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Museum
Educator-led Programs
Pre & Post Visit Resources
Dinosaur
Detectives
Grades 3-5
Scroll down the page to find items on the menu below or click on a link to jump to an item.
Program
Description and Frameworks
Program
Outline
Key Terms and Concepts
Classroom Activities
Print and Web Resources
Go
to the Gallery of Dinosaurs and Paleontology page
Click
here for printable version of all resources listed above
Program
Description and Frameworks
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only this section
Discover unique adaptations that enabled mammals, dinosaurs, and
reptiles of the sea and air to survive in the Mesozoic era. Learn
how to classify dinosaurs into groups by observing physical characteristics.
Evidence, including information about teeth, tracks, and bones,
provides students with valuable clues as they identify prehistoric
creatures.
Location:
Discovery Room and Dinosaur Gallery
Length: One hour
Grades: 3 - 5
Massachusetts
Frameworks
Science and Technology/Engineering Strand 2: Life Science
| 1 |
Classify
plants and animals according to physical characteristics that
they share. |
| 6 |
Give examples
of how inherited characteristics may change over time as adaptations
to changes in the environment that enable organisms to survive,
e.g., shape of beak or feet, placement of eyes on head, length
of neck, shape of teeth, color. |
| 7 |
Give examples
of how changes in the environment (drought, cold) have caused
some plants and animals to die or move to new locations (migration).
|
New
York Standards
Standard 4 Science The Living Environment
| 1 |
Living
things are both similar to and different from each other and
non-living things. Students describe the characteristics of
and variations between living and non-living things. |
| 3 |
Individual
organisms and species change over time. Students describe how
the structures of plants and animals complement the environment
of the plant or animal. |
Program
Outline
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only this section
Fossils
Fossils provide paleontologists with important clues about
prehistoric life. Students are introduced to several different
types of fossils and given time to examine and touch them.
Dinosaur
Classification
Students learn characteristics that distinguish dinosaurs from
other prehistoric animals.
Dinosaur
Adaptations
Dinosaur species have been classified, or organized into groups,
by scientists based on similarities and differences among physical
features. Students observe physical characteristics of specific
dinosaurs and then group them together, based on their observations.
The group then discusses the function of the adaptations that
are unique to each group.
Mystery
Dinosaur Activity
Students are placed into small groups. Each group receives a clue
box that will lead them to a mystery dinosaur in the Dinosaur
Gallery. They then research that dinosaur.
Dinosaur
Dig
Students excavate fossil replicas in the Museum's simulated excavation
area.
Extinction
In front of the Ice Age Diorama the class discusses
the possible causes of the final dinosaur extinction.
Concepts
Covered
print
only concepts and key terms
- Fossils
- Are
the remains or traces of something once alive, but no longer
living. Can
be the remains of a living thing (like a tooth), or an impression
(imprint) left behind by a living thing (like a foot print).
Can
be from many different animals and plants, not just dinosaurs.
- Replicas
are copies of real fossils.
Dinosaurs
- Did
not fly, although many scientists think birds evolved from
dinosaurs. Did
not live under water. Had
scaly skin and laid eggs.
- Walked
with their legs under their bodies (knees and elbows did not
stick out to the side).
Dinosaur
species have been classified, or organized into groups, by scientists
based on similarities and differences among physical features.
- There are
many different theories explaining how dinosaurs might have become
extinct, with the most prominent ideas including: the impact of
an asteroid, changes in the earth's climate and atmosphere, and
extensive volcanic eruptions.
Key
Terms Used During the Program
- Reptile
a group of air-breathing animals that relying on sources outside
of their bodies, such as the sun, for heating and cooling their
bodies, most of whom lay eggs and have skin covered with scales
or bony plates.
- Dinosaur
a group of prehistoric reptiles that did not live in water or
fly and is no longer living. They walked with legs and arms under
their body, not with their knees and elbows sticking out to the
side.
- xtinct
no longer existing.
- Mammal
a group of animals that nourish their young with milk produced
by mammary glands, have hair, and regulating internal body temperature
through internal means such as burning food for energy, shivering,
sweating, etc.
- Fossil
remains or traces, preserved by minerals (the building blocks
of rocks), of something that was once alive, but is not alive
any more.
