dinosaurs

BOOKS:
Gather non-fiction and fiction books about dinosaurs, prehistoric animals, fossils, and volcanoes.
These can be displayed in the reading center for viewing by the students.
Used for oral reading by the teacher.

VIDEOS:
Gather videos about dinosaurs, prehistoric animals, fossils and volcanoes.
These can be viewed in ten minute segments when you are discussing a specific area of the unit.

PICTURES:
Collect pictures of different dinosaurs, prehistoric animals, fossils and volcanoes.
These can be labeled and laminated.
Students use these in the writing or art center.
Teacher use them when teaching about a specific topic in the unit.

GLOBE/MAP:
Display a globe or world map to be used to show where various types of dinosaurs have been found. Display a map that shows were different types of dinosaurs lived.
Point out what fossils can be found were we live.
We live in Louisiana. No dinosaur fossils can be found in Louisiana because La. were covered with water during this period. Therefore, on our playground we find rocks with fossils of crinoids (sea lilies), coral, clams and sea snails.

SAND TABLE:
Set up a sand table with toy dinosaurs and add a little artificial greenery.

SCIENCE CENTER:
Display a collection of real fossils, magnifying glasses, toy dinosaurs, toy volcano, toy cave, and a rock collections to which the students can add the fossils and rocks they find.

POSTERS:
Display posters showing the evolution of animals from the ocean to the land.
Display posters showing the time periods when different types dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Display posters showing the inside of a volcano.
Display posters showing cave people and the prehistoric animals that lived after the time of the dinosaurs.
Display posters showing fossils and rocks.

COMPUTER CENTER:
Before you introduce the unit explore several multimedia encyclopedias for pictures and information on dinosaurs.
Before you start the unit search the Internet for dinosaur facts and graphics.
Use the list below as a starting point. Internet Sites
Save the useful picture and fact to a disk. (Check for copyrights.)
Start a disk collection for each unit you teach.
Copy some pictures to a editing program such as Paint or even to Word.
Label and print the pictures.
Laminate the pictures for use on the bulletin board and in the writing center.
Make a slideshow using Power Point with some of the pictures you found on the Internet.
Use the slideshow to demonstrate small dinosaurs, large dinosaurs, dinosaurs that could fly, dinosaurs that ate meat, dinosaurs that ate plants, all dinosaurs laid eggs, etc.

READING READINESS ACTIVITIES

PHONICS/LETTER RECOGNITION:
Numerous methods are used to teach and reinforce letter recognition and phonetic sounds. The methods are varied day to day depending on the children's progress through out the year. The method is not important. The fact that the children do some writing using phonics every day is important.
The following are examples of just a few methods for teaching letter recognition and phonetic sounds.

*BOOKLET:
Each child write and illustrate pages for individual booklets. Each page should have two or three words pertaining to facts about dinosaurs. As a class decide on the facts and name for the booklet: My Book about Dinosaurs; or Learning about Dinosaurs; or Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, etc.
Page one: Write some eat meat; draw pictures of several meat eaters.
Page two: Write some eat plants; draw several plant eaters.
Continue with any other facts: Write some could fly; some were fast; all laid eggs; etc.
This will take several days during writing and phonics time.
To write the words teacher ask, "What is the first sound for the word some?"
Students reply S. Teacher write S on the chalkboard. Students write S on their page. Continue with each letter, spelling the word, discussing the phonetic sounds, and writing one letter at a time.
Using this method the students hear the phonetic sounds, hear the name of the letter, see the letter on the chalkboard, and write the letter, thus learning to recognize letters and their phonetic sounds. Students will learn that the letters are put together according to the sounds hear when you say the word. They are also learning to write from left to right, learning to put a space between words and learning to use letters to make words.

*CLASS BOOK:
Each child draw his favorite dinosaur, write letters for the sounds heard in the dinosaurs name, or copy the name of the dinosaur from pictures in the writing center, or write a story about the picture.
Example: T-Rx ws a mt etr. (T-Rex was a meat eater.)
Teacher combine all the pictures to create a class book.
Teacher read the book to the class.
Pages could be in the shape of a dinosaur.

*PHONETIC SOUNDS:
Students draw any scene with dinosaurs.
Students label objects in the picture either with the beginning letter or phonetically spell the word. Does not have to be the actual spelling.
Display pictures on the bulletin board then save to each child's journal.

*USING THE COMPUTER TO REINFORCE READING READINESS SKILLS:

     Students use a drawing program such as Kid Pix or Paint to draw a scene showing their favorite dinosaur doing something. Example: Draw a dinosaur eating meat; a dinosaur protecting a nest of eggs; a dinosaur eating plants; a dinosaur protecting himself with his horns, etc.
Using word cards from writing center, students label several objects in their picture.

