CURRICULUM DESIGN
Eva Simons and Pam Deming
Working Group #10B
This unit is designed for Grade 2 - Science - Dinosaurs
 

Commencement content standard from MST

Standard 1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design: Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.

Standard 2: Information Systems: Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Standard 3: Mathematics: Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics in real world settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability and trigonometry.

Standard 4: Science: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Benchmark standards
Content standards
Elementary:

1a- Students will generate "why" questions in order to seek greater understanding concerning dinosaurs and their evolution.

1b-Students will question the explanations they hear from others and read about, seeking clarification and comparing them with their own observations and understandings.

1c-Students will develop relationships among observations to construct descriptions of dinosaurs and evolutionary events to form their own explanations of what they have observed.

1a- Students will use a variety of equipment and software packages to enter, process, display, and communicate information in different forms using text, tables, pictures, and sound.

1c- Students will access information from printed media, electronic databases, and community resources.

5a- Students will understand that measurement is approximate, never exact.

5b- Students will know appropriate standard and nonstandard measurement tools in measurement activities.

5d- Students will understand the procedure for estimating and finding length using both nonstandard and standard units.

5e- Students will know how to collect and display data.

5f- Students will understand statistical methods such as graphs, tables, and charts to interpret data.

1a- Students will understand the characteristics of and variations between living things.

3a- Students will know how the structures of dinosaurs complement the environment of the dinosaurs

3b- Students will understand that differences within a species may give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.

6a- Students will understand how plants and animals depend upon each other and the nonliving environment.

Performance standards

1a-Students will list "why "questions in order to seek greater understanding concerning dinosaurs and their evolution.

1b-Students will accurately evaluate the explanations they hear from others and read about, seeking clarification and comparing them with their own observations and understandings.

1c-Students will accurately explain relationships among observations to construct descriptions of dinosaurs and evolutionary events to form their own explanations of what they have observed.
 

1a-Students will accurately demonstrate use of a variety of equipment and software packages to enter, process, display, and communicate information in different forms using text, tables, ,pictures, and sound.

1c-Students will show ability to successfully access information from printed media, electronic databases, and community resources.
 

5a-Students will demonstrate that measurement is approximate, never exact.

5b-Students will accurately select appropriate standard and nonstandard measurement tools in measurement activities.

5d-Students will accurately estimate and find length using both nonstandard and standard units.

5e-Students will accurately collect and display data.

5f- Students sill accurately use statistical methods such as graphs, tables, and charts to interpret data.
 

1a-Students will accurately describe the characteristics of and variations between living things.

3a-Students will accurately describe how the structures of dinosaurs complement the environment of the dinosaurs.

3b-Students will successfully observe that differences within a species may give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.

6a-Students will accurately describe how plants and animals depend upon each other and the nonliving environment.

Content standards or outcomes

1. Dinosaurs have a variety of shapes, sizes, special features, eating preferences and ways of moving.
2. Most of what we know about dinosaurs has been learned from fossils.
3. During the age of dinosaurs, not all types of dinosaurs lived at the same time.
4. Technology can be used to access information and display information learned.

Performance Measures

Assessments for this unit are embedded in the lesson plans.

1. Model of Geologic Time (see lesson 14)
2. Bulletin board mural on Dinosaur Neighbors (see lessons 15 and 16)
3. Fossil Dig (see lesson 20)
4. Hyperstudio or Power Point Project and teacher-designed rubric to assess project.

Enabling Activities:

Describe each day's activity separately or holistically plan for ten days of work. Include all parameters of the setting including grouping, space, time and props. Include some critical directions and questions for the classroom dialogue or attach a worksheet of activity directions.
(See Chapter 6)

Lesson 1 - KWL (ST. 1: Scientific Inquiry, la, lb; ST.4: Living Environment, lab)
Group: Whole Group
Time: 20-30 minutes
Materials: Chart paper, colorful sentence strips, marker, bulletin board space.

Procedure: During this lesson, the children will create a chart of What They Know, What They Want To Know, and (later in the unit) What They Have Learned. Each area will have a designated color and the ideas will be copied onf6 sentence strips of that color. These will be displayed in the three categories on a bulletin board. If desired, the teacher can put out a Data Bin on Dinosaurs about a week in advance of this lesson for the children to fill with facts or artifacts pertaining to the new unit

Lesson 2 -What Did Stegosaurus Look Like? (ST.1: Scientific Inquiry, 1a,1b ST.2: Information Systems, I c; ST.4: Living Environment, 1a)
Group: Whole Group and Independent work
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Overhead projector, transparencies of two different renditions of Stegosaurus, Windows on Science, Volume 1, Earth Science (laser disc): Fossils, Dinosaurs and Geologic
Time, chart paper, and markers.

Procedure: Teacher will begin by initiating a discussion of the difference between the two pictures of Stegosaurus and why (new information from fossils). Children will then view several dinosaurs using the Windows laser disc at the following bar code points:

10310: T-Rex and Stegosaurus
10311: Apatosaurus and Stegosaurus
10312: T-Rex , Ankylosaurus, Pteranodon, and duck-billed dinosaur
10313: Triceratops and Pteranodon
10314: Brachiosaurus

Encourage students to describe each one and list responses on chart paper. Review responses and discuss features common to all dinosaurs ( all dinos walked fully erect with legs coming straight down from shoulders or hips). Assessment will be by participation in group discussion and each student will be asked to draw one of the dinosaurs viewed with as much detail as possible to evaluate understanding of dinosaurs' special features.

 
Lesson 3 - Dinosaurs: Fact or Fiction? (ST. 1, Scientific Inquiry, I b; ST.2, Information Systems,(1b, 1c)
Group: Whole group and small groups
Time: 20-30 minutes
Materials: Access to the Internet on a computer, Windows on Science, Volume 1, Lesson 5 on laser disc.

Procedure: Teacher will initiate discussion of myths surrounding dinosaurs such as: cavemen lived with dinosaurs, and all dinosaurs are large and lived at the same time. Investigate some of these misconceptions by using Windows laser disc at bar codes 1085 - 1088. Then, break into small groups to further investigate using the Internet to access dinosaur websites such as:
Dinosaurs in Cyberspace: Dinolinks
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/dinolinks.html
 

Lesson 4- Measuring Diplodocus (ST.3, Measurement, 5a, 5d, 5e, 5f
Group: Partners
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Trundle wheel, masking tape, chart paper and markers

Procedure: Discuss that Diplodocus was one of the longest dinosaurs that ever lived. Show a picture of one. Pair students and give each pair a trundle wheel. Take students into the hallway and have each pair estimate how long they believe a Diplodocus was by having one stand where the head would be and the other stand where the tail would end. Then, tell the students that this dinosaur was 26 meters in length, and have each pair measure out 26 meters in the hall and mark with masking tape and record this measurement on a chart. Then, have one of the partners measure Diplodocus' length using the other partner as the nonstandard measurement unit and record. Switch partners and repeat procedure. Gather as whole group and analyze data and results.

Lesson 5 - Measuring T-Rex Footprints (ST.3, Measurement, 5b, 5d, 5e)
Group: Whole Group and partners
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Butcher paper, meter sticks, colored paper, scissors

Procedure: Before the activity, prepare 3 life-size paper prints of a T-Rex footprint (locate approximate size of footprint and draw on butcher paper. The average such footprint measured about .6 square meters or 7 square feet). Divide children into partners. Have each child trace his partner's foot onto colored paper and cut out. Ask each child to estimate whether his foot or T-Rex's footprint would be bigger. Then, have each child estimate how many of her footprints would fit inside T-Rex's footprint. Finally, have children place colored footprints inside the T- Rex footprints prepared in advance. Count how many children's footprints fit into one T-Rex footprint. Discuss.

Lessons 6 and 7- Measuring T-Rex Stride (ST.3, Measurement, 5a, 5b, 5d, 5e)
Group: Whole Group and individual
Time: At least two 30 minute lessons
Materials: Different colored paper for each student, scissors, tape, laminating equipment, 3 T-Rex footprints from lesson 5.

Procedure: Discuss the word "stride" to be sure children understand what it is. Have each child trace both his/her feet on colored paper and cut out. Have children guess the length of the stride of a T-Rex and chart their responses. Tell children the stride of T-Rex measures about 370 centimeters or 12 feet. Tape one T-Rex footprint on the hallway floor. Measure 12 feet from the heel of this print to the heel of the next print and tape it down. One at a time, have each child tape one of his/her footprints alongside the T-Rex print, then stride, and tape down his/her second footprint. Continue until each child has participated. Observe and discuss how many student strides equaled one T-Rex stride.

Lesson 8- Invent Your Own Dinosaur (ST. 1, Scientific Inquiry, 1b, ST.4, Living Environment,(1a)
Group: Whole Group and Individual
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Pencils, crayons, or markers, paper, a list of descriptive prefixes on a chart

Procedure: Review some commonly known dinosaur names and their meanings with the students. Explain that many dinosaurs are named using the Greek word for lizard which is "saurus". Explain that descriptive prefixes are added to "saurus" to create a name which describes what the dinosaur looked like or the way it behaved. Slowly read through the list of the prefixes on the chart and discuss several examples. Invite each child to create an imaginary dinosaur by choosing one or more prefixes from the list and adding it or them to the suffix "saurus". Then, have each child print their dinosaur name on a piece of colored paper, then draw and color the dinosaur so that it matches the name they have created.

