plastic bowl
Cold water
Spoon for mixing
Paintbrush
1. Make a clear, deep footprint in the sand. The children can press their own foot
into the sand or carve out the shape of a dinosaur footprint.
2. Add water to the plaster powder and keep stirring until the powder has dissolved
and is a smooth consistency.
3. Slowly pour the plaster into the footprint until you reach the top of the
impression.
4. Wait several hours for the plaster to dry thoroughly.
5. Lift the plaster gently out of the sand, being careful not to break the edges.
6. Brush the remaining sand from the plaster. When you turn it over you’ll see a cast
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Footprints From The Past
of the bottom of your foot (or a dinosaur’s foot).
Recording activity
Ask the children to record how they made their fossil footprint. They can do this by writing
step-by-step instructions, drawing pictures or taking photographs of each stage and writing
accompanying captions.
As a class, talk about the process of fossilization – for a dinosaur footprint to be preserved
in this way the print would have to be covered very quickly with soft mud (before it was
washed away or blown away). Over thousands of years the mud would have been pressed
down and eventually hardened to form rock.
Science link: challenge the children to find out in which type of rock fossils are found and
why. Recap on the three main types of rock: how they are formed and how we can group
them by appearance. Provide a selection of different types of rocks so the children can
explore them with hand magnifiers and start to sort them according to their physical
appearance, i.e. by colour, texture, grain, crystals, absorbency, hardness, etc. The children
might be able to find examples of different types of rocks in your local environment around
school. Metamorphic rocks are formed by intense heat and pressure – they are often
found underneath mountains (e.g. marble). Igneous rocks are formed by rocks melting then
cooling and going solid again – they are formed by volcanoes (e.g. granite). Sedimentary
rocks are formed when layers of sand, silt, soil and mud are squashed to make a hard rock
(e.g. limestone). Fossils are found in sedimentary rocks because they would be destroyed by
the heat and pressure that other rocks are subjected to.
The children could find out how soils are made by digging up a little soil and examining it
closely using hand magnifiers. Soils are made from small particles of rock (eroded by wind,
rain and ice) and the remains of dead plants and animals.
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Resilience
Thoughtfulness
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Geography Task 2
Learning Goals
2.05 Be able to use geographical terms
2.08 Be able to use maps at a variety of scales to locate the position and geographical features of
particular localities
2.09 Be able to use secondary sources to obtain geographical information
2.11 Be able to communicate their geographical knowledge and understanding to ask and answer
questions about geographical and environmental features
2.12 Understand how places fit into a wider geographical context
Research activity
We know that dinosaurs couldn’t swim – yet we’ve found fossils of dinosaurs on all the
continents (i.e. North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica and Australia.)
How is this possible? How did they cross from North America to Europe?
Give the children, in pairs, an outline map of the world and help them to cut out and label
the continents. They should mark the location of the host and home countries on the
continents.
Now write these names on the board:
Pangaea
Laurasia
Gondwana
Give each pair one of these geological continents to research. Ask the children to look for
information and diagrams about their continent in reference books and on the internet.
Recording activity
Demonstrate the effects of continental drift in a practical way using PE mats in the hall.
Push them together to represent Pangaea and ask a group of children to move around on
top of the mats acting as the dinosaurs. Tell the children that this was how the Earth looked
in Triassic times. Now ask other children to slowly pull the mats apart – can they see what’s
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Footprints From The Past
happening? Why might this have happened? (shifting tectonic plates caused by earthquakes,
volcanoes, rising sea levels)
Note: Pangaea was split apart by the sea into two continents during the Jurassic period, with
Laurasia in the north (North America, Europe and Asia) and Gondwana in the south (South
America, Africa, India, Antarctica, Australia).
Help the children to compare the landmasses of Pangaea, Laurasia and Gondwana with the
Earth today. Where are the host and home countries on each map? The children should now
be able to answer the question posed at the beginning of the activity, i.e. the dinosaurs
would have been able to walk from North America to Europe.
We know that the continents are still moving (that’s why we have earthquakes). End the task
by considering the question: what might the Earth look like millions of years in the future?
What do the children think?
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Geography Extension Task
Learning Goals
2.05 Be able to use geographical terms
2.08 Be able to use maps at a variety of scales to locate the position and geographical features of
particular localities
2.09 Be able to use secondary sources to obtain geographical information
2.11 Be able to communicate their geographical knowledge and understanding to ask and answer
questions about geographical and environmental features
2.12 Understand how places fit into a wider geographical context
Extension activity
Ask the class, where in the world should we look if we want to find fossil footprints,
bones and dinosaur droppings? Should we look in desert regions, near quarries, or in
coastal areas? Link back to Geography Task 1 and ask the children: in which type of rock will
we find fossils? Recall that fossils are found in sedimentary rocks such as sandstone
and limestone because metamorphic and igneous rocks are subject to an intense heat
and pressure that would destroy the fossils. When we examine layers of different rock we
can see the passage of time and this allows us to date fossils to specific time periods.
