Becky Chopp
Dinosaurs: Mini Science Unit
ECH 3030: Inquiry, Social Studies, and Science
Learning
Beth Ruark
7/9/10
I. Overview of Unit
A. Unit Goals and General Overview
Throughout this particular unit, students will engage in a variety of activities as it relates to
Dinosaurs. Students will learn about 12 different dinosaurs, along with the scientists that study
dinosaurs, paleontologists. Students will get to do a paleontologist dig, which will be called in
excavation to introduce them to digging up fossils and getting them ready to learn about dinosaurs.
Students will also be discovering what fossils are and why they important. Students will discover
what fossils are by playing a fossil guessing game and making their own fossils. Students will also
learn in more depth what fossils are made up of and how they are made by doing a fun worksheet.
Students will also practice their knowledge of the importance of fossils to determine how large a
dinosaurs footprint is and possibly how large that dinosaur could have been. During each lesson
observations will be taken to determine the comprehension students are showing towards the concepts
that we will be learning. In addition, to assess students knowledge and understandings of the
concepts I will be taking pictures of the work they are doing and walking around to look at the
worksheet they will be doing.
Unit Goals:
1. Students will learn new vocabulary words as they relate to the dinosaur unit
2. Students will learn some interesting facts on 12 different dinosaurs
3. Students will learn how to do an excavation and what paleontologists do out in the filed
4. Students will use observations and previous knowledge to determine which skeleton belongs
to which dinosaur
5. Students will learn what fossils are
6. Students will learn how to use observations to determine what made the fossil
7. Students will learn how fossils are made
8. Students will learn what fossils are made from
9. Students will learn what can make fossils
10. Students will learn what we can learn from fossils
B. Explanation of Key Concepts
Key concepts to be learned:
1. Students will learn about Dinosaurs.
-Through our excavation students will discover 12 dinosaurs. The students will learn more
about their specific dinosaur when they find the fact sheet on their dinosaur. Students will
then share one or two interesting facts about their dinosaurs to their classmates.
2. Students will learn about excavations and paleontologists.
-To find out about dinosaurs students will perform an excavation at a “pretend” site. They
will act as young paleontologists and use small paint brushes to brush away the sand to reveal
dinosaur bones. Then students will need to put the dinosaur bones together and find out what
their dinosaur is. Students will learn that this is what paleontologists do, they do excavations
to find dinosaur bones and figure out what it was.
3. Students will learn about fossils.
-After students have preformed an excavation to find dinosaur bones they will be introduced
to fossils. Students will then get to explore homemade fossils. They will get to explore the
fossils and determine what made the impression in the fossil. Students will then get to
choose their own object to make a fossil with. Students will then do a worksheet on what
fossils are made from. Students will find out the process of making fossils and what type of
materials play a role in making fossils. Students will also learn the steps in which a real
fossil is made from. Then students will explore what can be determined by looking at
dinosaur fossils, such as a paleontologist looking at fossils of dinosaurs.
C. Concept Map
II. Standards and Learner Outcomes
This unit meets the following National Science Standards:

TABLE 6.1 Science as Inquiry, K-4: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry and
Understanding about scientific inquiry.
Learner Outcome: Students will ask questions as it relates to dinosaurs and units. They will also
learn to observe and ask questions based on their observations

TABLE 6.3 Life Science, K-4: Characteristics of organisms, life cycles of organisms,
organisms and environments.
Learner Outcome: Students will learn about dinosaurs and some facts about them. They will learn
about twelve different types of dinosaurs and then learn about one or two different facts about that
dinosaur. They will also learn about the life cycle of dinosaurs and that they eventually died but they
left evidence behind that they existed. The students will then learn about dinosaurs and their
environments and that things have changed overtime. They will learn about the different types of
organisms and environments create fossils.

TABLE 6.4 Earth and Space Science, K-4: Properties of earth materials.
Learner Outcome: Students will learn about fossils and what they are made up of. They will also
learn how fossils are made in relation to the materials that are used in the process.

