#1684. Dinosaur Lesson Plan

Science, level: Elementary
Posted Sat Apr 22 11:21:06 PDT 2000 by Sam Shutty (sshutty).
http://www.iup.edu/~vjgh/
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, United States
Materials Required: collection of dinosaur models, educational book on dinosaurs
Activity Time: 40-45 minutes
Concepts Taught: Teaches students basic information about dinosaurs and how they are classified: plant or meat eaters

Sample Lesson Plan
Science Lesson Plan: Dinosaurs
by Sam Shutty

Standard: Inclusive Kindergarten Life Science: Dinosaurs are classified as herbivores or carnivores.

Introduction: Animals throughout the animal kingdom are classified as either plant or meat eaters, students will begin to learn this classification with dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are a good way to introduce younger students to science. They seem to be fascinated by there size and stature. As the students begin to learn how animals are classified, they will also enjoy themselves in the process. Learning is something that should be fun, and is a component of this lesson plan.

Instructional Objective: Given dinosaur models from collection by teacher, kindergarten students will be able to pictorially identify the differences between herbivores and carnivorous with 100% accuracy.

Learners will be able to:
1.) Orally state the names of common dinosaurs
2.) List the common characteristics of common dinosaurs
3.) Distinguish difference between herbivores and carnivores
4.) Describe what the dinosaurs habitat was like
5.) Explain why we think the dinosaurs are no longer on earth

Lesson Initiation: Students will be allotted ten minutes to play with the different types of dinosaurs from the diverse collection.

Instructional Activities:
Materials: diverse collection of model dinosaurs and dinosaur book with basic facts on dinosaurs.
Exploration: Direct students to a designated area in the classroom so that students are able to sit comfortably. The instructor will then read the dinosaur book to the children pointing out important facts to the students. Emphasis facts such as herbivores and carnivores define and give characteristics of each. Herbivores had four equally long legs, flat heads, dull teeth, and may have scales. Carnivores had two larger hind legs, pointed heads, sharp teeth, and claws. It is important to reread text as many times as it takes for all students to understand. (15 minutes)
Explanation: Instruct the students to sit in the center of the room forming a circle. The teacher will then randomly give each student a model dinosaur from the collection. Teacher will then describe characteristics of herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs, having the students to place their model in front of them if their dinosaur fit characteristic and placing the model behind them if it does not. Some possible instructions may be place dinosaur in front of you if it has a flat head. If your model has two short legs and two long legs place them in front of you. Where would your dinosaur go if it had dull teeth? Follow these commands up by asking students how these dinosaurs would be classified. (10 minutes)
Expansion: Ask students to draw a picture of their favorite dinosaur and label it herbivore or carnivore. Have student do this every day for a week; this will be their dinosaur journal. Explain to students that journals are important for remembering and documenting data. (5-10 minutes)

Lesson Summary: Conduct classroom discussion involving characteristics of carnivore and herbivore dinosaurs. Conclude by randomly selecting dinosaur models and having students classify and explain. Teacher might accomplish this by asking: why do you think that this dinosaur is a carnivore/herbivore? (5-10 minutes)

Lesson Evaluation:
Students are to be assessed by pictorial assessment through their journals (each entry) with rubrics. Circle the number in correlation to student's performance:
* 0 = student did not complete a journal entry
* 1 = student only drew a picture (did not label)
* 2 = student errors in classification
* 3 = student complete work correctly