The children should research and then plot on a world map the places where dinosaurs have
been found in the past. As a home-learning task, they could find out about any notable finds
in the host and home countries. Other significant discoveries have been found in the
following countries:
Dinosaur National Monument, USA
Valley of the Moon, Argentina
Antarctica, which was joined to the other continents of Gondwana and Pangaea
‘Jurassic Coast’ of Devon, in England
Solnhofen quarries, Germany
Jehol, China, where many new bird/dinosaurs are being discovered
The Flaming Cliffs of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia
The following websites provide useful information:
nps.gov/dino/index.htm – the Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado website has
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Footprints From The Past
information and a virtual tour.
tyrrellmuseum.com/exhibits/cretaceous_alberta.htm – Royal Tyrrell Museum has details
of Alberta’s fossil trail heritage.
dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurfossilsites/p/flamingcliffs.htm – About.com website
has information about the dinosaurs found at the Flaming Cliffs in the Gobi Desert.
(Note: this site does feature advertising.)
dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurfossilsites/p/dashanpu.htm – About.com website has
information about the dinosaurs found in the Dashanpu region
of China. (Note: this site does feature advertising.)
The children should create a key to the locations of some dinosaur excavations from
their research and add any geographical details they have discovered, including the names
of any dinosaurs that have been identified.
Use Google Earth (earth.google.com) to fly over the sites of some notable fossil
and dinosaur finds around the world. Fly over excavation sites in the host and home
countries too.
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Science Learning Goals
Children will:
2.01a Be able to carry out simple investigations
2.01b Be able to prepare a simple investigation which is fair, with one changing factor
2.01c Be able to predict the outcome of investigations
2.01d Be able to use simple scientific equipment
2.01e Be able to test ideas using evidence from observation and measurement
2.01f Be able to link evidence to broader scientific knowledge and understanding
2.01g Be able to use evidence to draw conclusions
2.02 Be able to gather information from simple texts
2.03 Understand the importance of collecting scientific evidence
2.06 Know about processes and conditions that have an effect on living things
2.07 Know about the principles of nutrition, growth, movement and reproduction
2.08 Know about the living things that are supported by different environments
2.09 Know about ways in which animals and plants are suited to different environments
2.13 Know about the function and care of teeth in humans and other animals
2.15 Know about the functions of skeletons and muscles in humans and some other animals
2.20 Be able to classify animals according to their features
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Footprints From The Past
Science Task 1
Learning Goals
2.01a Be able to carry out simple investigations
2.01b Be able to prepare a simple investigation which is fair, with one changing factor
2.01c Be able to predict the outcome of investigations
2.01d Be able to use simple scientific equipment
2.01e Be able to test ideas using evidence from observation and measurement
2.01f Be able to link evidence to broader scientific knowledge and understanding
2.01g Be able to use evidence to draw conclusions
2.02 Be able to gather information from simple texts
2.20 Be able to classify animals according to their features
Research activity
Start by asking the children to find different ways of sorting a collection of animals into
groups. Use pictures or animal models, including a variety of mammals, birds, insects,
reptiles, amphibians, fish, etc.
How many different groups can the children make? Can they explain their choice of groups?
Now give the children a list of dinosaurs and challenge them to think of different ways of
sorting them into groups, e.g. carnivore/herbivore, four legs/two legs, predator/prey,
fast/slow, armoured/not armoured, long neck/ short neck, etc. How many ways can they be
sorted?
Recording activity
First, you should use a classification key to group, identify and name animals from the local
environment, then you can try sorting dinosaurs in a similar way. Show the children how to
create a classification key to sort dinosaurs, e.g. using Ankylosaurus, Compsognathus,
Tyrannosaurus and Brachiosaurus, your key might look like this:
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Footprints From The Past
Dinosaur classification key
Older and more able children might be able to create their own dinosaur classification keys.
Language Arts link: talk about the origin of dinosaur names – they are written in Latin and
Greek. Make a dinosaur dictionary and find out the meaning of some dinosaur names, e.g.
Megalosaurus: ‘mega’ means ‘great’ and ‘saurus’ means ‘reptile’.
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Science Task 2
Learning Goals
2.02 Be able to gather information from simple texts
2.03 Understand the importance of collecting scientific evidence
2.06 Know about processes and conditions that have an effect on living things
2.07 Know about the principles of nutrition, growth, movement and reproduction
2.08 Know about the living things that are supported by different environments
2.09 Know about ways in which animals and plants are suited to different environments
Research activity
Ask the question, what did dinosaurs eat? How do we know?