TABLE 6.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives, K-4: Changes in
environments.
Learner Outcome: Students will recognize and understand that the environment has changed since
dinosaurs. Students will understand that dinosaurs are extinct and there are many different changes
since dinosaurs. They will understand that many modern things that they use today were made my
man and did not exist when dinosaurs lived. However, they will also recognize that because of
environmental changes scientists are now able to determine what dinosaurs looked like and
reconstruct dinosaurs.
III. Calendar Schedule for Implementing the Unit
A. Since these are being implemented in a summer camp setting they will take place on the same day
and consecutive days. If this were taking place in a general education classroom it would be
spread out for a month with all subjects being integrated into a dinosaur unit. I will need to get
certain items together before the unit takes place. I will need to make sure I have enough boxes
that are cut for the excavation, as well as sand and paint brushes. I will also need to print out and
cut the dinosaur skeletons out for the excavation, as well as printing out the dinosaur fact sheets. I
will need to make homemade fossils for the fossil guessing game activity and make play dough for
the students to make their own fossils.
B. Lesson dates and times: To be determined
IV. Safety Guidelines
 In order to create a safe and inviting environment for learning science the following
precautions and steps need to be taken:
1. Parents and guardians understand the activities that their children will be doing.
2. Making sure that no students are allergic to any of the ingredients in the play dough
3. Students need to be told the rules of doing the excavation dig. Students need to
understand how to use the paint brushes for the excavation so that it does not get “out
of control”. It would be unsafe if students flung sand in another students face.
4. Students need to understand that the play dough is not edible and cannot be eaten.
5. During all of the activities in this unit, I will always make sure to be walking around the
classroom and working with students. I will be monitoring and observing students to
make sure that all students are being safe at all times. I will also make sure that the
students understand the rules for each activity so that they perform them safely.
V. Pre-assessment
A. (I have not done the lessons yet)
VI. Daily Lesson Plans
A. 3 Dinosaur Science Lesson Plans (In order from 1st to 3rd)
1. Digging up Dinosaurs

7/6/10

Science

1st and 2nd graders

Approximately 25 students

30-45 minutes
2. Purpose/Rationale
The purpose of this lesson is to give students an introduction to a variety of dinosaurs and specific
facts about those dinosaurs. Through learning about the different dinosaurs the students will also
learn about how we know so much about dinosaurs. Students will a perform and excavation like a
paleontologist might do. In doing so students will learn about dinosaurs and that scientists have
studied fossils to determine what dinosaurs looked like, eat, and where they lived. This mock dig will
introduce new concepts to students that have to do with dinosaurs and the scientists that are involved
with studying dinosaurs.
This lesson meets the following National Science Standards: 6.1 Science as Inquiry, K-4:
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; 6.3 Life Science, K-4: Characteristics of organisms life
cycles of, life cycles of organisms, organisms and environments; 6.4 Earth and Space Science, K-4:
properties of earth materials; and 6.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives, K-4: Changes in
environments.
3. Objectives/Outcomes and how they will be assessed
Objectives/Outcomes:
How Assessed?
Through the paleontologist dig in the
Students will find the correct dinosaurs that
classroom, students will gain an understanding
they dug up. They will match up their skeleton
of the study and findings of dinosaurs.
to one of several pictures of the dinosaur (with
the skin on it).
Students will learn one to two new facts about
Students will read underneath their dinosaur
the dinosaur that they found and dug up.
and find a fact or two that is interesting to
them. They will then share the correct fact
with everyone.
4. Skills to be learned:
Students will learn new specific skills at it relates to the Dinosaur unit.
1. Students will learn the names of 12 different dinosaurs
2. Students will learn what fossils are
3. Students will learn what a paleontologist is
4. Students will learn new vocabulary words including: Ankyolsauruses, Brachiosaurus,
Dimetrodon, Edaphosaurus, Iguanodons, Protoceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, Pterodactyl,
Spinosaurus, Stegosauruses, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor, Paleontologist,
Fossils, Excavation, Extinction, Carnivor, and Herbivor.
5. Students will follow directions
6. Students will learn how to use their observations
5. Resources/Materials

2 copies of 12 different dinosaur skeletons cut out

12 dinosaurs in color to match the 12 dinosaur skeletons with small descriptions of the
dinosaurs

5-6 card board boxes or flat bins

Sand

Clean soft bristle paint brushes

Tape

Markers or crayons

Dinosaur books

Fossil books
6. Procedure- Before I teach the lesson I will need to set up the excavation centers. At an
appropriate time I will set up 5-6 card board boxes with sand and dinosaur skeletons. I will
count how many kids there are so that I can separate the children into equal groups in the
centers. I will cut up the paper dinosaurs into two or three sections and bury the sections in the
sand. There will be enough dinosaurs for each child to find one dinosaur. I will pour a little
bit of sand in the bottom of the cardboard box, then place some dinosaur parts, then pour some
more sand in, then put some more dinosaur parts in and finally top it off with some sand.

