Thematic Units from The MAILBOX magazine
Dinosaur Days! Fasten your seat belt! Hold on tight! You re about to travel back in time and back to school with this dino-mite collection of activities and reproducibles. It s the perfect cure for any Jurassic jitters your youngsters might be experiencing. ideas by Michele Converse Baerns & Lisa D. Reep Hot off the Press! Even your most bashful brontos will find this backto-school activity irresistible! Pair students and deem them pal-osauruses. Ask each student to interview her pal to find out about her family, special interests, favorite book, favorite food, and so on. Using the form on page 9, have each child write a short article about her pal. When the articles are written, instruct the My pal is funny. She giggles a lot. She takes ballet lessons and she loves jelly beans. Leeasaurus Samasaurus My pal is totally cool. He loves to read, too! A cheeseburger a day makes him a happy dino. Mrs. Baern s Class September 1995 Saratops My pal is a good swimmer and she loves to eat pizza. She says her two brothers are mean! pals to exchange papers. Then have each student create a dinosaur name for herself that includes her real name (such as Saratops or Meganasaurus). Then, in the box on her paper, she writes her prehistoric name and illustrates herself as a dinosaur. When she s finished, she cuts out her project on the bold lines. Decorate the front page of a newspaper to show the title, the date, and a class byline. Mount your students completed projects on the newspaper pages. Laminate the pages for durability; then place the newspaper in your class library for all to read. Extra! Extra! This one-of-a-kind prehistoric publication is hot off the press! We re BIG on Books! This eye-catching bulletin board will be an enormous hit with your readersauruses! Mount a large dinosaur cutout onto your bulletin board that stretches from the floor to the ceiling. (See the patterns on page 10.) Add the title We re BIG on Books! Nearby keep a supply of drawing paper. For each book a youngster reads or has read to him, he copies the title of the book on a sheet of drawing paper, then illustrates his favorite part of the book. Display the completed projects on the bulletin board. Every few days, recognize each new addition to the board and invite the appropriate readersaurus to tell about the book he read. Colossal Collages What s on your menu for back-to-school success? Here s a meal plan that s sure to create a HUGE appetite for dinosaurs! Gather a supply of discarded magazines, and enlarge each of the three dinosaur patterns on page 10 onto a length of colorful bulletin-board paper. Cut out the enlarged patterns and temporarily display them on a classroom wall. Invite your students to tell what they know about the eating habits of dinosaurs. Lead students to understand that all dinosaurs belonged to one of the following groups: herbivores plant eaters; carnivores meat eaters; or omnivores meat and plant eaters. Then divide students into three groups. Armed with a stack of discarded magazines, scissors, glue, and one of the three dinosaur cutouts, have each group create a colossal collage by covering its dinosaur with magazine pictures showing the kinds of foods (meat, plants, or both) that its dinosaur would have eaten. As students are working, share additional facts about dinosaurs and their eating habits (see Feast on These Facts! ). Display the completed projects in your classroom or school library. Challenge students to discover more facts about the eating habits of dinosaurs. Feast on These Facts! Meat-eating dinosaurs ate anything that moved, including other dinosaurs, insects, and birds. Plant-eating dinosaurs had to eat large amounts of plants to fuel their large bodies. Many of the plants that dinosaurs ate can be seen in gardens and parks today. Meat eaters often had short, powerful necks and big heads. Plant eaters often had long necks so that they could reach the treetops. There were many more herbivores than carnivores. Some herbivores had up to 960 teeth! Most carnivores walked on their back legs, leaving their front limbs free for catching and holding prey. Herbivore Laura Gill-Williams Gr. 1 Hawthorne Elementary Tulsa, OK Lucy Tressa Aime Robert Ian Jared Joel Emma
49 51 48 52 Sizing Up Dinosaurs Help your students conceptualize just how big dinosaurs were with this measurement activity. Cut a large supply of 1 x 13 newspaper strips. Divide students into six groups and give each group information on the length of a dinosaur (see page 31 for several dinosaur lengths). Using the information, the members of each group glue newspaper strips end-to-end to create the actual length of their dinosaur. Explain to students that the precut newspaper strips measure 13 inches each, but when they are glued together end-to-end with a one-inch overlap, each strip will measure one foot. Suggest that the groups use markers to number the strips as they glue them together. Next have each group brainstorm three or four items in or around the school that might equal the length of the completed strip. After each group has tested its ideas, set aside time for the groups to report their findings to their classmates. If desired, mount the completed strips in a school hallway, gym, or cafeteria. Have each group design a poster to accompany its strip. Each poster should include a labeled illustration of the featured dinosaur and its length in feet. An illustration of something that compares in size to the dinosaur could also be shown. How Big Were The Dinosaurs? by Bernard Most (Harcourt Brace & Company, 1994) is an excellent literature connection for this activity. In this colorful picture book, the sizes of several dinosaurs are described by comparing them to more familiar objects like a school bus, a basketball court, and a bowling alley. 50 Not Eggs-actly! Dinosaurs must have laid HUGE eggs, right? Not eggs-actly! Scientists know that the eggs laid by small- and medium-sized dinos were only about the size of chicken or turkey eggs! You see, if dinosaurs had laid eggs in proportion to their size, all the eggs would have broken unless they had very thick shells. And a baby dinosaur could never have chipped its way out of an egg like that. As for the shape of the eggs, fossils indicate that they were either egg-shaped, long and thin, or pointed at one end. This dinosaur-egg project is sure to egg-cite your youngsters! To begin, have each child inflate a round or oblong balloon to about ten inches the size of the largest dinosaur eggs ever found. Using strips of newspaper and a mixture of equal parts glue and water, have each student cover his entire balloon in papier-mâché. When the first layer has dried, have the students add a second layer. Provide a colorful assortment of tempera paints and invite students to decorate their dried eggs. Scientists can t be sure what color(s) the eggs of different dinosaurs were, so encourage your paleontologists to create spectacular egg specimens! Egads! More Eggs! Just in case your youngsters math skills have become extinct over summer vacation, here s a tasty way to revive them! Fill a large transparent container with dinosaur eggs (jelly beans) and display it in a prominent location. Ask the students to study the container of eggs during the next few days. When appropriate have each student write an estimate of the number of eggs in the jar. Collect the estimates; then divide the students into small groups. Distribute the dinosaur eggs among the groups. Working as a team, have each group sort its eggs and determine how many of each color it has. Pose a series of questions that could include Which color of egg did you have the most (least) of?, Did you have more red eggs or more green eggs?, and How many eggs were either pink or orange? Have each group supply answers to the questions. Next find out how many eggs were in the jar. To do this have each group count its eggs, then combine the counts to determine the grand total. As each group is dividing its eggs among its members, return the estimates. Give the student with the most accurate estimate a HUGE round of applause; then let the eggmunching begin!
