Science and Exploration:
Dinosaurs, Fossils and The Origins of Life

Teacher's Student Activities

CURRICULUM FOCUS

Geography, History and Science Integrate with: Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Technology

OBJECTIVES

• Students will comprehend various aspects of paleontology.
• Students will understand interrelationships among Language Arts, science, social studies, mathematics, and technology pertaining to the study of dinosaurs in the modern era.
• Students will develop an appreciation for the inquiry process using the study of dinosaurs as a catalyst.
• Students will apply this knowledge to produce a post-program project.

ABOUT THE GUESTS

John Horner, renowned paleontologist, and evolutionary theorist Stephen Jay Gould from Harvard University will be featured.

ABOUT THE CURRICULUM LEVEL MATRIX

The curriculum matrix is organized into three levels generally corresponding to elementary, middle school, and secondary. The integrated format allows for either an interdisciplinary team approach or individual teacher approach.

LEVEL 1

This structure outlines activities useful in preparing students for the program and in providing post program enrichment activities. Individual teachers and teams are encouraged to select activities from this matrix to suit their needs.

PRE PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Build a dinosaur word map to determine what students already know. Suggest categories to prompt students (things dinosaurs do, types, enemies, appearances, nests, baby dinosaurs, stories, habitat, and body parts).
• Keep daily journals to evaluate learning. Start each entry with: "Today I learned...," or "I wish I knew more about...," o don't understand why the dinosaur..."
• Encourage students to read both fiction and non-fiction accounts of dinosaurs.

SCIENCE

• Bring an artifact or fossil to school to stimulate questions and discussions for any age group.
• Identify the geometric shapes visible on dinosaurs.
• Cut basic shapes from tag board or cardboard and have students create dinosaur mobiles.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Develop or construct a sand area in which students could dig for "fossils." Discuss and generate ideas regarding the excavation of such an area. Identify tools used. Estimate the time it takes to extract dinosaur bones. Emphasize how delicate the procedure is and the care they must use during such a project. Bury "dinosaur" bones from commercially purchased model and have the students dig them and then reconstruct the model.
• Play fossil hide and seek. Create "fossils" out of plaster of Paris and label. Hide fossils on the school grounds. Map the areas where the fossils were found.
• Develop a dinosaur survey by brainstorming in the classroom. Survey parents, siblings, and neighbors. Graph the results.

MATHEMATICS

• Have students research and measure the size of various dinosaur types. Stretch string or yarn in the hall and label the lengths. Assist students in tracing the outline of a large dinosaur on the playground.
• Measure and step out different strides of the various dinosaurs or animals in the area.
• Use different dinosaur replicas to count, sort, or classify.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use software and compact/laser disk, such as Microsoft Dinosaurs and Encarta, for individual instruction or classroom. Use Writing Center/Children's Writing and Publishing Center to create word maps.
  
• Watch the video Land Before Time.
  
• Watch the video We're Back.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES (Teachers fill in)

LANGUAGE ARTS

SCIENCE

SOCIAL STUDIES

MATHEMATICS

TECHNOLOGY

POST PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Use a dinosaur story and have students write, produce, and perform a play. Invite parents to attend.

SCIENCE

• Write a description of the bone you found and the newly discovered dinosaur that will be named after you.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Design a contest to name a state dinosaur. Convince an audience to adopt this dinosaur to become the state dinosaur.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use Writing Center/Children's Learning and Publishing Center to produce a class newspaper about dinosaurs.

LEVEL 2

This structure outlines activities useful in preparing students for the program and in providing post program enrichment activities. Individual teachers and teams are encouraged to select activities from this matrix to suit their needs.

PRE PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Discuss information about dinosaurs from all classes (essay, advertising for product of their choice using dinosaurs).
• Read Ray Bradbury's story "The Sound of Thunder." Discuss the effects of science and the consequences of behavior or actions later in life (use societal examples).
• Bury a turkey or chicken with extra bones in "dig site." Record findings in preparation for a report. Use reflective journals to record what students thought and how the proceeded (group communication skills).

SCIENCE

• Discuss scientific reasons for the study of dinosaurs (societal examples).
• Discuss the role of science in relation to the Ray Bradbury story (role play, writing).
• Build a creature using the bones found in the "dig." Label bones to determine which are necessary for their creature (reflective journal).

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Discuss how dinosaurs are used in our world today, literally and figuratively (societal examples).
• Discuss the results of human actions influencing the environment and society from the story and real life (research, debate).
• Review basic digging procedures as a paleontologist (role play).