Transition into the lesson- I will ask the students to be quit because we are going to
transition into a new subject. If the students had a previous activity out I will ask them
to clean up their stuff and get ready to listen. I will wait until all of the students are
quit and ready. I will ask the students if they know anything about dinosaurs! I will
wait for some responses and then inform them I have a cool story about dinosaurs.

Introduction to and motivation for the lesson- To get students ready to learn about
dinosaurs I am going to read them a book that walks them through some different facts
about dinosaurs. The story is called “Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs!”, by:
Kathleen V. Kudlinski. This is a cute little story about what people originally thought
about dinosaurs when they first started to discover fossils. It also shows pictures of
dinosaur fossils and skeletons, as well as pictures of paleontologists doing excavations.
During the story I will ask questions about what the students think about dinosaurs. I
will also ask them if they have ever seen anything like these dinosaurs in museums. I
will try and help connect the theme to their lives to get them more interested and
involved.

Lesson Body- After I have read the book I will talk some more about different parts in
the book. I will ask the students questions about dinosaurs. Starting with, “Do
dinosaurs still alive?”, “Why not?”, “If they are not alive, how do we know so much
about them?”. I will allow some students to speak and answer a few questions. I will
then tell the students to turn to one friend and tell them why they think we know so
much about dinosaurs. I have several books to share with the students. The books
include different pictures of fossils and paleontologists doing digs to recover dinosaur
bones. I will pass books around and let students explore the pictures and ask
questions.
I will then inform the students that we are going to find out what it is like to be
a paleontologist. I then will ask students how they think we are get to practice being a
paleontologist. I will wait for some responses to see how the students feel about it and
what kind of thoughts that they have. I will then tell them that we get to do a Dino
Dig! I will explain to them some rules about doing the Dino Dig. First I will inform
them that this type of dig is not a real dig like a paleontologist does but it is a pretend
dig. I will give them their paint brush tools and then ask some more questions. “What
do we need these for do you think?”, “How are we going to use these to dig up
dinosaur bones?”. Then I will explain to them how to brush away the sand to reveal
the dinosaur bones. I will then ask students why they need to be so careful and brush
the sand away carefully. I will let them respond and then I will explain why they need
to be so careful because real fossils can be very fragile.
Students will dig up their dinosaurs and I will make sure that they only dig up
one dinosaur. Then they will need to put the dinosaur skeleton back together using
some tape. Once they are done putting the skeleton together they will have to go find
the dinosaur sheets at the front of the room and find what dinosaur is theirs. Most of
the dinosaurs are easy to find the matching pair but I will be there to help the students.
After they have found their dinosaur they will need to read some facts about it. There
will be about two students per dinosaur so they will be partners. This will be
completely random. After they have read about their dinosaur they can talk to their
partner about their dinosaur until we are ready to share facts with everyone.

Closure to the lesson-I will have each group share something about their dinosaur. I
want them to share what they like about it and some facts about that dinosaur. I will
encourage each student in the group to share something about their dinosaur. This
way the whole class can learn something about each other’s dinosaurs.
7. Accommodations for Diverse Learners
I am not sure what type of diverse learners that I will have since this is a camp and I
have never met any of the students before. First I will meet the needs of diverse learners by
presenting information in a variety of ways. I will show the students pictures as I am talking
about the dinosaurs and the different things involved. I will also pass the pictures around so
that students can physically touch the pictures and look at them close up. I will also help any
individual students that need help and give them more direct assistance. If there are students
that are uncomfortable with participating with everyone I will try and pair them up with
someone that they know or work with myself. In addition, I will make any more
accommodations as needed when I have assessed the students that I have. If I notice a child
needs help in specific ways then I will try and make any accommodations that are needed.
8. Assessment

Pre-Assessment- To find out what the students already know about dinosaurs I will do
a verbal KWL with them. I will ask them questions about what they already know
about dinosaurs. If there is a blackboard available I will right some of the things that
the students know down. I will then ask them some questions about what they want to
know about dinosaurs and write those down. I will be assessing what they know by
the answers they are presenting. In addition, to make sure that I get fair impute of
what the students already know I will try and call on a diverse range of students.