Talk about the evidence from fossilized dinosaur droppings or coprolites. Invite the children
to use information books and the internet to find out what was on the dinosaurs’ menu.
Make sure the children understand the terms ‘predator’ and ‘prey’.
Depending on whether a dinosaur was a meat-eater or plant-eater, a dinosaur’s diet might
include: plants, insects, birds, small mammals, fish, other reptiles, and smaller dinosaurs and
their eggs. The children should know that animals are ‘consumers’ - they need the right
types and amount of nutrition in order to survive because, unlike plants (that are
‘producers’), animals cannot make their own food. They get nutrition from what they eat.
Now pose the question: what did the dinosaurs’ prey eat? This will lead you to research
dinosaur food chains or food webs.
The following book and websites provide a useful starting point:
Jurassic Poop, What Dinosaurs (and Others) Left Behind, by Jacob Berkowitz, Kids Can
Press, 2006
enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/anatomy/Diet.shtml – Enchanted Learning
website explains how dinosaur food chains worked.
kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/ – Kids Know It website has an
interactive video that explains about producers and consumers, food chains, webs and
pyramids.
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Footprints From The Past
Extension activity
Consider what would happen to the dinosaur food chain if there was a major change to the
environment and the dangers this would pose to living things, e.g. a meteor strike or an ice
age. Here you can link to the possible reasons why dinosaurs died out (refer to the
extinction theories in the big picture). As a home-learning task, the children could research
this topic further and come up with their own extinction theories. They could present these
to the class and the parents at the exit point activity.
Recording activity
The children could draw food chains for different dinosaurs and compare them.
A simple food chain could look like this:
Plants -> Insects -> Compsognathus -> Allosaurus
Older children might discover that some dinosaurs were omnivores. They could draw food
‘webs’ to reflect these more complicated feeding habits, e.g. a dinosaur might eat both
plants and insects but the simple straight-line food chain doesn’t allow for this.
The children should know that all food chains or webs start with plants and that plants are
called the ‘producers’ because they produce food. Other organisms in the chain are called
‘consumers’ because they consume the others.
Invite the children to consider various ‘what if’ scenarios, e.g. what would happen if one
thing in the food chain above died out? What if Compsognathus becomes extinct? What if
some insect species die? What happens if there is a drought and many plants die?
Personal Goals
Adaptability
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Science Task 3
Learning Goals
2.13 Know about the function and care of teeth in humans and other animals
2.15 Know about the functions of skeletons and muscles in humans and some other animals
2.20 Be able to classify animals according to their features
Research activity
Show the children pictures of dinosaur teeth and jaws and ask them to imagine what kind of
dinosaurs these belonged to. Does the shape of the teeth or jaw give you a clue as to what
the dinosaur would have eaten? Was it a carnivore (meat-eater) or herbivore (plant-eater).
Search for ‘dinosaur jaw’ in Google Images to find lots of examples.
The children should discover that flat teeth were good for stripping leaves from branches
and for grinding tough plant stems, while long, pointed teeth and large jaws were good for
ripping and tearing the flesh of other animals.
Compare with the different shapes and types of human teeth – incisors, canines and molars
– and how we use them.
You might also discuss and compare the teeth of cows, sheep and horses with those of lions,
tigers and other carnivores. Why do some animals have no canines at all?
Recording activity
Now give each of the children a picture of a dinosaur jaw bone with teeth.
Ask the children to make a careful drawing of the jaw and teeth (as a palaeontologist or
scientist would do) and to label and write a description of each tooth, saying how it would
have been used. In conclusion, the children should say whether they think this is the jaw of
a meat-eater or a plant-eater.
Language Arts link: the word ‘don’ or ‘dont’ means ‘tooth’. Ask the children to look out for
this word hidden in dinosaur names, e.g. Iguanadon means ‘Iguana tooth’ , Hypsilophodon
means ‘high-crested tooth’ and Carcharodontosaurus means ‘shark tooth reptile’. Add
these ‘toothy’ names to your dinosaur dictionary. Show the children how to break down
difficult dinosaur names into separate syllables in order to read/pronounce them more
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Footprints From The Past
easily.
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Science Task 4
Learning Goals
2.02 Be able to gather information from simple texts
2.06 Know about processes and conditions that have an effect on living things
2.07 Know about the principles of nutrition, growth, movement and reproduction
2.08 Know about the living things that are supported by different environments
2.09 Know about ways in which animals and plants are suited to different environments
Research activity
Show the children pictures of dinosaurs that have body armour and other adaptations such
as long necks, large body size, sharp teeth, pointed claws, or feathers. For example, show
the children a picture of Ankylosaurus and ask, what armour does this dinosaur have? (spikes
on its back, a club tail) Why does it have spikes on its back? How could they be useful? How
do you think it could have used its club tail? Having a long neck was useful to Brachiosaurus
– it could reach up to eat the freshest leaves on top of the tallest trees (like giraffes do
today).