- Replica
a close reproduction or copy.
- assify
to arrange into groups based on shared characteristics.
- Ectothermic
relying on external sources, such as the sun, for heating and
cooling their bodies.
- Endothermic
regulating body temperature through internal means such as burning
food for energy, shivering, sweating, etc.
Pre
and Post Visit Activities
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only this section
Why are
dinosaurs extinct? Writing Activity
Read What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs? by Carol Carrick as
a class. Then discuss possible reasons why the dinosaurs may have
become extinct. The
Univeristy of Bristol web site features a fun and comprehensive
set of pages covering 101 Theories About Dinosaur Extinction (some
possible and some fanciful). Following the discussion, ask students
to write their own theory (could be humorous or realistic) as
a story.
Make Your
Own "Fossil"
Imprint Discuss the difference between a fossil remain (when part
or all of a living thing becomes a fossil) and an imprint (an
impression left behind by a living thing that becomes a fossil,
like a foot print). To help students understand the concept of
an imprint, give each student a small ball of play dough or clay.
Hand out an object to each student to press into the clay or dough
to create an impression. Shells, chicken bones, plastic fish,
plastic insects, or even plastic all work well. Then set the impressions
aside to dry.
Create
a Dinosaur
Share the meaning of some dinosaur names with the whole class.
A good glossary of dinosaur names is available at Enchanted
Learning's All About Dinosaurs Page. Then ask students to
invent a new dinosaur, using the "Create Your Own Dinosaur" Worksheet.
Dinosaur
Graph
Students will graph the sizes of specific dinosaurs and then compare
their own body size to that of various dinosaurs. The measurements
included in this activity are based on The Ultimate Dinosaur Book
by David Lambert. Click here for complete directions. Dinosaur
Word Find Find the hidden dinosaur names in a word jumble. Find
this puzzle at Enchanted
Learning.
Suggested
Web and Print Resources
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only this section
Use the Berkshire Athenaeum’s on-line catalogue to search for these print resources in Central/Western Massachusetts.Print
Materials For Students
Carrick,
Carol. What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs? Houghton Mifflin,
1988. Fascinated with dinosaurs, Patrick invents an imaginary
explanation of why they became extinct.
Cowley,
Stewart. Steggy. Singapore: Grange Books, 1999. Meet four
dinosaur friends who, like all young animals, are lively and naughty
creatures who are always up to plenty of mischief and mayhem.
Print
Materials For Educators
Benton, Mike.
Walking with Dinosaurs. NY: DK Publishing, 2000. This is
the companion book to the successful TV series, Fascinationg Facts.
It provides detailed facts about what dinosaurs ate, their mating
habits, habitats and more. Dixon, Dougal,
Cox, Barry et. al. The Macmillan Illustrated Dinosaurs and
Prehistoric Animals. USA: Macmillan, 1988. Provides depictions
of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals, along with detailed information
about each species.
Gardom, Tim
and Angela Milner. The Natural History Museum Book of Dinosaurs.
London: Virgin Books, 1993. Includes chapters on dinosaur adaptations
for locomotion, attack and defense, and eating and drinking. It
also covers social organization, extinction, evolutionary legacies
and the history of dinosaur discoveries.
Web
Materials for Students
Enchanted
Learning
This is a fun, educational site for all audiences. Users will
find information, craft projects, activities, and extinction theories.
Rated A+ by Education-World.com
Nature
of New England
Illustrations of dinosaurs discovered in North America.
Zoom
Dinosaurs
This is an on-line hypertext book about dinosaurs. It is designed
for students of all ages and levels of comprehension with information
on dinosaurs, extinction, fossils and more.
Web
Materials for Educators
Discovery
Channel School
A wonderful site for educators that provides lesson plans, teaching
tools, a store, and more.
NASA
Classroom of the Future
This site offers online references, links, activities, crafts,
and lesson plans. The
Natural History Museum
This site offers several classroom activity ideas to go along
with a unit on dinosaurs.
Fossil
Resource
Two Guys Fossils is a supplier of real fossils, replicas, posters,
and dinosaur models, with many items available at reasonable prices.
Fossils come with information about the species and the location
where the specimen was found.
 The
Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent Federal
grant- making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation
of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities
supports the Berkshire Museum.
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