Evaluation of the objectives/outcomes-The lesson has not been taught yet, but I will
be observing the students to evaluate the success of the students. In addition, I will go
over our KWL chart on the board and ask the students more questions and go over
what we learned. I will also be taking pictures to help assess the progress of the
students.
9. Self Reflection on Lesson—(I have not taught the lesson yet)
10. References: This is a list of books that I will read to the students, pick out pages to look at,
and let them explore. All of these books are juvenile reading books from the public library.
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs, by: Kathleen V. Kudlinski
Dinosaurs: The Fossil Hunters, by: Dougal Dixon
The Dinosaur Search, by: Rosie Heywood
Fossils, by: Allan Roberts
Graveyards of the Dinosaurs, by: Shelly Tanaka
1. Fun with Fossils

7/7/10

Science

1st and 2nd graders

Approximately 25 students

30-45 minutes
2. Purpose/Rationale
The purpose of this lesson is to give students an introduction to fossils and what they are made of.
Through learning about fossils and how they are formed students will learn the importance of fossils
and how they are used to determine specific things about the past. Students will play a fossil
guessing game to get them familiar with looking at fossils and observing their characteristics. After
they have practiced examining fossils they will attempt to make their own fossils using a variety of
objects. Having students explore, examine, and create their own fossils will introduce them to new
concepts as well as new vocabulary words.
This lesson meets the following National Science Standards: 6.1 Science as Inquiry, K-4:
Students will have the ability to do scientific inquiry; 6.3 Life Science, K-4: Characteristics of
organisms and environments; and 6.4 Earth and Space Science, K-4: Properties of earth materials.
3. Objectives/Outcomes and how they will be assessed
Objectives/Outcomes:
How Assessed?
Through the fossil guessing game students will
Students will observe the fossils and make
gain an understanding of fossils and how to
educated guesses based on what they see.
successfully observe and make educated
They will get at least of few of the answers
guesses.
right based on their observations.
Students will learn what fossils are made and
Students will answer some questions about
will successfully make their own fossil.
how fossils are made, based on the pictures and
readings that we will be doing. In addition, the
students will follow directions in making their
own fossils.
4. Skills to be learned:
Students will learn new specific skills at it relates to the Dinosaur unit.
1. Students will learn what fossils are
2. Students will learn how fossils are made
3. Students will learn why fossils are important
4. Students will learn what types of things fossils can tell us
5. Students will learn what types of things can make fossils
6. Students will learn new vocabulary words: fossils, sedimentary rocks, (as well as the
vocabulary words from the first lesson on Dinosaurs)
7. Students will demonstrate comprehension of the information we cover
8. Students will learn to observe and make educated guesses based on their observations
9. Students will follow directions
5. Resources/Materials

Books on Dinosaurs and fossils

Blank pieces of paper

Markers, crayons, or pencils

10-15 homemade fossils for the fossil guessing game

Proper hardening playdough for children to make fossils out of (I will make the play
dough ahead of time and bring it in)

Wax-paper

Permanent marker

Objects for students to use when making their fossils
6. Procedure- I will make 10-15 homemade fossils out of various objects prior to the day of this
lesson. In addition, I will make the play dough ahead of time for all of the students. The
reason I will make the play dough ahead of time is because of the time frame that I will have.
In different circumstances I would have the students help make the play dough and it would
be a math lesson. I will also be bringing in different types of objects for the students so they
have stuff to make fossils with. If it is allowed and we have time I would like to take the
students on a walk outside to let them find their own objects to make fossils with.

Transition into the lesson-I will ask the students to be quit because we are going to
play a game. If the students are still doing different activity I will ask them to finish
up their stuff or put it away and finish it later, so that we can move on. I will then ask
students if they have ever seen a fossil before! I will wait for some responses.

Introduction to and motivation for the lesson- After some responses from the
students about fossils, I will show the students a homemade fossil. I will explain to
them that this is not a real fossil but that I made it. However, I real fossil may look
similar to this. I will show them specific pages in the books that I have. These pages
will show the different stages it takes for a real fossil to be formed and what a real
fossil might look like.