Examine pictures of dinosaur skeletons and consider how the skeleton and muscles of
dinosaurs and other animals provide for the support, protection and movement of the body,
just like they do in humans.
Invite the children to find pictures of armoured or other dinosaurs with specially adapted
features in reference books and on the internet.
The following website provides a useful starting point:
nhm.ac.uk/kids-only/dinosaurs – the British Natural History Museum website has a ‘Dino
Directory’ feature with facts about hundreds of dinosaurs.
Recording activity
For each dinosaur they research, the children could produce pencil sketches of the
distinctive features on the dinosaur’s body, together with descriptions and explanations of
how and when this body feature might be used. The children could make these drawings in
their art sketchbooks so that they can review and revisit their ideas in the art tasks later in
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Footprints From The Past
the unit.
Using this information, they could begin to build up a database on the computer of all the
dinosaurs they study over the next few weeks. They could simply enter information into a
table in Microsoft Word or Excel, extending the rows and columns as they gather more
knowledge.
Mathematics link: compare the size of different dinosaurs to the size of the classroom, e.g.
would Triceratops (at 3 metres/10 feet tall and 8.5 metres/28 feet long) fit in our classroom?
Give the children a list of dinosaurs, together with the height and/or length of each one. Ask
the children to draw the measurements of the classroom on to squared paper. Which
dinosaurs would fit in the classroom?
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Footprints From The Past
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Resilience
Thoughtfulness
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Science Task 5
Learning Goals
2.06 Know about processes and conditions that have an effect on living things
2.07 Know about the principles of nutrition, growth, movement and reproduction
2.08 Know about the living things that are supported by different environments
2.09 Know about ways in which animals and plants are suited to different environments
Research activity
Besides the dinosaurs, did any other animals live in the dinosaur era? What plant life and
other animal life could be supported by the environment at this time?
Ask the children to research some of the following plants and animals from the dinosaur
(Mesozoic) era and earlier:
Conifers, cycads, horsetails, ferns, ginkgoes, oaks, maples, walnuts, flowering plants
(magnolia) and shrubs
Reptiles (turtles, crocodiles, snakes, lizards) frogs, insects (dragonflies, mosquitoes,
beetles), pterosaurs (Pteranodon, Dimorphodon), birds (Archeopteryx), sea creatures
(ammonites, trilobites), plesiosaurs (Elasmosaurus), early mammals (Didelphodon)
In small groups or in pairs they could find out about the life cycle of one plant or one
animal.
The following websites provide a useful starting point:
enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/plants – Enchanted Learning website
explains how plants are at the start of the dinosaur food chain.
neok12.com/Prehistoric-Animals.htm – NeoK12 provides a selection of teacherreviewed videos on various prehistoric animals, including sea creatures.
animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/prehistoric – the National Geographic website
provides lots of articles, photo galleries and videos on various prehistoric creatures.
Recording activity
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Footprints From The Past
The children should be able to describe and explain the life cycle of their chosen plant or
animal as a series of annotated diagrams.
Now ask the children to add labelled drawings or pictures of the plants and animals from
their research to the time line created in History Task 2.
Here are some examples of the plants and animals from the different periods that teachers
can refer to:
Note: it is enough for the children to know that the first flowering plants, mammals and
birds appeared in the dinosaur era.
Discuss as a class how the dinosaurs might have interacted with these plants and animals –
as food, predator or prey? For shelter? Or did they simply co-exist?
Remind the children of what they learned about dinosaur food chains from Science Task 2 –
without plants there would be no animals or dinosaurs. Can older children in the age group
draw a food chain or web including any of the named animals and plants from their research
and the dinosaurs they know about?
Personal Goals
Adaptability
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Science Extension Task
Learning Goals
2.13 Know about the function and care of teeth in humans and other animals
2.15 Know about the functions of skeletons and muscles in humans and some other animals
2.20 Be able to classify animals according to their features
Extension activity
Start with a class discussion around the question: what did dinosaurs look like? How do we
know this?
Establish that we use fossilized bones as evidence to build up the skeleton then we
add muscle and flesh to give us the body shape. The size of the dinosaur can be
estimated from the size of the bones in its feet and the length of its leg bones and spine.
Now give each of the children a picture of a dinosaur bone – it might be a tooth, claw,
leg bone, foot or skull, etc. Tell the children it’s their turn to be dinosaur detectives –
they need to draw a sketch showing what they think the dinosaur that once owned this
bone might have looked like. Can they identify its name? If not, they could invent a name
for it!
They will need to look for pictures of dinosaur bones and skeletons in reference books
and on the internet.
