Unit Title: Dinosaurs are Dynamite

Author: Lisa O'Leary

E-Mail Address:oleary19188@aol.com

School: John C. Dore : Chicago, IL

THEME : Dinosaurs

BROAD CONCEPT: Time period, prehistoric animals and extinction.

GRADES: 2nd-3^rd

INTEGRATED SUBJECTS: Science, Social Studies, Language Arts and Geography

UNIT GOALS AND PURPOSE: Students will learn how the dinosaurs lived? Where they lived? How long ago they lived and how they may have died? The evaluation will be on going because after each of the activities the students will be graded. The summative assessment will take place through observation and participation. The performance-based assessment will be through the successful completion of either the power point presentation or Kid Pix presentation.

TIME FRAME: There will be twelve activities that can be done over a two-week course.

OBJECTIVES:

In this lesson, students will:

Be able to use power point to demonstrate their dinosaur knowledge.

Be able to use Kid Pix Deluxe 3 to create a creative dinosaur presentation.

Be able to use Microsoft word to create a time line, Venn diagram and questions to create dinosaur facts.

Be able to use Internet resources to research interesting dinosaur facts.

Be able to use spreadsheets to create graphs.

Be able to give possible theories for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

MATERIALS:

Books on dinosaurs

Paper

Crayons/Makers

Technology tools:

Software

Internet access

Tape recorder

Computer

Printer

Software Used in this Unit

_x_Desktop Publishing- (Print Artist) _x_ Brainstorming (Inspiration)

_x_Word Processing (MS Word) _x_Spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel)

__CD-ROM Encyclopedia ( Encarta) __ Database (MS Works)

_x_ Multimedia (KidPix Deluxe 3) _x_Other software pertaining to unit

STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED BY THIS UNIT:

1.C.1a Use information to form questions and verify predictions

3.C.1a Write for a variety of purposes including description, information, explanation, persuasion and narrative.

4.A.1a Listen attentively by facing the speaker, making eye contact and paraphrasing what is said.

4.A.1b Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group members to improve comprehension.

4.A.1c Follow oral instructions accurately.

4.A.1d Use visually oriented and auditorily based media.

tion.

4.B.1a Present brief oral reports, using language and vocabulary appropriate to the message and audience (e.g., show and tell).

4.B.1b Participate in discussions around a common topic.

5.A.1a Identify questions and gather information.

5.A.1b Locate information using a variety of resources.

5.B.1a Select and organize information from various sources for a specific purpose.

5.C.1a Write letters, reports and stories based on acquired information.

5.C.1b Use print, nonprint, human and technological resources to acquire and use information.

9.C.1 Draw logical conclusions and communicate reasoning about simple geometric figures and patterns using concrete materials, diagrams and contemporary technology.

10.A.1a Organize and display data using pictures, tallies, tables, charts or bar graphs.

12.A.1a Identify and describe the component parts of living things (e.g., birds have feathers; people have bones, blood, hair, skin) and their major functions.

12.A.1b Categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features (e.g., size, color, shape, backbone).

12.B.1a Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship to their environments. 16.A.1a Explain the difference between past, present and future time; place themselves in time.

16.E.1 (US) Describe how the local environment has changed over time.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES WHICH WILL PROMOTE ENGAGED LEARNING:

Activity 1:(Opening Activity) Teacher will introduce dinosaurs to the students by playing sounds of dinosaurs from http://www.sound-ideas.com/jurassic.html. Teacher will ask students if anyone recognizes the sounds.

Activity 2:(Language Arts) Teacher will read the book Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff. After we read the story students will use either Kid Pix or Microsoft Word to make their own book of what it would be like to have a pet dinosaur they will include clip art of dinosaurs.

Activity 3:(Science/Math) Students will go to www.enchantedlearning.com they will take a quiz to see how much they know about dinosaurs. When they are finished taking the quiz they will write what they learned using Microsoft Word. They will also put the information of the test results into a graph using Microsoft Excel.

