Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossils and our Past (part 1 of 3)

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders investigate how some extinct organisms resemble organisms that are still alive today. They watch and discuss the Magic School Bus video about fossils, then create clay fossil imprints, matching the imprints to plaster of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars explore dinosaur stance and the dinosaur-bird connection. They investigate what distinguishes dinosaurs from other reptiles? Students discuss how dinosaurs stand their legs positioned directly under their bodies. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heating and Cooling a Really Large Lizard

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Learners investigate the effect of temperature on cold-blooded animals, using a 5 x 8 inch index card to represent a dinosaur as their model organism. Students measure temperature changes that occurs at different angles to a light...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaur Tracks: From Stride To Leg Length To Speed

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students determine the relationship between leg length, stride length, and speed in humans and bipedal dinosaurs. They collect data and graph these human characteristics then use actual data collected from dinosaur track pads and fossils...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students conduct research on dinosaurs and graph the information gathered using a spreadsheet program. In pairs they complete an Internet scavenger hunt, and record five facts about dinosaurs in their science journal.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fabulous Fossils

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students investigate how fossils are formed. They read the book, "Digging Up Dinosaurs," examine fossil samples, create a fossil imprint using play-doh, and complete a Fossil Questionnaire activity sheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaurs are for the Birds

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students use the Internet to see photographs of fossils from dinosaurs. They read articles about dinosaurs and birds and what they had in common. They also examine a dinorama site in which they discover why some dinosaurs needed feathers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Digging into the Past

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars discover how fossils are found and how they help scientists reconstruct the past. They examine how they shed light on what kinds of animals and plants lived over the years, when they lived, and under what environmental...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teen Angst

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students gain a broader understanding of new scientific research about the life cycle of the Tyrannosaur, and translate their knowledge into the creation of an illustrated studenT book produced and created by the entire class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaur Skeletons

For Teachers K
Students investigate the anatomy of a dinosaur, describe its skeleton, and arrange pretend bones using toothpicks, popsicle sticks, tongue depressors, and a variety of wooden beads.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If You Meet a Dinosaur Book

For Teachers K
Students utilize the facts presented in the story, " If You Meet a Dragon," by Joy Cowley to make a dinosaur following the features of a template, track the text of the story, and dramatize its main idea.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wonderful World of Dinosaurs

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders obtain information about the characteristics of diet, locomotion, behavior, habitat, and anatomy of five dinosaurs by observing the Wonderful World of Dinosaurs HyperStudio presentation. They complete a student worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering Fossils

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners dig for and discover fossils in a classroom setting. They dig on a tarp to find, map, assemble, and photograph their discoveries.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Draw T. rex

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore how scientists determine what prehistoric animals looked like based on their bones. They draw a picture of the skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex by copying an image from an overhead or book.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Dinosaur Body

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Young scholars recognize that body design affects balance. They investigate the basic structure of a dinosaur body to see how it achieved balance, then build any dinosaur body system they want, using small marshmallows and extra straws...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Big is a Dinosaur?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders create enlarged replica of a stegosaurus drawing, using a grid to practice coordinates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossils 2: Uncovering The Facts

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students recognize the kind of information that can be accumulated by studying dinosaur fossils, and explain that some fossil facts are made based on comparisons with living organisms. They are introduced to the concept of evolution.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Were Dinosaurs Like?

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students compare and contrast dinosaurs to animals that are alive today through basic research.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

No Bones About It

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students act as paleontologists, examining pictures of dinosaur skeletons and applying their knowledge of the relationship between skeletal features and survival, to create 'Paleontology Reports' about their perceptions of the lives of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boning Up on Fossil Features

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate a specific dinosaur; produce a poster relating what is known or speculated about where and how the dinosaur lived to the physical features of the dinosaur.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

When Dinosaurs Ruled

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers research about plants and animals during Triassic period. In this earth science lesson, students draw pictures of their chosen plants and plants for the bulletin board. They present their project in class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaurs - Real and Make Believe

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine the differences between real and make believe dinosaurs, and identify survival techniques utilized by dinosaurs. They create dioramas illustrating dinosaurs using survival techniques.
Worksheet
Biology Junction

Archaeopteryx - Ancestor to Birds

For Students 9th - 12th
In this biology instructional activity, high schoolers label and color the different parts of an archaeopteryx. They complete a table with information about this bird.
PPT
Curated OER

Academic Raceway 500

For Teachers 4th - 5th
This PowerPoint provides a raceway game in which students compete by answering animal questions correctly to advance their racecar. The main animal themes covered are adaptation, survival, endangered and extinct animals, and ways to...