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How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?

How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?
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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

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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

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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

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

Dakota Impression

Reveal answer

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Discuss:

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

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

worksheet

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Activity (Worksheet—page 1) Answers

worksheet

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

worksheet

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Activity (Worksheet—page 2): Answers

worksheet

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

worksheet

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Activity (Worksheet—page 3): Answers

worksheet

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

worksheet

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Activity (Worksheet—page 4): Answers

worksheet

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# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.
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Activity (Worksheet—page 1) (Answers on next slide.)

worksheet

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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

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
Number of students:

I have a Mystery Pack

What Do These Animals Eat? worksheet 1 per student
What Do These Animals Eat? Answer Key teacher-only resource 1 per class
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

Extend this lesson

Reading

Activity

Video

Transcripts

Download this Lesson to your device so you can play it offline: