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DISCUSS:
How could scientists figure out what dinosaurs ate by studying fossils?
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DISCUSS:
How do you think a single asteroid hitting the Earth could cause all the dinosaurs to go extinct?
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the Exploration & Activity you just completed.
- Lesson Assessment and Answer Key
- Activities: Walk like a dinosaur…and then solve a dino puzzle
- Reading and Resource: The Name Game
- Videos: Find out why scientists think birds are modern-day dinosaurs
- Art Project: Learn about the work of paleoartists, and then create your own dinosaur!
- Readings: All about dinosaurs
The American Museum of Natural History in New York has a great Dinosaur Curriculum Collection (Grades 5–8; lesson plans included). Check these out:
Walk Like a Dinosaur!: Dinosaurs were reptiles…with a twist. Find out what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur by doing the dinosaur walk.
Solve a Sedimentary Layers Puzzle: What happened when? Test your fossil-hunting skills by working out this dino timeline.
Dinosaurs are usually named for the people who find them, the places they’re found, or the way they look. Sometimes, though, scientists have a bit of fun with it, as you’ll see when you read about a new dinosaur called Dracorex hogwartsia.” (Sound familiar?)
To find out more about how dinosaurs are named, check out this site.
It may be hard to believe, but there are dinosaurs around us every day. You might even have had one for dinner last night.
- Are birds really dinosaurs? Yes. (2:52)
- How do we know that birds are modern-day dinosaurs? Discover the clues scientists have used to figure it out. (5:11)
- What would feathered dinosaurs have looked like? An artist’s view. (1:34)
Scientists and artists work together to imagine how dinosaurs looked and lived. Here, you’ll watch a video, read an article, and then create a dinosaur of your own.
- Meet a paleoartist and find out about his work. (2:02)
- Create a dinosaur of your own! Print out this “newly discovered skeleton” and imagine how it looked in life. Add any feathers, horns, lumps, bumps, or spikes it might have had, give it a name, and think about how it lived.
Readings from Newsela are free with registration. They can be adjusted for reading level. A writing prompt and quiz questions are available for each reading.
- Did mammals sleep during the day when dinosaurs roamed the earth? (Grade 5)
- Read about a duck-like fossil that looked so weird people didn’t think it was real. (Grade 5)
- A study of fossilized dinosaur poop reveals a surprise about what one vegetarian dinosaur ate. (Grade 5)