Teacher combine students' pictures into a slideshow using a program such as Kid Pix or Power Point.
As the students watch the slideshow over and over, they learn to read the words in each other's pictures.
Students can also orally tell important facts about what is happening in their pictures as the slideshow is being played.

Students decide on any category of dinosaurs such as dinosaurs that fly, dinosaurs that swim, small dinosaurs, large dinosaurs, plant eaters, or meat eaters. Students then use any drawing program to draw dinosaurs that fit into that category. Label the category. Teacher put the pictures into a slide show. Students will learn to read the words that go with the pictures after viewing the slide show several times.

*CATEGORIES:
   After reading, discussing and viewing videos about dinosaurs, children can easily put dinosaurs into categories of meat eater and plant eater. Children can decide other ways dinosaurs can be classified such as those that can fly, swim, those that are small, large, fast, slow, those that belonged to the same time period, etc.
After discussing the different types of classifications for dinosaurs and putting the pictures into like categories, add one picture that does not belong with that category and have the children tell why it does not belong.

*SEQUENCING:
Discuss the time line of earth's history.
Demonstrate the sequence of life from the ocean to the land, from the first amphibians to the first reptiles, from the first dinosaurs and birds to the first mammals, from the prehistoric mammals and cave people to the birth of Adam and Eve (the first people that could understand the abstract concept of God and good and evil.)

*DEVELOPING SMALL MUSCLE CONTROL AND CREATIVITY:
Use modeling clay or Crayola Model Magic (clay that dries over night) to make a dinosaur.
We all sat around the table and played and experimented with the Model Magic. Through the conversation and modeling my clay, I guided most of the students to want to make a clay dinosaur. The Model Magic dries in 24 hours and was ready to be painted the next day. We used acrylic paints.   It takes very little acrylic paint. Apple Barrel brand is very affordable. I have been using the same five or six 2oz. bottles for four years. When dry, spray the models with cheap, clear spray paint to give them a shine.
Have a play. Use the clay dinosaurs to act out scenes from daily dinosaur live.

*DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS:
After reading, discussing, and watching videos about volcanoes, allow the children to make exploding volcanoes. To make the explosion, pour vinegar (mixed with red food coloring) over baking soda. This really doesn't have to be a special formula or ratio of vinegar to baking soda.

We make our volcanoes in the pea- gravel on the playground.
Each child makes a volcano by pulling rocks into a pile around a 3 oz. plastic or Styrofoam cup.
Fill the volcano cup three fourths full with baking soda. The children decorate their scene with toy dinosaurs, sticks and greenery. Give each student another 5 oz. plastic cup to hold until it is his turn to erupt his volcano. As a group we go to each volcano. I then pour that child a cup of red vinegar (made with red food color). He slowly pours the vinegar into the baking soda as we watch his volcano explode. (Actually, the soda merely foams and bubbles over the edge of the cup.)

MATH READINESS ACTIVITIES

ALIKE AND DIFFERENT:
Use pictures or toy dinosaurs to sort the dinosaurs into groups of alike or different.
COMPARISONS:
Use toy dinosaurs to show sizes for small, smaller and smallest. telling size; using name of sizes, small, smaller, bigger, biggest, same size, large, larger, largest.
COUNTING:
Count the plant eaters, count the meat eaters, etc.
ADDING AND SUBTRACTING:
Have a play. Act it out. Tell a story. Use toy dinosaurs to teach the concept of adding and subtracting.
Give each child or group of children a handful of small dinosaurs.
Give everyone in the class a small chalkboard and chalk.
Students with the dinosaurs tell and demonstrate a story about dinosaurs that involves adding or subtracting. The other children write the story using numbers with a subtraction or addition sign.
Example: Students with the dinosaurs show seven dinosaurs eating leaves.
Along comes a T-Rex and eats three of the plant eater.
Is that adding or subtracting?
How many dinosaurs are left?
Write the numbers to show what happened in the story.
GRAPHING:
Graph the toy dinosaurs; how many T Rex; how many Stegosaurs; how many Triceratops, etc.
Graph the children's favorite dinosaurs.
Graph the number of toy dinosaurs that are meat eaters, plant eaters, etc.

INTERNET SITES / DINOSAURS Use these sites as a starting point.

Zoom Dinosaurs kindergarten friendly site; pictures, print outs, and information
Digging up Dinosaurs a kindergarten class project; with links to pictures and information on dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Period
Dinosaurs At The Smithsonian pictures and information
Dinosaurs: Bosco's Rock Pile numerous pictures, clip art, information, and links
Cyberspace Museum: Dinosaur Hall a picture gallery of dinosaurs with information
Cyberspace Museum: Life Thru Time Exhibit dinosaur pictures and descriptions, comparing sizes to a dog or a car
Russian Paleontological Institute pictures of dinosaur skeletons

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