The following websites and books provide a useful starting point:
enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/anatomy/Skeleton.shtml – Enchanted
Learning features a section on dinosaur skeletons, with labeled illustrations.
kids-dinosaurs.com/dinosaur-skeleton.html – Kids Dinosaurs website features skeleton
images of the most well-known dinosaurs. (Note: this site does feature advertising.)
copyrightexpired.com/earlyimage/bones/prehistoric_animal_skeletons.htm – Copyright
Expired website has an A to Z of dinosaur skeletons and prehistoric animal bones.
dinosaur.dke-explore.com – Dorling Kindersley online has a searchable dinosaur
database connected to the book Dinosaur, e.explore (see below).
Dinosaur, e. explore series, by Dougal Dixon and John Malam, Dorling Kindersley
Ltd, 2004
World Atlas of Dinosaurs, by Susanna Davidson, Stephanie Turnbull and Rachel
Firth, Usborne Publishing, 2004
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Footprints From The Past
1000 things you should know about Dinosaurs, by Steve Parker, Miles Kelly
Publishing, 2005
Encourage the children to talk about and explain their dinosaur drawings to other
children in the class. They can do this in groups or in pairs. What could they tell about the
dinosaur from studying this bone? In which part of the dinosaur’s body is the bone found?
They should label the location of the bone on their drawing.
They should be able to describe their dinosaurs’ physical appearance, size, diet and
behaviour. Invite the children to comment on each others’ presentations and whether
they think their dinosaur deductions are accurate enough and feasible.
Discuss the similarities and differences between this activity and the work of
palaeontologists, e.g. we don’t often find complete dinosaur skeletons, sometimes just a few
bones are found so the palaeontologists themselves have to become dinosaur detectives.
Art/Science link: you could extend this task further by discussing the recent fossil discovery
of Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, which has revolutionised the way that many scientists and
paleontologists view dinosaurs. This fossil was significant because it had feathers as well as
scales, and existed at the same time as many other popular dinosaurs we know from the
media, such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex (see the big picture – What did dinosaurs really look
like? – for more information). It is now believed that feathers could have been widespread
amongst dinosaur populations, meaning that our current view of dinosaurs as having dry and
scaly skin could be incorrect. Instead, they might have had bright plumage (like a peacock)
or soft downy feathers (like a baby chick). Challenge the children to revisit some of their
drawings/sketches of dinosaurs (such as those from History Task 2 or Art Task 3) and give
them a makeover, based on these latest findings. Would Tyrannosaurus Rex still be just as
scary if he had feathers as well as scales? Children could support their work by looking at
different examples of plumage on modern day birds, and how they are used for
signaling/warning, etc. For more information, you can visit the following website:
bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28407381 – the BBC News website features an
article on the new fossil evidence that suggests dinosaurs may have had feathers.
Personal Goals
Adaptability
Communication
Enquiry
Resilience
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Art Learning Goals
Children will:
2.01 Know how a number of artists - including some from their home country and the host country use forms, materials and processes to suit their purpose
2.02 Know about some of the work of artists in the host country
2.03 Be able to use art as a means of self expression
2.04 Be able to choose materials and techniques which are appropriate for their task
2.05 Be able to explain their own work in terms of what they have done and why
2.06 Be able to talk about works of art, giving reasons for their opinions
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Art Task 1
Learning Goals
2.01 Know how a number of artists - including some from their home country and the host country use forms, materials and processes to suit their purpose
2.06 Be able to talk about works of art, giving reasons for their opinions
Research activity
Look at the work of the artists who have depicted dinosaurs in the reference books you
have been using while studying this unit. Other notable artists who have painted dinosaurs
are: John Sibbick, Stephen Czerkas, Mark Hallett, Douglas Henderson and Gregory Paul.
You could extend this list to include artists who have drawn stylized dinosaurs in fiction
books, if you prefer, e.g. James Gurney (Dinotopia, Dorling Kindersley, 1994).
Enter the artist’s name (plus the word ‘dinosaurs’) into an internet search engine such as
Google Images and you should find lots of examples.
The following website provides a useful starting point:
search4dinosaurs.com – Search 4 Dinosaurs website has galleries of dinosaur artists
from around the world. (Note: this site does feature advertising.)
Ask the children, in small groups, to discuss and compare the different art styles:
How has the artist used colour, line, pattern, texture and tone?
Identify the medium used, e.g. paint and acrylics, computer generated imagery (CGI), or
sculpture?
Do the dinosaurs look lifelike or more like a cartoon?
Are they aggressive or harmless-looking? Are they still or moving?
Think about the artist’s intention in the work, e.g. what did he/she want to achieve?
How do the children feel about the artwork?
Recording activity
Ask the children to compare the dinosaur artwork and talk about their preferred art style.
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Footprints From The Past
The children should be able to explain why they prefer one art style over another, giving
examples to support their views.
They could compare dinosaur artwork from information books with that found in storybooks.
How and why are the dinosaurs drawn differently?
The children should know that these are artists’ impressions based on what the artists think
the dinosaurs might have looked like. For example, we don’t know what colour the dinosaurs
were, so artists must use their imagination.
Artists working on information books are more concerned with accuracy than those working
on storybooks who might draw a dinosaur looking ‘cute’ or ‘fierce’ to match a book’s
storyline.
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Art Task 2
Learning Goals
2.04 Be able to choose materials and techniques which are appropriate for their task
2.05 Be able to explain their own work in terms of what they have done and why
Research activity
Refer back to the dinosaur sketches the children made in their sketchbooks from the history
and science tasks. Palaeontologists believe that dinosaurs had bumpy-looking reptilian skin
because fossilized skin impressions have been found. *Study close-up photographs of the
skin of crocodiles, lizards and toads.
Can the children think of how they might replicate this texture and pattern using printing or
rubbing techniques?
Encourage them to try different methods, e.g. make an impression in cardboard and then
use this as a printing stamp; make a rubbing from a tree bark or other bumpy surface, create
layers using tissue paper; create different textures using computer art software, etc.
Recording activity
The children could each make two or three small samples using different techniques.
Collect the samples together from all the children and compare them. Which looks the most
realistic?
* Note: the recent discovery of a feathered and scaled dinosaur in Siberia has suggested that many dinosaurs, certainly
as infants, may have had feathers as well as scales. (see the Art/Science link for the Science Extension Task for more
information.). You may also wish to study feathered fossils as part of this task (such as those of archaeopteryx) and
challenge the children to make a second set of impressions to mimic a feathered texture.
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Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Resilience
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Art Task 3
Learning Goals
2.03 Be able to use art as a means of self expression
2.04 Be able to choose materials and techniques which are appropriate for their task
2.05 Be able to explain their own work in terms of what they have done and why
2.06 Be able to talk about works of art, giving reasons for their opinions
Research activity
Together with the class, look at images of armoured dinosaurs (see Science Task 4) and ask
the children to invent their own dinosaur with protective body armour. They could work
individually or in pairs to do this.
The children should review the dinosaur sketches they made in their sketchbooks from the
previous history and science tasks. They could use these sketches as inspiration for their
imaginary dinosaurs.
The children should sketch out their ideas first and then make a list of the materials they
would need to turn their drawing into a 3-D sculpture. They could use junk materials, empty
packaging, corrugated card, scrap fabrics (for texture), modelling wire, air-drying clay,
papier-mâché, acrylic paint and spray paint, etc.
Alternatively, the children could work without a plan, allowing their dinosaur to take shape
organically, depending on the materials available, e.g. cones could suggest claws, spikes or
horns, egg cartons could be used as bony head plates, corrugated card for head frills, and so
on.
With older children in the age group you could add an extra level of difficulty, e.g. they
could consider making an articulated jaw or jaw hinge. Encourage them also to incorporate
what they have learned in Art Task 2 about creating a reptilian-skin effect.
Recording activity
Set aside at least two separate sessions – one session to work on the structure of the
models and the second session to add paint and finishing touches.
When the sculptures are complete, ask the children to explain what they have done and
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Footprints From The Past
why. What difficulties did they have and how did they overcome them? Encourage the
children to comment on each others’ designs and ideas. Can they say what they like about a
particular sculpture? What do they think works well?
The children’s thoughts and discussion could be recorded through a video diary, filmed
during the creation of the sculpture and later shown to the parents for the exit point.
Personal Goals
Adaptability
Communication
Enquiry
Resilience
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
Art Extension Task
Learning Goals
2.02 Know about some of the work of artists in the host country
2.03 Be able to use art as a means of self expression
2.05 Be able to explain their own work in terms of what they have done and why
Extension activity
Make your own class dinosaur – your ‘Ourclassosaurus’ with all the children taking part in its
creation! You can make a 3-D sculpture from junk materials, make a frame from modelling
wire and cover with papier-mâché, or make a dinosaur from collage for the wall. Choose an
art medium that will challenge the children to explore and develop new techniques in art.
Personal Goals
Communication
Cooperation
Enquiry
Resilience
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
International Learning Goals
Children will:
2.01 Know about some of the similarities and differences between the different home countries and
between them and the host country
2.02 Know about ways in which these similarities and differences affect the lives of people
2.03 Be able to identify activities and cultures which are different from but equal to their own
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Footprints From The Past
International Task
Learning Goals
2.01 Know about some of the similarities and differences between the different home countries and
between them and the host country
2.02 Know about ways in which these similarities and differences affect the lives of people
2.03 Be able to identify activities and cultures which are different from but equal to their own
Research activity
Arrange a visit to a local museum that has a fossil or dinosaur collection. Try to find out the
following:
Have the fossils on display in the museum been found in the host country or in another
country?