Activity 4:(Language Arts) Teacher will read two books about two different dinosaurs of their choice (tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurus, triceratops or brachiosaurus). During the reading they will be filling in a Venn diagram that we created together using Desktop Publishing software. We will compare and contrast the two dinosaurs.

Activity 5:(Social Studies/Math) Students will make a time line of dinosaurs and eras using www.smartdraw.com/specials/timelines.asp The students will include information on eras, dinosaurs that were present at that time and how long ago the first dinosaur roamed to the last dinosaur was ever seen. They will use www.bbc.co.uk/dinosaurs to find this information.

Activity 6: (Language Arts) Students will write a Haiku poem based on one of the dinosaurs they have learned about. The students will use Desktop publishing to illustrate their poems. I will show them examples of Haikus using five words for the first and third lines and seven for the second line.

Activity 7: (Social Studies/Science) Students will conduct a web quest using http://www.proteacher.com They will present their findings in a simple Kid Pix slide show consisting of no more than five slides. The slides will be factual and illustrated.

Activity 8: (Math) Students will create a math story using the information they have learned about dinosaurs from the quiz, web quest and readings we have done. They will do this by going to http://www.mathstories.com. and following the sample problem on this page. Their math story has to be a minimum of seven problems.

Activity 9:(Language Arts) Students will find and complete a dinosaur word search using the link http://www.fmnh.org. Just for Kids section. After they complete this word search they will try to create their own word search using the tables on Microsoft Word.

Activity 10:(Math) As a class we will make a bar graph of our favorite dinosaur. The choices will be tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurus, triceratops, or brachiosaurus. After we have made the bar graph together the children will make their own bar graph showing our favorite dinosaur vote using Microsoft Excel software.

Activity 11: (Language Arts) Students will make a wanted poster for a tyrannosaurus rex using Desktop Publishing software. The wanted poster will include the T-Rex’ height, weight, time period, habitat, diet and where he was last seen. There will be a picture of the wanted dinosaur, a reward amount and a phone number they can contact. The most creative will win a prize.

Activity 12:(Science/Social Studies/Language) For our culminating activity the class will go on a field trip to the Field Museum to visit Sue the Dinosaur. The students will have five questions to answer about Sue. They will prepare for this field trip by researching on www.fieldmuseum.org Lastly, they will present a Kid Pix presentation that will include slides that answer the five questions with one slide being original of one interesting thing they have learned about “Sue”.

SHARE YOUR IDEAS:

The class will continue to share their ideas with the rest of the class as well as display their work in the hall for the rest of the students to see. Students will bring home their on-going projects to share with parents and siblings.

The Rubric for Activity 12 will be as followed:

Evidence that web site was researched 15 points

Appropriate title page 10 points

Five slides that answer the five questions 50 points

that were researched at the Field Museum

One slide will be the interesting fact they found 15 points

One slide will be a drawing of “Sue” 10 points

Total: 100 points

STUDENT AND TEACHER ROLES:

The teacher will act as a facilitator, guide and co-learner. The teacher will be the facilitator by providing the appropriate research and information on dinosaurs. The teacher will have to do an appropriate amount of research to find the websites and information that the students will then learn through the work the teacher assigns and guides them through.

Students will be explorers by exploring the abundance of resources available on dinosaurs. Students will be learning a wide range of new material including technology, science, social studies, language arts and math. For the majority of the projects the children will be working together.

The teacher and the students will be co-learning together during the entire unit.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCE PRINT RESOURCES STUDENTS MAY USE:

World Book Encyclopedia

Knowledge Adventure Encyclopedia

THE FOLLOWING BOOKS CONTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC:

Eyewitness Books Dinosaur by David Norman, Ph.D. and Angela Milner, Ph.D.