Lesson Body- Once they have found out what a real fossil looks like I will talk about
the stages that it takes to make a fossil. I will look at specific pages in books to show
students how many years it can take to make a real fossil and the processes that it takes
to make a real fossil. Then we will reflect on our excavation that we did to talk about
fossils again. I will ask students about paleontologists again and what they do. After I
have waited for some responses about what a paleontologist does we will go into
further detail about fossils. I will show them my homemade fossil and ask students
what they think made the impression. I will wait for answers, if students guess what it
is right away I will then ask students how they knew what it was. If they do not guess
what it is right away I will give the students hints and tell them what to look at to help
them determine what it is. I will ask them if they thought this was kind of hard to
guess what it was. Some of them will probably say yes and some of them will
probably say no. I will then ask them how about how they think paleontologists
determine what certain things are. I will wait for responses and then describe to them
how it takes a lot of observations to find out what something is sometimes.
I will then inform them that we are going to play a little guessing game with
some homemade fossils. I will make sure to emphasize that these fossils are
homemade. I will explain the rules and what they need to do. First I will tell them to
number their blank piece of paper 1-10 (or 1-15). Then I will show them the back of
one of the fossils. It will have a number written on it. I will tell students that the
fossils will be passed around and that they need to observe the characteristics of the
impression and guess what type of object made the fossil imprint. If there the fossil
has a number 1 on it then they need to right their guess after number one. I will also
inform them that although spelling is important we are just going to try and do our best
and it is okay if some things are spelled wrong, because we will go over the correct
answers after the game is over. For this particular game I may pair children up
depending on how they seem to be doing with the fossils. After they have completed
the game I will go over the answers by asking what students thought it was and then
telling them what it was and writing it down on the board. I will also ask them if there
would have been a possibility of this being a real fossil. (Such as if I had a hot wheels
car and made a tire impression, could that have really been real when dinosaurs were
living).
After we are done with the game I will ask students if they would like to make
their own fossils! (For this part I will have objects that students can rummage through
to find one of their liking. However, if we can go for a walk I would like to so students
can come up with their own objects from nature)I will show the students what to do
and how to roll the play dough up in a ball and then flatten it to make a pancake. I will
then show students how they will take their object and press it into the play dough. I
will tell them not to push it in to far but far enough to leave an impression. Also, if
they mess up they can simply roll their play dough back up into a ball and start over,
but they can’t do it too much because the play dough might start getting hard. They
will also need to keep the play dough on the wax-paper because we don’t want a mess
on the table and I will right their names on the wax paper.

Closure to the lesson- As students are finishing up their own fossils I will ask some
questions about fossils. This way we can review what we have learned in a simply
conversation type way. I will ask them what types of things they think can be learned
from fossils and we will talk about them. I will also be walking around to see how
students are doing with making their fossils and asking questions about the fossils they
are making.
7. Accommodations for Diverse Learners
I am not sure what type of diverse learners that I will have since this is a camp and I
have never met any of the students before. First I will meet the needs of diverse learners by
presenting information in a variety of ways. I will show the students pictures as I am talking
about the fossils, I will pass books around so that they can look at the pictures up close, I will
draw or write anything on the board that I can, and I will pass out homemade fossils for
students to look at and explore. I will also help any individual students that need help and
give them more direct assistance. In addition, if I see that a particular child is confused or
does not understand what we are doing I will try and explain the information in a different
way. Also, I will make any more accommodations as needed when I have asses the students
that I have. In many cases I may pair children up that I feel would work good together and
possibly help each other.
8. Assessment

Pre-Assessment- To find out what the students already know about dinosaurs I will do
a verbal KWL with them. I will ask them questions about what they know about
fossils and what fossils are. If there is a blackboard available I will right some of the
things that the students know down on it. I will then ask them some questions about
what they want to know about fossils. I will be assessing what they know about fossils
by the things that they are saying. In addition, to make sure that I get fair impute of
what the students already know about fossils, I will call on a variety of students and
not focus on only one particular group of students.

Evaluation of the objectives/outcomes- The lesson has not been taught yet, but I will
be observing the students to evaluate the success of the students. In addition, I will
look at their original answers to the fossil guessing game and I will assess how they
did, I will also look to see how many students change the answers (like they are
supposed to) when we go over the right answers together. I will also ask more
questions that relate to the KWL chart that I did with them to see if they have
improved some of their answers. I will also be taking pictures to help assess the
progress of the students.
9. Self Reflection on Lesson- (I have not taught the lesson yet)
10. References: This is a list of books that I will read to the students, pick out pages to look at
with the students, and let the students explore. All of these books are juvenile reading books
from the public library.
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs, by: Kathleen V. Kudlinski
Dinosaurs: The Fossil Hunters, by: Dougal Dixon
The Dinosaur Search, by: Rosie Heywood
Fossils, by: Allan Roberts
Graveyards of the Dinosaurs, by: Shelly Tanaka
_________________________________________________________________________________
1. Fossils and Rocks

