STAGING
Get a free trial until June 30, 2026!
New members get full access to our science units, hands-on activities, mini-lessons, & more!

New members get a full, free trial through June 2026!
This Mystery is out of date! Please proceed to Animals Through Time to see the updated version.
Back > Share
How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?
Animals Through Time Unit | Lesson 2 of 3
Back > Share

How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?

Animals Through Time Unit | Lesson 2 of 3
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
Video trouble?

Discuss: When scientists look at the bones of a dinosaur, why do you think they decided the outside of a dinosaur looks like a lizard rather than a furry animal or a feathered animal?

Reveal answer

Video trouble?

Discuss 1 of 2: What do you think--does this dinosaur skull look more like that of a furry animal, or more like the skull of a scaly lizard? Why do you think that?

dinosaurskull

Discuss 2 of 2: Here's another dinosaur skull--the allosaurus. Does it look more like that of a furry animal, or more like the skull of a scaly lizard? Why do you think that?

allosaurus

Video trouble?

Discuss: What part of the dinosaur’s body do you think this might have been?

Dakota Impression

Reveal answer

Discuss:

Based on what you’ve just learned, summarize why scientists think dinosaurs looked like lizards.

Video trouble?

Activity (Worksheet—page 1) (Answers on next slide.)

worksheet

Activity (Worksheet—page 1) Answers

worksheet

Activity (Worksheet—page 2) (Answers on next slide.)

worksheet

Activity (Worksheet—page 2): Answers

worksheet

Activity (Worksheet—page 3) (Answers on next slide.)

worksheet

Activity (Worksheet—page 3): Answers

worksheet

Activity (Worksheet—page 4) (Answers on next slide.)

worksheet

Activity (Worksheet—page 4): Answers

worksheet

AnimalsM2Connection1

AnimalsM1Connection2

AnimalsM1Connection3

AnimalsM1Connection4

AnimalsM1Connection5

AnimalsM1Connection6

AnimalsM1Connection7

🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?
Sign up now for more great lessons!
Sign up
# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.

Activity (Worksheet—page 1) (Answers on next slide.)

worksheet

Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration
T-rex by Homeschoolerswrite.org
bear skeleton by Tiia Monto , used under CC BY-SA
bear by Sergiodlarosa , used under CC BY-SA
sauropod drawing by ДиБгд
broken skull by Mirta12 , used under CC BY-SA
Dreadnoughtus by Jennifer Hall , used under CC BY
box of bones by Fraser
laying next to large bone by Imgur
skull by Bone Clones
cat by Moyan Brenn , used under CC BY
gorilla by Kate , used under CC BY-SA
squirrel by Tambako The Jaguar , used under CC BY-ND
velociraptor sculpture by jamieanne , used under CC BY-ND
bird like dinosaur by Aaron Tierney , used under CC BY-SA
digging out fossil by Антон Черный
tooth by dinosaur-rose
Brontosaurus by Charles Robert Knight
egg fossils by Wolfgang Sauber , used under CC BY-SA
hatching egg fossil by Tim Evanson , used under CC BY-SA
Earth by Celestia? , used under CC BY
cat skull by Bone Clones
cats by Tanya.K. , used under CC BY
chimpanzees by Michele W , used under CC BY-ND
horses by smerikal , used under CC BY-SA
Iguana hatching by Justin Walguarnery.
crocodiles hatching by Grace Kat , used under CC BY-SA
snake hatching by Vijay Krishna , used under CC BY-SA
Astroid by Don Davis/NASA
dinosaurs dying off by National Science Foundation, Zina Deretsky
green lizard by Jean-Jacques Boujot , used under CC BY-SA
bones in ground by Richard Fortey
giant lizards by Ian Wright , used under CC BY-SA
theater by Machine-History.Com
dinosaur cartoon by Scarpuss
reptile skull by Bone Clones
skin imprint by Kabacchi
Jurassic Park video clip by MovieClips.com
T-rex head sculpture by Ballista , used under CC BY-SA
old drawing by Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond
diggin up fossils by Origo
dino-gorilla by heckthor
T-rex skeleton by stu_spivack , used under CC BY-SA
Credits
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Grade 3

Fossils & Changing Environments

Fossil Evidence & Classification

3-LS4-1

25300 reviews

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students will learn how we can infer what the outside of an animal looked like by using clues about their skeleton. In the visual activity, Guess What These Animals Eat, students examine photos of skulls of both familiar animals and dinosaurs to figure out what each animal eats.
Preview activity

I have a Mystery Pack

What Do These Animals Eat? worksheet 30 copies
What Do These Animals Eat? Answer Key teacher-only resource 1 copy
Prep Instructions

No prep required.

The activity starts after the fourth exploration video, so teachers may want to hand out the worksheets at that time. The answers to the worksheet are displayed in the slides.

Exploration

15 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Grade 3

Fossils & Changing Environments

Fossil Evidence & Classification

3-LS4-1

25300 reviews
Slow internet or video problems?
Credits
 
Animals Lesson 2: How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?

How did the lesson go?
Terrible OK Good Great Terrific!

How can we improve it?

If you'd like our team to reply to you, please Contact Support instead.

Thanks for your feedback! If you have a question or need help, please contact us. Please consider sharing your review:

Sorry the lesson didn’t go well. We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.

Thanks for letting us know. We’ll wait to ask you for feedback until after you've actually taught it.

Thanks for the feedback! We read every single review in an effort to improve our Mysteries.

Is the video not playing properly?

Please follow these steps:

  1. Very rarely a video will fail to completely load in your browser. Try to reload this page to see if that fixes the problem.
  2. If reloading does not help, try our other video player .
  3. If the video still fails to play, open this video in a new tab and please let us know you’re having trouble. We want to fix this issue for you.

Close

How can we help you?

💡For purchasing info, see our Pricing Page

This episode is locked

This lesson is not included in your limited access.

View pricing

This episode is locked

Your membership is expired. The archive of past Mini Lessons is not included in your limited access.

View pricing