The Great Big Book of Dinosaurs by Mitsuhiro Kurokawa

Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

Tyrannosaurus Rex by K.S. Rodriguez

Stegosaurus by Elizabeth J. Sandell

Triceratops by Angela Sheehan

Brachiosaurus by Rupert Oliver

Where are all the Dinosaurs? By Mary O’Neill

FOR ADDITIONAL ONLINE INFORMATION AND MEDIA PERTAINING TO THIS UNIT, TEACHERS MAY WANT TO USE THE FOLLOWING INTERNET ARTICLES:

Title1: Dinosaur Thematic Resource Unit

URL1: www.abcteach.com

Description1: This site has lesson plans, reports, teaching extras, portfolio ideas, shape books and theme units for dinosaurs.

Title2: Explore My World

URL2: www.proteacher.com/cgi-bin/outsidesite.cgi?external=http/.

Description2: This site is a great site that gives information on eras and periods. There is also information on dinosaur lesson plans, pangea, fossils and paleontology.

Title3: Teachers Zone

URL3: www.teacherszone.com

Description3: This site is one that teachers will keep coming back to. It is a site that gives lesson plan ideas and then it gives links to many, many sites that teachers will find worthwhile.

Title4: Lesson Planz.com

URL4: www.lessonplanz.com

Description4: This site had several dinosaur lessons such as dinosaur experiments. Teachers can use this site after this project for all subjects and grade levels.

Title5: Dinosaur Lesson Plans

URL5: www.inZedu.com/edulinks/themes-integrated

Description5: This site gives teachers nine links to dinosaur lessons and units such as books of dinosaurs, extinction, paleontologists and plenty more.

Title6:Yahooligans

URL6: www.yahooligans.com

Description6: This site gives 40+ sites on dinosaurs alone. There are that many sites on any topic and grade level you might need.

Title7: ZoomDinosaurs.com

URL7: www.enchantedlearning.com

Description7: This website is a very detailed site for names of dinosaurs, extinction, quiz, eras, jokes, arts and crafts and coloring pages.

RELEVANT INFORMATION, STUDENTS WILL VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEB SITES:

Title1: Dinosaurs A to Z One at a Time List of Dinosaurs

URL1: www.search4dinosaurs.com/pictures.html

Purpose of Use1: To find pictures of dinosaurs.

Description1: This site is a very detailed list of dinosaur pictures to show students what the different dinosaurs look like.

Title2: Dinosaur Times

URL2: www.scholastic.com/kids/dinotimes

Purpose of Use2: Fun with dinosaurs

Description2: This site has a game on it that students can put the dinosaurs in different eras.

Title3: KD Dinosaur Links

URL3: www.kidsdomain.com/kids/links/dinosaurs.html

Purpose of Use3: Dinosaur themed birthday party

Description3: This site gives everything you need to start a dinosaur birthday party. There are birthday invitations, place tags, placemats, thank you cards and links to more dinosaur sites.

Title4: Land O’Dinosaurs

URL4: www.billybear4kids.com/dinosaurs /long-long-ago.html

Purpose of Use4: Dinosaur activities

Description4: This site can be used to find dinosaur clipart, dinosaur stationary, dinosaur screensavers and dinosaur coloring books.

Title5: Dinosaur Concentration Puzzle

URL5: www.surfnetkids.com/games/dino-c.htm

Purpose of Use5: Fun learning games

Description5: This is a great site for dinosaur memory games, word searches, jokes and crossword puzzles.

Title6: Dinosaur Tales

URL6: www.dinosaurtales.com/cgi-local/ultimateaction-intro.cgi?

Purpose of Use6: story writing

Description6: This site gives students the opportunity to read stories and write and post their own dinosaur stories.

Title7: Dinosaur World

URL7: www.thinkquest.org/library/lib/site.sum-outside.html?

Purpose of Use7: Quiz

Description7: This site gives plenty of information on dinosaurs and then there is a hangman game and a quiz children can play.

Title 8: Dinosaur Floor

URL8: www.library.thinkquest.org

Purpose of Use 8: Research

Description8:This site is very good site that is set up like a library floor. You can click on topics such a disease, volcanoes, super nova or orbital changes.