Lesson: KDT! Follow-up Lessons for Digging Up
Dinosaurs
Subject
Grade
Time Length
Author
Science
1
1 to 2 weeks
lvandewe
Lesson Description
Digging up Dinosaurs by Aliki is a book rich in information about dinosaurs and fossils. Below
you will find extension activities that can be used with this text. The activities are divided into
three sections based on major topics found in the book – Different Types of Dinosaurs, What is a
Fossil?, and Fossil Hunting and Excavation. Feel free to read the book and complete the
activities in sections, or to read the book in its entirety before completing the activities.
Major Understanding
* Characteristics of different types of dinosaurs * How fossils are made * Job description of a
paleontologist
Essential Questions
* How do dinosaurs get their names? * How big were dinosaurs? How does this compare to the
size of modern day animals? * What do paleontologists do? * How do fossils help us learn about
dinosaurs?
Skills
* Sequencing * Organizing * Measuring * Drawing * Cutting * Observing * Making comparisons
Vocabulary
Fossil Paleontologist Dig Site Tool Dinosaur Coelophysis Excavate
Assessment
* Student participation in classroom discussions * Teacher observation during activities * Review
of completed student products (Coelophysis Bone Puzzle, I'm a Paleontologist recording sheet,
Name a Dinosaur Drawing)
Procedure
Procedure
Below is a listing of extension activities for each section of the book. On the following pages you
will find lesson plans and materials for each activity.
Different Types of Dinosaurs (page 5-9)
1. Name a Dinosaur
2. How Long Was a Dinosaur?
What is a Fossil? (page 12-13)
1. Fossil Sequence Activity
2. Sticky Animals
Fossil Hunting and Excavation (page 19–32)
1. Dig Pit
2. Dinosaur Bone Puzzle
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Excavation
Technology Integration
* Use KidPix to illustrate a dinosaur.* Students work together to create a short iMovie in which
students share a favorite dinosaur fact. This movie can then be shared with other classrooms or
families via VoiceThread.
Culturally Affirming Components
* A creatures' environment can impact its physical characteristics.* Names have special
meanings. Finding out the story behind a name can help us learn about the people and creatures
around us.
Special Needs Accommodation
 Allow students to orally share the results from their investigations instead of writing
 Visually impaired students may act out or orally describe a dinosaur rather than drawing.
 Students with limited mobility could work with a partner to complete the coelophysis
puzzle.
Resources
Dinosaurs, A Science Discovery Book by Annalisa McMorrow, Monday Morning Books, Inc., 1998
Dinosaurs, Creative Teaching Press, 1998
NYS Standards
Science 1999
follow safety procedures in the classroom, laboratory, and field (K-4)
safely and accurately use the following tools: (K-4)
hand lens (K-4)
ruler (metric) (K-4)
develop an appreciation of and respect for all learning environments (classroom, laboratory,
field, etc.) (K-4)
manipulate materials thr ough teacher dir ection and fr ee discovery (K-4)
order and sequence objects and/or events (K-4)
observe, analyze, and report observations of objects and events (K-4)
observe, collect, organize, and appropriately record data, then accurately interpret results
(K-4)
collect and organize data, choosing the appropriate representation: (K-4)
drawings/pictorial representations (K-4)
compare and contrast organisms/objects/events in the living and physical environments (K4)
Supporting Materials
See below
Supporting Web Sites
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/http://dsc.discovery.com/dinosaurs/http://p
aleobiology.si.edu/dinosaurs/http://www.abc.net.au/dinosaurs/dino_playground/default.htm
Lesson Status
Status
Last Updated
Curriculum Chair
Approved (Optional)
2010-08-11 10:28:15
jclark
Name a Dinosaur
Materials:
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Word part cards (see below)
Drawing Paper
Markers, crayons or colored pencils
Procedure:
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Cut out the word part cards in advance.
Explain to the students that dinosaur names come from Greek and Latin
word parts that are combined to make one word that describes the dinosaur
in some way. Sometimes a dinosaur’s name describes something about its
body, head, or feet. Other dinosaurs are named for the way they move or
their size. And some dinosaurs are named after the location where their
fossils were found.
For example, Tyrannosaurus is the combination of the word parts tyrannos
(tyrant) and saurus (lizard). So the name Tyrannosaurus means Tyrant
Lizard.
Usually the person who discovers the dinosaur’s fossils gets to name the
dinosaur.
Tell the students that they will each receive two cards that have either a
Greek or Latin word part written on it. These cards also tell what each word
part means.
The students should combine their word parts to make one dinosaur name
and then draw a picture of their newly discovered dinosaur. They should
write the name of their dinosaur on the paper.
Remind the students that their picture should match the meaning of the
dinosaur name.
Hand out two cards and a piece of drawing paper to each student.