Designer Dinosaurs No one really knows what colors dinosaurs were. Even though a few fossilized pieces of skin have been found, scientists know that any color would have faded from the skin long before it was discovered. Since many present-day reptiles are gray or green, we know dinosaurs might have been gray or green, too. But there are also reptiles that have brightly colored skin even some that have stripes and spots. Who knows? Maybe dinosaurs had stripes and spots, too! These colorful, prehistoric masterpieces are certain to be showstoppers! In advance, thin glue with water. Gather a variety of dinosaur templates and a class supply of art paper. In addition to paintbrushes, pencils, glue, and scissors, students will need access to a supply of colorful tissue paper, construction paper, and wallpaper. To begin, a student brushes the thinned glue onto a sheet of art paper. Then he places pieces of tissue paper on the glue so that they overlap, creating a sky-and-landscape background. Another layer of thinned glue may be applied if necessary. Next the student traces and cuts out several dinosaur shapes from construction paper or wallpaper, and glues them on top of the tissue-paper background. Dinosaur Duds The following poem makes a fun choral-reading project. If you decide to take the show on the road, ask each student to illustrate a decked-out dinosaur. Have youngsters hold their drawings facedown until the last line of the poem is read or recited; then have them display their dinos for all to see. The poem is also a fun choice for handwriting practice. After students have copied the prose in their prettiest penmanship, they ll be eager to illustrate their work. Decked-Out Dinosaurs What kind of skin Did a dinosaur wear? Did it have some feathers? Did it have some hair? What were the colors It wore in those days? Were they bright reds and pinks Or cool blues and grays? How did it feel To touch dinosaur skin? Was it bumpy and thick Or slick, smooth, and thin? How do we know What a dinosaur wore? We imagine and color That s what crayons are for! Plenty of Prehistoric Humor Why did the Stegosaurus wear his spikes to the party? Because he was a sharp dresser! What do you call a dinosaur telephone? A rep-dial! These are only two of the many dinosaur riddles that fill the pages of Tyrannosaurus Wrecks: A Book Of Dinosaur Riddles by Noelle Sterne (Thomas Y. Crowell, 1979). The riddles in this humorous book are sure to have your young paleontologists rolling with laughter and eager to dig up their own prehistoric riddles. The results will be a mixture of clever word play, scientific fact, and lots of laughter. Consider displaying three or four student-created riddles each day during your dinosaur unit. At the end of the day, reward those students who answer the riddles correctly with dinosaur stickers. Andrea M. Troisi Library Media Specialist, Niagara Falls, NY Snacking on a Snackasaurus! Perfect as a culminating activity, these yummy snackasauruses are easy and fun to make. Combine several packages of refrigerated sugar-cookie dough; then divide the dough into six parts. Knead food coloring into each portion to create red, green, blue, yellow, purple, and orange dough. Give each child a piece of foil and two portions of differently colored dough. Working atop his foil, the student shapes a dinosaur body from one color of dough; then he adds details such as horns, plates, and claws using his second dough color. Leaving the dinosaur creations on the foil, arrange the projects on a cookie sheet(s). Bake the cookies at 350 for 8 to 12 minutes. When the cookies are cool, they can be enjoyed with a carton of dinosaur milk (regular milk) or any flavor of prehistoric punch (fruit juice or drink mix). As students munch on their snackasauruses, encourage them to discuss dinosaurs what they ve learned and what else they hope to find out! by Lucia Kemp Henry
For Readersauruses Only! Books About Dinosaurs Tantalizing theories attempt to explain the possible causes for their disappearances, but have the dinosaurs ever really vanished? Those cold-blooded Mesozoic reptiles have managed to shake the sand from their fossilized remains and spring to life in books, toy stores, and even the movies! Books about dinosaurs are far from extinction but we think this collection will bring a herd of readersauruses racing to your bookshelves! Just-for-Fun Fiction Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures With the Family Lazardo Written & Illustrated by William Joyce HarperCollins Publishers, 1988 Great green nonsense rules in this delight of a storybook. Stylized and smooth, Dr. Lazardo and his flawless family trek to Africa. After a triumphant journey, they return to home-sweethome with an endearing, unassuming, most agreeable pet dinosaur named Bob. His enormity is a pure asset and a tremendous diversion for the snazzy little town of Pimlico Hills. books reviewed by Deborah Zink Roffino A Tale Of Two Din Time Flies Illustrated by Eric Rohmann Crown Publishers, Inc.; 1994 Turn the pages of this 1995 Caldecott Honor book and take a journey that thrills the eye and sets loose the imagination. In this wordless tale, a bird swoops and flutters its way around a dinosaur exhibit. Its seemingly innocent venture takes a turn for the worse when one dinosaur appears to be interested in making a meal of the bird. Brilliantly executed oil paintings bring life to the dinosaurs and flying reptiles featured. Dinosaur Days Written by Linda Manning & Illustrated by Vlasta Van Kampen BridgeWater Books, 1993 A dino a day creates one wild week for the little girl who lives in this house! From a dinosaur sliding down a drainpipe, to a dive-bombing dino that enters through the bathroom ceiling mayhem flies through the pages of this fanciful book. It s a review of the days of the week that is nearly effervescent. Text and pictures constitute a buoyant enticement for beginning readers. A manageable glossary of dinosaur names is also included. Dazzle the Dinosaur Written & Illustrated by Marcus Pfister Translated by J. Alison James North-South Books, 1994 This winsome tale introduces two tiny dinosaurs, one of whom turns his distinction into the stuff of heroes. Young Dazzle sports a reflective, iridescent spine that severely cuts down on camouflage. That does not stop the resourceful critter and his pal from reclaiming a cave for his new family. Friendship and adventure support an endearing story line that features a full range of prehistoric characters and a soft palette of watercolor purples, blues, and greens. Can I Have a Stegosaurus, Mom? Can I? Please!? Written by Lois G. Grambling & Illustrated by H. B. Lewis BridgeWater Books, 1995 A youngster could lie in bed and dream terrible nightmares about a large intruding reptile or a more inventive mind might catalog the incredible benefits of having a dinosaur at one s disposal. Of course, while the parades, Halloween, football games, and life in general would be infinitely better with a pet dinosaur, Mom might still need a bit of convincing.