 
Lessons 9 and 1 0 - Sizing Up Dinosaurs (ST.3, Measurement, 5a, 5d, 5e, 5f)
Group: Pairs
Time: At least two 30 minute lessons
Materials: String, meter sticks, paper for recording

Procedure: Choose 1 0 dinosaurs and find out the length of each in meters. List on a chart for the children to see. Divide children into pairs and assign one of the dinosaurs to each pair. In the pair, children must take a meter stick and attach one end of a piece of string to it using tape. Wind the string around the meter stick, counting the times until it equals the length of the dinosaur in meters. Cut the string. Have each pair then take the string and investigate objects in and around the school building (with supervision) until they locate an object the approximate length of the dinosaur string. Regroup, record and discuss the results.

Lesson 11 -Dino History: When Did Dinosaurs Live?(ST. 1,Scientific Inquiry la, lb; ST.2, I c)
Group: Whole Group
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Windows on Science Video Disc - Earth Science, Volume 1, Lesson 3 - Traveling
Through Time: # 839 - 842, 1046; Formation of the Earth; 1049 - 1061, 1067-1070,Evolution of Life.

View and discuss the formation of the earth and the evolution of life-forms using the videodisc and the lesson guidelines in Volume I - Earth Science - Fossils, dinosaurs and geologic time, pages 30 - 39.

Lesson 12 - Dino History - continued: (For standards, please see lesson 11)
Group: Whole Group and Individual
Time: 30 minutes

Materials: Volume 1 - Earth Science - Fossils, dinosaurs and geologic time manual pages 45 - 49.
Reteach and discuss the concept of the evolution of life equating it to the concrete image of a parade. Use the picture on page 46 as a motivator and a springboard for discussion. As a follow- up to the discussion, children will color in the life forms on page 46 and draw a line tracing the evolution of life forms from the beginning through the appearance of human beings.

 Lesson 13 - Dino History - The Age of Reptiles - The Mesozoic Era (ST. 1,Scientific Inquiry, 1a, 1b; ST. 2, 1c)
Group: Whole Group
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Windows on Science videodisc, # 1 080 - 1084, 7064, (Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods), Volume I - Earth Science - Fossils, dinosaurs, and geologic time manual, pages 55 and 56

Through use of the videodisc, the children will observe the three periods during which dinosaurs lived, and compare and contrast the plants and animals found during those periods. They will discuss and chart the similarities and differences in the earth's environment as it evolved during the time of dinosaurs.

 Lesson 14 - Model of Geologic Time (ST. 1, Scientific Inquiry, I c; ST. 3, Measurement, 5a,b,d,e; ST.2, 1c)
Group: 4 Small Groups
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: 4 colors of yams, each illustrating one of the 4 eras: Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenezoic; chart of Personal Geologic Time Table (for teacher's information), on page 23 of Volume I - Earth Science - Fossils, dinosaurs, and geologic time manual.

Using the scale of 1 mm.= I 00,000 years; I m. = I 00,000,000 years, and I 0 m. = I billion years, teacher should use the table on page 23 in advance of the lesson to figure out the length of yarn needed for each era. Then, in small groups, the teacher will discuss the era and the children will measure and cut the yarn to match the length needed for the years in that era. Later, in a whole group, the 4 pieces of yarn will be knotted together in the order of the 4 eras. The entire length of the yarn representing the Age of Earth will be 46 meters long. It could be displayed in a long hallway with the pertinent explanatory information written by the children.

 Lessons 15 and 16 - Dino Neighbors - Not All Types of Dinosaurs Lived at the Same Time
(ST.4, Living Environment, 3ab, and 6a)
Group: Whole Group, small groups
Time: At least two 30 minute lessons
Materials: Chart paper, markers

Begin discussion by asking questions such as: Do you know all of your grandparents? Great-grandparents? Did T-Rex know Diplodocus? Protoceratops? Explain that different dinosaurs lived at different times, just like their great grandparents lived at a different time from them.