Have any dinosaur fossils been found in the host or home country?
In what type of rock or environment were the fossils found?
The children should find out about the rules for the international exploration of fossils. For
example:
1. Can only Argentines look for fossils in Argentina?
2. Who owns the fossils that are found: the landowner, the government or the
palaeontologists?
3. Can fossils be sold or taken from one country to another?
Note: in some countries, all fossil collection is prohibited (except with a government
licence).
Perhaps your school could link with another IPC school to swap information about the rules
of fossil collecting in your countries.
Recording activity
If they were in charge, what rules would the children make to control the exploration of
fossils? Discuss this as a class:
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Footprints From The Past
Would the rules favour people from your country over people from other countries?
Would you allow anyone to look for fossils or only licensed palaeontologists?
What are the advantages and disadvantages in your rules?
Are they too strict (which might limit discovery) or too flexible (which might lead to
careless collecting and loss of data)?
The children’s rules for fossil hunting could be displayed next to the dinosaur dig area for
the exit point activity.
Personal Goals
Communication
Cooperation
Enquiry
Morality
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
International Extension Task
Learning Goals
2.01 Know about some of the similarities and differences between the different home countries and
between them and the host country
2.02 Know about ways in which these similarities and differences affect the lives of people
2.03 Be able to identify activities and cultures which are different from but equal to their own
Extension activity
Pose the question: in which parts of the world are the latest dinosaur and fossil discoveries
being made?
The children could look at the latest feathered dinosaur finds from China and Siberia.
Ask them, how do you think the latest discoveries have affected the lives of local
people? For example, has access to public land been stopped?
The following websites provide a useful starting point:
news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140319-dinosaurs-feathers-animalsscience-new-species/ – National Geographic website has news about the discovery of a
new `chicken from hell’ dinosaur.
news.discovery.com/animals/dinosaurs – Discovery News has information about the
latest dinosaur finds.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6750005.stm – BBC News website reported on the huge
dinosaur bird found in China in 2007.
You could make contact with an IPC school in a country where recent dinosaur
discoveries have been made to find out the answers to some of your research questions.
You could make a conference call to the school (e.g. using Skype) and record your discussion
for the exit point.
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Footprints From The Past
Personal Goals
Communication
Enquiry
Thoughtfulness
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Footprints From The Past
The Exit Point
Set up a dinosaur exhibition to showcase everything the children have learned during the course of the
unit.
If you haven’t already done so, take the children to visit a local museum that has a fossil or dinosaur
display for ideas and inspiration.
The children could make their own fossil footprints and dinosaur teeth, claws and feet from plaster or airdrying clay. Mount the children’s written work and illustrations from the subject tasks against eyecatching backgrounds with reptile-skin patterning or ammonite-repeated designs. Exhibit any dinosaur
toys, models and books they have collected. The children could typeset labels for the exhibits and design
information plaques using IT resources.
Display your timeline and posters of the three periods in the Mesozoic era with corresponding
backgrounds illustrating climate and plant-life, with a parade of the children’s dinosaur sculptures in front.
Use coloured lighting effects and spotlights to create atmosphere and ask the children to choose some
background ‘mood’ music. We don’t know what the dinosaurs sounded like so they can use their
imagination.
In one area of the room create a diorama (a 3-D scene) by making cut-out silhouettes of life-size
dinosaurs (or scaled versions) out of cardboard or paper and stand these up in the room or attach them to
the walls. The children could set up a ‘dinosaur dig’ in the corner with a sandpit, buckets and spades, and
hidden ‘fossils’ for the younger visitors to find.
Your class rules for fossil hunting will tell the visitors what to do with any ‘fossil finds’ they discover!
Finally, display your ‘Ourclassosaurus’ dinosaur to draw in the crowds of children and parents to your
dinosaur extravaganza.
The IPC community would love to see examples of your learning, in any subject, at any stage in the
learning process. If you have any pictures or stories you would like to share please visit our Facebook
page at facebook.com/InternationalPrimaryCurriculum, tweet @The_IPC or email
stories@greatlearning.com.
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Footprints From The Past
Resources
For this unit, you will need some, but not necessarily all, of the following:
Equipment
Computers with internet access
Plastic dinosaur models or toys
Plaster of Paris
Long roll of plain paper
Coloured felt-tipped marker pens
Ruler
Empty plastic ice-cream tub
Palaeontologist’s kit, e.g. goggles, gloves, aprons, paintbrushes, and simple hand tools
such as small hammers and chisels
Passport in name of ‘Richard Owen’
Maps of the world, globes and atlases
Maps of Pangaea, Laurasia and Gondwana
Shallow tray of wet sand
Plastic bowl
Spoon for mixing
Paintbrush
Materials for making 3-D sculptures: empty packaging, corrugated card, scrap fabrics,
modelling wire, air-drying clay, papier-mâché, acrylic paint or spray paint, etc.