Notable Nonfiction Dinosaurs! Strange and Wonderful Written by Laurence Pringle & Illustrated by Carol Heyer Boyds Mills Press, 1995 Like postcards from prehistory, the many pages carry tornedged pictures with enormous reptiles. This overview of Mesozoic inhabitants discusses dinosaurs that walked, climbed, swam, and flew. With many literal translations of their Latin and Greek names, the dinosaurs in this book roam dense, primitive landscapes with murky, methane-saturated skies. Familiar names like Triceratops and Stegosaurus blend with more outlandish designations, such as the chicken-size Compsognathus and the wolflike hunter Velociraptor. An Alphabet of Dinosaurs Written by Peter Dodson & Illustrated by Wayne D. Barlowe Scholastic Inc., 1995 The alphabet epithet might mislead. This novel examination of 26 types of creatures challenges minds and vocabularies. Primeval, shadowed paintings face a page of large-size text with definitions, short facts, and a skeletal sketch. Archeologists keep digging up more fossilized beasts, and dinophiles can surely add to their store of data with this set of creatures. A concluding chart summarizes the study. This picture book could come with a guarantee to turn on new, reluctant, or picky readers. You Can Name 100 Dinosaurs! Written by Jim Becker and Andy Mayer Illustrated by Randy Chewning Scholastic Inc., 1944 Forget the fact that there is no story line; this book will be a popular choice in any library. Small, detailed drawings distinguish 100 dinosaurs. Identified by bones and fossil footprints nearly 150 million years old, these extinct hulks demonstrate powerful persistence in the hearts of children. With this sturdy board book, students can trace, research, and learn to spell and pronounce the tortuous names in this collection. The dinosaurs are grouped into Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous period dwellers. The Big Book of Dinosaurs Written by Angela Wilkes & Illustrated with photographs Dorling Kindersley, Inc.; 1994 For scrutiny or browsing, for tracking teeth of terror, or for utter amazement direct young minds to this big book. Irresistible photos of museum dinosaurs and actual skeletons command attention across full-page displays. Parts are labeled and factoids pop up in every space. The photos permit close-up examination of leathery hides, mighty jaws, and spiky claws. The finale is an in-scale composite picture that compares the sizes of the dinosaurs in this research book. Triceratops: On the Trail of the Incredible Armored Dinosaur American Museum of Natural History Series Written by William Lindsay; Mark Norell, Consultant Dorling Kindersley, Inc.; 1993 The ceratoids, or horned dinosaurs, may have deflected predators with their conspicuous spiky protrusions, but after several million years the appendages only seem to attract youngsters. Exploration is encouraged in this comprehensive investigation of one family of prehistoric creatures. Other books in this spectacular series by a British paleontologist enable readers to find models, facts, fossils, and skeletons of Barosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and Corythosaurus. All volumes feature maps and real photographs from famed expeditions and dinosaur digs.