Make a chart to show which dinosaurs knew each other, and, within each period, which other animals and plants lived. Use information on Dinosaur Information Chart and Teacher Information pages in Concept 4, pages 28 and 29 of Dinosaurs Forever ( Early Education)

Curriculum Whole Language Resource Guide, by Seddon Kelly Beaty and Irene C. Fountas)

In the second lesson, the children should be divided into three groups. Each group will be responsible for transferring the information on the chart for their assigned dinosaur period onto mural paper by drawing and coloring. This will serve as an assessment of the information covered in lessons 11 - 16.

Lesson 17 - What Color is That Dinosaur? (ST. 1, Scientific Inquiry, 1a,b,c)
Group: Whole Group
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: paper, markers and crayons, pictures of dinosaurs, pictures of modem animals in camouflage, pictures of dinosaurs in bright colors (as found on stickers, etc.)

 Discuss with the children that knowledge of dinosaurs comes from fossils, therefore, we do not know the color of the dinosaurs because fossils only showed scientists skin texture, not skin color. Scientists have several theories about the coloration of dinosaurs: Some believe that dinosaurs might have been drab shades of gray and green so that they could blend into the surrounding environment. Others believe that the opposite is true; dinosaur skins could have been shades of purple, orange, red or even yellow with pink and blue spots. The first theory is based on the idea of camouflage, such as seen in modern day animals. The second theory is based on the idea that bright colors would have helped dinosaurs to identify and attract each other.

The students will be asked to draw pictures of dinosaurs and to color them following whichever theory they agree with. They could share their dinosaur pictures with the whole group and tell the reason for their choices. Display for everyone to enjoy.

 Lessons 18 and 19 - Make a Fossil and Be a Paleontologist (ST. 1, Scientific Inquiry, I a,b,c)
Group: Pairs and small groups
Time: Two 30 minute lessons
Materials: Pictures of dinosaur fossils, one or more rocks with actual fossil imprints, clay, 10 or more "mystery objects", 10 or more brown paper bags, chart paper, markers, a recording sheet for each small group

Begin the lesson with a discussion of how we got our information about dinosaurs (fossils), and what a fossil is (an imprint of a once-living thing). Tell the children that they will have the opportunity to make a fossil for others to investigate. Model the following activity first, then, pair up the children and give each pair a slab of brown clay that has been rolled out in advance to about 4 inches square. Give each pair one of the mystery bags. Direct the children to take the mystery object out of the bag, make a clear imprint of it on the clay, and put the imprint on a table for the next part of the lesson. The children should be encouraged to keep their object a secret.

In the next lesson, children are placed into 4 small groups. Within each group, one is designated as the "secretary" and given a recording sheet with the numbers I - I 0 (or however many mystery objects were used). The fossils from the previous lesson should be marked 1 - 10, and put out at 4. stations. Each small group is given 5 minutes at a station, and must decide as a group what object made the mystery fossil and record their guess on the sheet. Rotate the groups 4 times until everyone has been to every station. Gather the groups together and share results.

As each fossil is discussed, the mystery object can be revealed and discussion questions such as, "Was this easy or hard to guess? Why? What clues did you use to help you guess? " etc. can be addressed.

Lesson 20 - Dino Dig - (ST. 1, Scientific Inquiry, I a,b,c; ST.3, Measurement, 5e,t)
Group: Small groups
Time: At least one 30 minute lesson
Materials: Use a commercial Fossil Dig Kit such as Fossil Hunt by Science Discovery, Uncle Milton Industries, Culver City, CA 90232 - or make your own dinosaur dig using sand, student made fossils, cardboard box, small toothbrushes, toy shovels and picks, etc.

To make your own fossil dig, get a cardboard box and cut the sides to be about 5 inches deep. Fill the box with sand or kitty litter. In advance, have children each create a fossil using a fossil copycat page such as in Dinosaurs, a soft-covered manual of activities from Museum of the Rockies put out by Scholastic(page 90) The recording sheet (page 91) or one similar to it should be used as well. In small groups, children should be directed to work carefully and slowly to uncover each fossil (tell the group how many in all). They should brush off the sand, lay the fossil out on newsprint, and record it on the sheet; noting the type of fossil, length of the fossil, and any other observations they might make.

Culminating Assessment:
As a final project, each student will be asked to do research on a dinosaur of choice. The student must answer the following questions:

During which period did your dinosaur live?
What does its name mean?
What did it eat?
What was its length?
Where have its bones been found?
What other facts have you learned about this dinosaur?

Children will be given a choice, if available, of using Hyperstudio or PowerPoint as a method of presenting their research information to the class. If a scanner is available, children will be required to find a picture of their dinosaur and include it in the presentation. This project will be assessed using the attached rubric, which the children will be given in advance.

GRADE TWO DINOSAUR PROJECT RUBRIC