When the students are finished have them share their dinosaur creations
with the class
brachys
(short)
kamptos
(bent)
di
(two)
gravis
(heavy)
makros
(long)
saltus
(leaping)
stegos
(plated)
dino
(terrible)
teratos
(monster)
tri
(three)
saurus
(lizard)
onyx
(claw)
odon
(teeth)
ops
(face)
gnathus
(jaw)
dipus
(two-footed)
rhinos
(nose)
venator
(hunter)
pus
(foot)
neustes
(swimmer)
aeto
(eagle)
anato
(duck)
baga
(little)
cera
(horn)
draco
(dragon)
echino
(spiny)
stegos
(plated)
hadro
(large)
penta
(five)
phyllo
(leaf)
lepto
(thin)
pyro
(fire)
lana
(woolly)
kentro
(sharp point)
hypselo
(high)
dromeus
(runner)
veloci
(speedy)
urus
(tail)
pogon
(beard)
plateo
(flat)
How long was a dinosaur?
Materials:
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Spools/balls of different colors of yarn (one spool for each group of students)
Foot long rulers
Scissors
Dinosaur Lengths cards (see below)
Procedure:
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Cut apart the Dinosaur Lengths cards in advance.
Put students into groups of 3 or 4.
Give each group of students a different Dinosaur Length card.
Have groups work together to measure a piece of yarn that is the length shown on
their card.
Tape each Dinosaur Length card to the corresponding piece of yarn.
Hang all of the pieces of yarn on a long wall in the hallway.
Once all the pieces of string are hung, have the students make comparisons between
the lengths of different dinosaurs/animals.
Cut apart and give one animal/dinosaur to each group of students
Fossil Sequence Activity
Materials:
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Fossil Sequence Cards (see below)
Paper (optional)
Glue Sticks (optional)
Procedure:
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Cut apart the Fossil Sequence Cards in advance.
Mix up the cards.
Have students work to put the Fossil Sequence Cards in the appropriate order. This
can be done as a whole class, in small groups, in pairs, or individually.
If this activity is done individually, you can have students glue their cards in order
on a blank piece of paper.
Sticky Animals
Materials:
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1 plastic cup for each student
Honey or molasses (enough to fill each cup about half way)
Animal crackers or small graham cracker dinosaurs (2 or 3 per student)
Paper towels
Procedure:
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Fill each cup half way full of honey or molasses and give each student a cup.
Give each student 2 or 3 animal crackers and tell them to drop the animal crackers
into the cup.
Let the animal crackers sink down for a minute or two then have the children pull
them out.
Encourage students to notice how the animal crackers get stuck in the honey.
Follow up this activity with a brief discussion about how it would feel if the students
got stuck in a pool of honey. Then ask the students to imagine what it would be like
for a huge dinosaur to get stuck.
This activity simulates what happened to many dinosaurs when they got stuck in the
mud at the bottom of lakes and rivers.
Dig Pit
Materials:
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Large plastic container or a small wading pool (depends on how much space you
have)
Sand
Plastic dinosaurs, leaves, sticks, clean chicken bones or other dried bones
Small shovels
Paintbrushes
Magnifying glasses
Procedure:
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Fill the plastic tub or wading pool with sand.
Bury the plastic dinosaurs, sticks, leaves and bones in the sand.
Let students dig in the sand to see what they can find.
Encourage the students to use a paintbrush to carefully clean off anything they find.
Students should examine their findings carefully with a magnifying glass.
As an extension activity, students could be asked to draw and write descriptions of
what they find in the dig site. Students could also weigh and measure their
specimens.
Dinosaur Bone Puzzle
Materials:
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Scissors
Glue sticks
Coelophysis Bone Puzzle (see below)
Construction Paper
Procedure:
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Give each student a pair of scissors, a glue stick, a Bone Puzzle and a piece of
construction paper.
Demonstrate how to cut apart the puzzle pieces (cut around each group of
bones).
Instruct the students to cut out their puzzle pieces and then work to put the
pieces together to make a skeleton of a Coelophysis (this is the New York State
Dinosaur).
Once students have their pieces arrange how they like they should glue the
pieces together on their piece of construction paper.
Coelophysis Bone Puzzle
Chocolate Chip Excavation
Materials:
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Chocolate Chip Cookies (one per student)
Popsicle sticks
Toothpicks
Toothbrushes
Paper plates
I’m a Paleontologist! Recording sheet (below)
Procedure:
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Review the job of a paleontologist.
Explain to the students that they will be paleontologists today and that their
“dig site” will be a chocolate chip cookie. Students will be searching for
fossils (chocolate chips) in their dig sites.
Demonstrate how to use the various “tools” (popsicle sticks, tooth picks,
toothbrushes) to excavate the chocolate chips from the cookie.
Remind students that they need to be very careful not to break their fossils
(chocolate chips) as they work.
Have each child place a chocolate chip cookie on a paper plate and complete
the first part of the I’m A Paleontologist recording sheet before beginning the
dig.
After students have excavated all of the chocolate chips from their cookie
they should complete the rest of the I’m A Paleontologist recording sheet.
After all students have finished, regroup to share results.
As an extension activity the number of “fossils” found can be graphed and
compared
Name: ____________________
Date: _________________
I’m a paleontologist!
Today I took part in a paleontological dig of a chocolate chip cookie. This is
what the dig site looked like before I began.
As a result of my excavation I found:
_____________ Chocolate chips
The tools I used were:
_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Name: ____________________
Date: _________________
Staff Development Curriculum Database
Ithaca City School District
Page 17
June 4, 2011