Mood music for the exit point
Mind mapping software such as Inspiration 9 (inspiration.com/Kidspiration) or 2connect
(2simple.com/product/2connect)
Google Earth software (earth.google.com)
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Footprints From The Past
Links
http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurfossilsites/p/dashanpu.htm
About.com website has information about the dinosaurs found in the Dashanpu region of
China.
http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurfossilsites/p/flamingcliffs.htm
About.com website has information about the dinosaurs found in the Flaming Cliffs in the
Gobi Desert.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6750005.stm
BBC News website reported on the huge dinosaur bird found in China in 2007.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Dinosaur
BBC website has a dinosaur section including details of what the world was like in the
Mesozoic era.
http://www.conceptcartoons.com/
Concept Cartoons website shows how cartoons can be used in the curriculum to discuss
different viewpoints or theories
http://www.copyrightexpired.com/earlyimage/bones/prehistoric_animal_
Copyright Expired website has an A to Z of dinosaur skeletons and prehistoric animal bones.
http://news.discovery.com/animals/dinosaurs
Discovery News has information about the latest dinosaur finds.
http://www.dinosaur.dke-explore.com
Dorling Kindersley online website has a searchable dinosaur database connected to the
book Dinosaur, e.explore (see below).
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/anatomy/Skeleton.shtml
Enchanted Learning features a section on dinosaur skeletons, with labelled illustrations.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/anatomy/Diet.shtml
Enchanted Learning website explains how dinosaur food chains worked.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/plants
Enchanted Learning website explains how plants are at the start of the dinosaur food chain.
http://www.kids-dinosaurs.com/dinosaur-skeleton.html
Kids Dinosaurs website features skeleton images of the most well-known dinosaurs. (Note:
this site does feature advertising.)
http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/
Kids Know It website has an interactive video that explains about producers and consumers,
food chains, webs and pyramids.
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world.html
National Geographic website has an interactive time line going back 4.5 billion years ago.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140319-dinosaurs- feathers-animalsscience-new-species/
National Geographic website has news about the discovery of a new
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Footprints From The Past
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/
National Geographic website has photo galleries of all three periods in the Mesozoic era.
http://www.neok12.com/Prehistoric-Animals.htm
NeoK12 provides a selection of teacher-reviewed videos on various prehistoric animals,
including sea creatures.
http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/exhibits/cretaceous_alberta.htm
Royal Tyrrell Museum website has details of Alberta’s fossil trail heritage.
http://www.search4dinosaurs.com
Search 4 Dinosaurs website has galleries of dinosaur artists from around the world.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Dinosaur
The BBC Nature website has an excellent section on dinosaurs, with videos and images
taken from their popular Walking with Dinosaurs series.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28407381
The BBC News website features an article on the new fossil evidence that suggests
dinosaurs may have had feathers.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/kids-only/dinosaurs
The British Natural History Museum website has a ‘Dino Directory’ feature with facts about
hundreds of dinosaurs.
http://www.nps.gov/dino/index.htm
The Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado website has information and a virtual tour.
http://tinyurl.com/n9zr7ke
The Natural History Museum has an interactive time line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjhDV_GzTM8
YouTube hosts this short video, documenting a day in the life of a paleontologist.
Books
1000 things you should know about Dinosaurs, by Steve Parker, Miles Kelly Publishing, 2005
A Really Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, Doubleday, 2008
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, Doubleday, 2003
Dinosaur Art: The World's Greatest Paleoart, by Steve White, Titan Books, 2012
Dinosaur, e. explore series, by Dougal Dixon and John Malam, Dorling Kindersley Ltd, 2004
Dinosaur Encyclopedia (First Reference), by Caroline Bingham, Dorling Kindersley, 2009
Dinosaurs - global view, by Sylvia J. Czerkas and Stephen A. Czerkas, Dragon’s World
Dinotopia, by James Gurney, Dorling Kindersley, 1994
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Footprints From The Past
Great Dinosaur Discoveries, by Darren Naish, A & C Black, 2009
First Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life, by Sam Taplin, Usborne Publishing, 2011
Fossils: The key to the past, by R. A. Fortey, British Natural History Museum, 2002
If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today, by Dougal Dixon, Ticktock Media Ltd, 2013
Jurassic Poop, What Dinosaurs (and Others) Left Behind, by Jacob Berkowitz, Kids Can Press,
2006
Rocks and Fossils, by Margaret Hynes, Kingfisher, 2006
World Atlas of Dinosaurs, Susanna Davidson, Stephanie Turnbull and Rachel Firth, Usborne
Publishing, 2004
Videos
Walking with Dinosaurs Box Set, BBC Earth, 2013
Planet Dinosaur, BBC, 2011
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