MATHEMATICS

• Calculate the proportions of dinosaurs in relation to each other using an algebraic formula and grids.
• Discuss how one variable can effect an equation or outcome in relation to the Ray Bradbury story.
• Divide and dig the plot into group sections. Chart each section on a grid to show where each bone came from and which position it was in.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use computer spreadsheets to calculate and graph information.
• Use math CAD and spreadsheets for generating data to show the effects of a variable.
• Use graphic programs to help chart bones in their sector. Use of a database to record and journalize data entries.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES (Teachers fill in)

LANGUAGE ARTS

SCIENCE

SOCIAL STUDIES

MATHEMATICS

TECHNOLOGY

POST PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Hypothesize why dinosaurs became extinct (writing, graphs, illustrations).
  
• Write a story in which a new species of dinosaur is created. Use subject area information to back up the story.

SCIENCE

• Research and debate theories of extinction. Predict future possibilities of extinction.
• Use information given about dinosaur periods, climates, vegetation, etc., to create a habitat for the fictitious dinosaur.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Discuss the effects of extinction on society today. Give examples, cultures, and societies that no longer exist. Predict future possibilities of extinction.
• Use information about dinosaurs to create a realistic habitat and social structure.

MATHEMATICS

• Discuss extinction theories presented from other subject areas on how dinosaurs, animals, and humans become extinct. Calculate the realistic possibilities of those theories. Create a proportional drawing of the dinosaur including its statistics.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use computer spreadsheets to determine how variables can lead to extinction.
• Present your story in a multi media presentation that includes your fictional dinosaur.

LEVEL 3

This structure outlines activities useful in preparing students for the program and in providing post program enrichment activities. Individual teachers and teams are encouraged to select activities from this matrix to suit their needs.

PRE PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

1. What would a day in the life of a dinosaur be like? (Choose your own.)

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Write a short story about: "A day in the life of a dinosaur."

SCIENCE

• Research dinosaur characteristics (anatomy, behavior, warm, cold blooded, carnivore, herbivore).

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Research dinosaur geography, discovery, and history.

MATHEMATICS

• Determine how much food, the type of food, the stride length, who made the footprint, and the mass of a dinosaur through assumptions. Analyze how these assumptions affect what you learn about dinosaurs.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use a compact disk for research, a database to organize and manage collected data, and a word processor with graphics to write a story.

2. What are the social aspects of a chosen dinosaur in its geological time period?

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Identify and define vocabulary. Involve a writing assignment.

SCIENCE

• Relate dinosaurs to a specific geological time period.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Create maps of continents during each geological time frame.

MATHEMATICS

• Use trigonometry to plot out a dig site.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use a computer to generate a topographical map of the dig site, using map-making software.

3. What are the ramifications of Geno-technology?

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Read and discuss Jurassic Park.

SCIENCE

• Discuss and research cloning and geno-technology (cloning activities).

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Discuss the moral ramifications of Geno-technology (debate, speech).

MATHEMATICS

• Show the different exponents for all time periods that describe the population of the dinosaurs (current examples).

TECHNOLOGY

• Watch the video Jurassic Park.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES (Teachers fill in)

LANGUAGE ARTS

SCIENCE

SOCIAL STUDIES

MATHEMATICS

TECHNOLOGY

POST PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

1. What would dinosaurs look like today if they had survived and continued to evolve?

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Write a short story or an expository paper about dinosaur survival.

SCIENCE

• Discuss the theory of evolution and evolutionary trends in nature.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Compare and relate dinosaur life to present day geography, climate, etc. Discuss where they would be located and why.

MATHEMATICS

• Reconstruct a dinosaur using mathematics.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use movies, spreadsheets, databases, word processors, graphics programs, etc. Present your writing in a multi media format.

2. Why are there no dinosaurs today?

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Write a short story using the theme: "The last day of the dinosaurs."

SCIENCE

• Discuss extinction theories, greenhouse effect, and the unexpected events in nature.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Research geology, rock layers, carbon dating, and extinction of civilizations (Mayans, Incas).

MATHEMATICS

• Discuss the assumptions that archeologists make when digging dinosaurs.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use movies, spreadsheets, databases, word processors, graphics programs, etc. Present your writing in a multi media format.

3. Can you create a new species of dinosaur?

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Write a paper describing the features and needs of your new dinosaur.

SCIENCE

• Relate the physical needs of the fictional dinosaur to environmental limits. Build a model of the dinosaur and its environment.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Design a social setting for your dinosaur.

MATHEMATICS

• Discuss how mathematics can lead you to the wrong conclusions.

TECHNOLOGY

• Use movies, spreadsheets, databases, word processors, graphics programs, etc. Present your writing in a multi media format.

4. Nessie: Survivor or myth?

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Read literature relating to myths and "monsters."

SCIENCE

• Discuss and research prehistoric survivors, i.e., reptiles, sharks, etc.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Discuss anthropology, human lore and culture.

MATHEMATICS

• What effects might time have on the bones of dinosaurs?

TECHNOLOGY

• Use movies, spreadsheets, databases, word processors, graphics programs, etc. Present your writing in a multi media format.