7/8/10

Science

1st and 2nd graders

Approximately 25 students

30-45 minutes
2. Purpose/Rationale
The purpose of this lesson is to give students a more in depth look at fossils and what they are
made of. Students will learn in more detail how fossils are made, what they are made of, what types
of animals and objects can make fossils, and what we can tell from fossils. Students will explore
what a specifically a paleontologist can tell from a fossil. We will discuss more about fossils but we
will focus on dinosaurs and fossils to stay in the dinosaur fossil unit theme. After students have
learned about fossils they will do an experiment on how large a dinosaur is. There will be a dinosaur
foot print that in “theory” was a fossil footprint of a dinosaur. Students will learn that a
paleontologist can tell how large an animal is based on its footprint. The students will then see in
relation to them how large this specific dinosaur is by seeing how many footprints of theirs that they
can get into the dinosaur footprint.
This lesson meets the following National Science Standards: 6.1 Science as an Inquiry, K-4:
Students will have the ability to do scientific inquiry; 6.3 Life Science, K-4: Life Cycles of
Organisms; 6.4 Earth and Space Science Standards, K-4: Properties of earth materials; 6.6 Science in
Personal and Social Perspectives, K-4: Changes in environments.
3. Objectives/Outcomes and how they will be assessed
Objectives/Outcomes:
How Assessed?
Students will successfully complete the word
Students will use the correct words in the
puzzle on the worksheet.
correct sentences to complete the word puzzle
on the worksheet.
Students will answer the correct answers on the Students will correctly choose either true or
backside of the worksheet, which has to do
false depending on the questions, which will
with sedimentary rocks.
then give them a letter to go with that number
question. The students will then fill in the
word blanks at the bottom of the page to reveal
the answer to a question. Students must choose
the correct answers on the top of the page to
get the correct answer at the bottom of the
page.
4. Skills to be learned:
Students will learn new specific skills at it relates to the Dinosaur unit.
1. Students will learn what fossils are in more detail
2. Students will learn what materials fossils are made from
3. Students will learn why fossils are important
4. Students will learn specifically what fossils can tell us
5. Students will learn new vocabulary words in relation to fossils: Sand, Glued, Fossils,
Layered, and Sedimentary rocks.
6. Students will demonstrate comprehension
7. Students will use listening skills
8. Students will follow directions
5. Resources/Materials

25 copies of the worksheet

Books about fossils and paleontologists

Large pieces of paper (to make dinosaur footprint)

Crayons and markers
6. Procedure- I will need to draw out a large footprint of a dinosaur on a piece of paper.

Transition into the lesson-I will ask students to be quit because we are going to talk
some more about fossils for our dinosaur unit.

Introduction to and motivation for the lesson- I will do a fun review about fossils.
By asking questions about what we have learned about dinosaurs and fossils. I want
this to be fun for students so I will keep some energy going through the room. I want
them to be excited about fossils. I will then ask them some questions about the fossils
that they got to make. Such as “What did your parents think?”, “Was it fun?”, “Would
you like to do that again?” and so on. I would ask those questions to keep them
interested. Then I would ask them if they remembered what material (play dough)
there homemade fossils were made of.

