~ Ideas for learning about dinosaurs ~
Books
Information Books:
Fiction Books:
Activities
Dinosaur Herd
[Large Motor]
Brontosauruses and triceratops traveled in herds. Children were put into two groups: brontosaurus and triceratops. The groups traveled (crawled)
to various destinations around the classroom together in their herd. They must stay with the herd and not get lost!
Play Dough Skeletons
[Fine Motor Skills]
Children pretended to be paleontologists who have discovered bones (pasta) in the ground. We had to figure out how to put the bones together
to make a dinosaur. They mashed play dough flat on a plate. We used a dinosaur-shaped cookie cutter to make the outline of a dinosaur in the play dough.
Then pressed pasta shapes (bones) into the play dough inside the outline to make a skeleton. Model Magic or self-hardening clay would also work well.
Dinosaur Stencil Books
[Fine Motor Skills]
Children made a book with paper and stapler. They traced dinosaur stencils with markers onto the pages of the book. Many children asked me to spell
the dinosaur names so they can write them in the book.
Fossils
[Fine Motor Skills, Science]
We added small toy dinosaurs with the play dough. Children made dinosaur fossils and footprints in the play dough. Children used this at center
time for exploration. We also make one dinosaur fossil using Mexican self-hardening clay which the children can keep.
Dinosaur Skeletons
[Fine Motor Skills]
Dinosaur Skeleton Printable
Children assembled and glued pieces of the dinosaur skeleton to a piece of construction paper (12x18), and glued dry pasta on the skeleton.
Pasta:
Shell for the Skull
Rigatoni for the Legs
Fettucini for Ribs
Elbow (Macaroni) for the Neck, Backbone, & Tail
Reprinted here with permission of former owner of Kindernet Online
"If You Take a T-Rex to School" Class Book
[Literacy]
We read the book "If You Take a Mouse to School" and made a dinosaur book patterned after that story. Children chose a dinosaur to draw,
and thought of what might happen if that dinosaur came to school. The teachers wrote the children's dictation on the pages, and put the pages together
to make a book.
Dino Bingo
[Math, Literacy]
We play number bingo or alphabet bingo using dinosaur counters to cover the numbers.
Dino Footprint Estimation
[Math]
We had a large paper outline of a Tyrannosaurus Rex footprint. We estimated how many children's feet would fit inside the T-Rex footprint, and wrote
our guesses on the board. Each child's footprint was traced on the T-Rex footprint. We traced as many footprints as we needed. Then we counted
the footprints and compared our estimates.
Dino Board Game
[Math]
The children worked in small groups of about 4-5 players. Each group had a game board with a basket of dinosaur counters in the middle.
Children rolled the dice, and moved their play piece the correct number of times on the dinosaur bones. When they landed on a dinosaur, they collected
a dinosaur counter. The group played until the basket was empty, then counted to see who had the most dinosaurs.
Dinosaur War Card Game
[Math]
Each pair of children had a set of Dino War cards. The cards had various amounts of dinosaur sticker on them. Each player lay down a card from their pile,
and compared the amount of dinosaurs on each card to see which had the most. The child with the most on the card collected both cards.
If they were equal, both children kept their own card. At the end of the game, they counted to see who has the most cards. Some children get upset if
they do not win, so we often play without counting at the end to see who has the most. They enjoy the game just as much or more.
Dino Bones
[Math]
Children used dinosaur "bones" of various lengths (cut from felt), lined Unifix cubes along the bone, and counted how many cubes fit on the bone.
Volcano
[Science]
We used poster board for a base, and built a mountain with play dough around a 20-ounce drink bottle. Then we put small toy dinosaurs on the sides
of the mountain. Red food color was added to vinegar. We put baking soda in the bottle with a funnel, poured in the vinegar, and watched the volcano erupt!
Science Center
[Science]
Dinosaur miniatures
Dinosaur bone replicas
Fossils (real or made)
Educational Videos
[Technology]
From United Streaming Videos:
"Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards"
"How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight"
"Danny and the Dinosaur"
Resources
- Dinosaur Theme Cards: use for pocket charts, flannel boards, graphing labels, matching, games, beginning sounds, etc.
- Dinosaur Theme Links: my bookmarks at del.icio.us