Lesson Body- Once the students respond to the previous question about what their
homemade fossils were made of, I will continue by asking them what real fossils are
made from. I will wait for answers and I will simply let them say what they want. For
example if they say sand, I will just say maybe, and I will do the same for all of the
answers. I do not want to tell the students they are wrong and I don’t want to tell them
the answer yet. I will then say well let’s find out what fossils are really made of. I
will show them the worksheet that they are going to do and I will give some directions.
I will tell them that they need to read the first side of the worksheet to determine what
a fossil is made out of and then do the fun word puzzle on the bottom. I will also tell
them that they need to read this paragraph because on the backside of the worksheet
there are more questions that they need to answer to reveal a hidden word at the
bottom of the page.
I will then pass the worksheet out to the students and let them begin to work on
their own. If I was just with second grade students I would let them do the worksheet
on their own. However, if there are first and second grade students I may pair them up
because there is reading involved. I will walk around to help students if needed. If
some students start finishing the worksheet before other students, I will inform them
that they can color the worksheet (because there are pictures on it) while they are
waiting for everyone to finish. I will try and help the students that are not done yet.
Once the students are done I will ask them if they got the hidden answer. I will tell the
students to raise their hands if they think they have the right answer and I will come
around and look. After I have looked I will right the answer down on the board, this
way the students that don’t have the correct answer can fix it, but I want to visually
notice what students don’t have the right answer. After the worksheet is complete I
will go over the front of the worksheet with them and we will go over the word puzzle
and questions. This way we can talk about the process that is involved with making
fossils and I can show them pictures of the process in various books.
After we have talked about how fossils are formed and the students have
viewed various pictures of the process of fossils being formed I will have them explore
fossil books in various groups. They don’t necessarily need to read about the different
fossils but I want them to look at pictures of fossils to recognize the many different
types of fossils. For this part, I will have fossil books that include fossils of various
things besides dinosaurs. I will also have books on dinosaurs that show dinosaur
fossils. I will then collect the books and do a review with the students about some of
the different things that can make fossil impressions. This will help move us towards
are next activity. After all the students have told me at least one thing that can make a
fossil I will then pose some more questions about what they think paleontologists (for
dinosaurs) or scientists can tell based upon fossils. “Why are they important?” I will
let them think about this question while we do our next activity.
I will bring out the giant dinosaur footprint that I have drawn out and ask the
students what it is. It will not take long before they answer back that it is a dinosaur
footprint. I will then tell them that it is a “fossil” and show them specific pages in the
book that show fossil footprints of dinosaurs. “So we are all scientists who have found
this dinosaur footprint”, “How big do you think this dinosaur was?” and I’ll wait for
some answers. Then I will tell them that we are going to measure the size of the
footprint, and ask, “How should we measure this giant footprint?”. Students should
come up with some answers that have to do with math. I will then tell them that
“NO!” we are not going to use any of those measurements but we are going to use our
feet. I will randomly pair students up and tell them to go get some sort of writing
utensil to trace feet with. The partners will have to wait in line together because only
so many people will fit in the foot print at once. I will go over the rules: “You and
your partner will trace each other’s footprints in the dinosaurs foot print and then go to
the back of the line. Make sure you trace both of your foot prints in areas of the big
footprint and keep getting back in line because we have to fill the whole foot print up
with our footprints. Then we will count them!”

Closure to the lesson- After students are done filling up the dinosaur footprint with
their footprints we will count how many footprints it took as a class. We will then talk
about how a paleontologist would take this information to find out how tall and big the
dinosaur was. (The math equation for this is not important at this time and age, but it is
important that they understand it is possible). (If time allows we will also do this next
part.) We will go outside and draw a line to show the height of a few different
students ranging in height, then draw a line of my height by their line to show the
difference in our heights, and then draw a line as best as possible of how tall the
dinosaur would have been. This will really help them understand how large some of
the dinosaurs were and how important the fossil was in determining the height of the
dinosaur.
7. Accommodations for Diverse Learners
I am not sure what type of diverse learners that I will have since this is a camp and I
have never met any of my students before. First, I will meet the needs of diverse learners by
presenting information in a variety of ways. I will show the student’s pictures as I am talking
about fossils, I will pass books around so that they can look at the pictures up close, and I will
draw or write anything down on the board to further help understand the concepts.
8. Assessment

Pre-Assessment-To find out what the students already know and recall from the
previous lesson about fossils I will ask them questions. I will be listening to make sure
they are answering the questions that right or wrong to determine their knowledge of
fossils and how they are made and what they are made of. In addition, to make sure
that I get fair impute of what the students know about fossils, I will call on a variety of
students.

Evaluation of the objectives/outcomes- The lesson has not been taught yet, but I will
be observing the students to evaluate the success of the students. In addition, the
students will be completing a worksheet that I will be looking over as they work to see
how they comprehend the information. I will be looking to see if they are actually
reading the paragraph and answering the questions. I will also be taking pictures to
help assess the progress of the students.
9. Self Reflection on Lesson- (I have not taught the lesson yet)
10. References: This is a list of books that I will read to the students, pick out pages to look at
with the students, and let the students explore. All of these books are juvenile reading books
from the public library. There is also a workbook page taken from “The Mailbox” magazine
book.
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs, by: Kathleen V. Kudlinski
Dinosaurs: The Fossil Hunters, by: Dougal Dixon
The Dinosaur Search, by: Rosie Heywood
Fossils, by: Allan Roberts
Graveyards of the Dinosaurs, by: Shelly Tanaka
Both worksheet pages are scanned onto the next two pages. This worksheet page was taken
from:
The Mailbox: Grades 1-2: Fascinating Facts: Science
B. (I have not done the lessons yet, so I do not have work samples yet)
C. (I have not done the lessons yet, so I do not have any photos yet.)
VII. Post-Assessment
A. ( I have not done the lessons yet, so I do not have any documentation of post assessments yet)
VIII. Unit Evaluation
A. (I have not done the lessons yet, so I cannot do a written report or analysis anything yet)
B. (I have not done the lessons yet, so I cannot make a chart of pre and post assessments yet)
IX. Home School Connection
A. I have several different activities that the students can bring home with them to help further their
exploration in our dinosaur unit. I have 4 different coloring worksheets of dinosaurs. These will
help the students talk about what they are learning about dinosaurs as well as practicing their
math skills. The coloring sheets have hidden dinosaurs that you have to add up the number in a
specific section to find out what color you are supposed to color that section. I also have two
different dinosaur size activities to bring home. These activities will help extend off of size
activity that I will do with the students in the classroom.
B. Parents can assist during the paleontologist dig to help monitor and assist children when needed.
The parents will also be able to help students identify what dinosaur they have as well as helping
them read some of the facts on the dinosaurs. Parents can also help make play dough for when
the students get to make their own fossils. The parents would also be helpful in going on a walk
the students to find materials to use for making fossil impressions.
X. Bibliography
A. There are so many interactive sites and activities available on the web that it is not necessary to
purchase anything. Here are some interactive sites that would support the dinosaur unit:
 http://www.abc.net.au/beasts/playground/fossils.htm - The playground is a fun site that
offers fun dinosaur activities for students. At this site students can play many different
games that will help them learn and understand concepts being covered in the dinosaur
unit. For example, students can make their own fossil, which shows the actual process of a
fossil being made. It also has a little description of how fossils are made. Students can
also play a camouflage game, where they learn the different environments of dinosaurs; a
burying bodies game, where they bury a bottom in different types of land and find out
where the fossil will be made; and a footprints game, where students can hunt, race, or do
case studies. In addition, there are printouts for coloring or reading at different grade
levels.
 http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/funstuff/index.htm - The learning zone is a great
interactive website for children because it offers many different games. Children can click
on a topic such as dinosaurs (first they have to click on animals) or fossils. Then within
that section students have a variety of things that they can do. They can play games that
relate to specific dinosaurs or fossils and topics. Students can also visit the museum where
they can simply down load (but not pay) different trails to follow that will lead them to case
studies of dinosaurs and fossils. They are all age appropriate and different ages can be
clicked on such as K-1 or 2-3.
B. The printout sources that I used for this unit were off of the internet and then books from the public
library.
 For the skeletons of dinosaurs I simply typed in a dinosaur name into google. Once I saw a
skeleton of that dinosaur I copied and pasted it into a word document and printed it off.
 http://www.dinosaurfacts.org/ - I found this website which allowed me to click on the
names of different dinosaurs. I clicked on the different dinosaurs that I had the skeleton
pictures for. Then I printed off the picture and a bit of information on that dinosaur.
 For the work book page on sedimentary rocks and fossils, I used a mailbox book that I had
previously ordered. The website for The Mailbox is: www.themailbox.com , where you
can order work books for different themes, subjects, and grades, as well as you can sign up
and simply print off certain items. The name of the work book that I have is, The Mailbox:
Fascinating Facts: Science, Grades 1-2
 In addition to finding things on websites or ordering books, I obtained much of my
information to use and share with students from books at the public library. I did not
necessarily use all of the information out of each book, but I used information from specific
pages as it relates to our dinosaur unit. These are the following books:
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs, by: Kathleen V. Kudlinski
Dinosaurs: The Fossil Hunters, by: Dougal Dixon
The Dinosaur Search, by: Rosie Heywood
Fossils, by: Allan Roberts
Graveyards of the Dinosaurs, by: Shelly Tanaka
C. Students used books for the research and exploring portions of this unit. However, there are many
different sites that provide information on the specific topics we were covering in this unit. The
following websites would be great for students to use at school or home to learn more about
dinosaurs.
a. http://www.dinosaurfacts.org/
b. http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/index.htm
c. http://www.geologyshop.co.uk/dinosa~1.htm
d. http://www.kidsdinos.com/
D. The internet has many different types of resources that teachers can use, it just depends on what
type of information one is looking for. For example in this dinosaur unit I used the internet for
various things. I looked up dinosaur pictures with facts that I needed, I looked up how to make
play dough for the fossils, I looked up dinosaur activities to do with children, as well as I looked
up information on dinosaurs and fossils. The following sites are a mix between ideas for teachers
doing a dinosaur unit and information on things that would be involved in a dinosaur unit (such as
different dinosaurs and fossils). These following sites would be very useful for teachers.
a. http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edsci.htm#fossils
b. http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/index.htm
c. http://www.dinosaurfacts.org/
d. http://www.geologyshop.co.uk/dinosa~1.htm