T E A C H I N G G U I D E

3rd Grade Reading Level

TEACHING

Meet theDinosaurs

T E A C H I N G M E E T T H E D I N O S A U R S2

StandardsScience— • Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life.Life Science • Understands the nature of scientific inquiry.

Language Arts— • Demonstrates competence in the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing.Writing • Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions.

• Gathers and uses information for research purposes.

Language Arts— • Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the reading process.Reading • Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of

informational texts.

Thinking and • Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and Reasoning differences.

Visual Arts • Understands the characteristics and merits of one’s own artwork and the artwork ofothers.

Multiple Intelligences Utilized• Linguistic, spatial, logical-mathematical, naturalistic, interpersonal

Copyright © 2005 by Lerner Publications Company

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Student pages may bereproduced by the classroom teacher for classroom use only, not for commercialresale. No other part of this teaching guide may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior writtenpermission of Lerner Publications Company, except for the inclusion of briefquotations in an acknowledged review.

LernerClassroom A division of Lerner Publishing Group241 First Avenue NorthMinneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A.800-328-4929Website address: www.lernerclassroom.com

Manufactured in the United States of America1 2 3 4 5 6 — DP — 10 09 08 07 06 05 ISBN 0-8225-5485-2 PMS Green 355U

Go to www.lernerclassroom.comfor a complete list of titles in theMeet the Dinosaurs series.

T E A C H I N G M E E T T H E D I N O S A U R S 3

Read(students)• Each student will choose and read a book from the

Meet the Dinosaurs series.

Model(teacher)• Show students how to cut and staple My Dinosaur

Book pp. 8–10 to make a mini-book.• On p. 2 of the mini-book, write the name of the

dinosaur you are studying and draw a picture showingwhat it looked like.

• Show students how to use their Meet the Dinosaursbook to find the information needed to completeMy Dinosaur Book pp. 8–10.

Practice(students)• Each student will use information from their chosen

Meet the Dinosaurs book to complete My DinosaurBook pp. 8–10.

Discuss(teacher, students)• Share completed My Dinosaur Books with the class.• How were the dinosaurs alike? How were they

different?

Evaluate(teacher)• Display My Dinosaur Books pp. 8–10 in the

classroom.• Use My Dinosaur Book Rubric p. 11 to evaluate

students’ work.

Lesson 1My Dinosaur BookPurpose: Students will create a mini-book in orderto convey what they have learned about a particulardinosaur.

Objectives• Name a particular dinosaur.• Explain characteristics of a dinosaur.• Construct a book describing a dinosaur.• Illustrate a book describing a dinosaur.• Summarize the distinguishing features of a dinosaur.• Compare and contrast different dinosaurs.

Activity Procedures

Prepare (teacher)• Copy My Dinosaur Book pp. 8–10 and My Dinosaur

Book Rubric p. 11 for each student.

Pretest(teacher, students)• What is a dinosaur?• What are some dinosaurs you know? • What were they like?

Materials• Meet the Dinosaursbooks

• My Dinosaur Bookpp. 8–10

• My Dinosaur BookRubric p. 11

• pencils• crayons, markers, orcolored pencils

Read(students)• Students should read a Meet the Dinosaurs book.• Have students record information from the book’s

timeline on pp. 8–9.

Model(teacher)• Complete one piece of the Time Travel Worksheet

p. 12 using the information from the timelines onpp. 8–9 in a Meet the Dinosaurs book.

• Place the completed picture on the class timeline.• Assign each student one of the remaining dinosaurs

from the Meet the Dinosaurs books.

Practice(students)• Each student will complete one piece from the Time

Travel worksheet p. 12 by drawing and recordinginformation about their assigned dinosaur.

• Using the time periods on the bottom of thetimeline background, students will correctly placetheir pictures on the timeline.

Discuss(teacher, students)• Did each type of dinosaur live at the same time?

Why or why not?• Are there any possible predator and prey

relationships?• Why are timelines useful? Students should write

down their answers.

Evaluate(teacher)• Teacher evaluates written statement for

understanding.• Teacher evaluates placement of dinosaurs for

accuracy.

T E A C H I N G M E E T T H E D I N O S A U R S4

Lesson 2Time TravelPurpose: Students will create a dinosaur timelineusing information gathered from books.

Objectives• Identify the time period of a dinosaur.• Explain the purpose of a timeline.• Illustrate a picture of a dinosaur.• Analyze data presented on a timeline.• Arrange various dinosaurs in a timeline.• Evaluate the usefulness of a timeline.

Activity Procedures

Prepare(teacher)• Copy one Time Travel Worksheet p. 12 for every four

students.• Cut Time Travel Worksheet p. 12 into four pieces.• Cut butcher paper in long strips for timeline

background.• Label these time periods on the bottom of the

timeline background:200–173 million years ago172–146 million years ago145–119 million years ago118–92 million years ago91–65 million years ago

Pretest(teacher, students)• What is a timeline?

Materials• Meet the Dinosaursbooks

• Time TravelWorksheet p. 12

• butcher paper

• plain paper• lined paper• tape• pencils• colored pencils,crayons, or markers

Model(teacher)• Turn to page 32 in the Meet the Dinosaurs books.

Remind students that this is the glossary and it givesthe definition of the boldfaced words from the text.

• Demonstrate how to find words in a glossary.• Show students how to write a boldfaced word on

one Dino Memory Card. Write the word’s definitionon another card.

Read(students)• Students read their chosen Meet the Dinosaurs book.

Practice(students, partners)• Students will complete Dino Memory Cards pp.

13–14 using the boldfaced words from their chosenMeet the Dinosaurs book and the definitions fromthe glossary.

• After students have completed their Dino MemoryCards pp. 13–14, they will share them with a partner.After reviewing the words with a partner, studentscan use the cards to play a memory game.

• To play the game, have students turn all cards wordor definition side down. Partners will take turnsflipping over a card and reading the word ordefinition. They should then turn over one morecard to find its match. A match is a boldfaced wordand its definition.

Discuss(teacher, students)• What new words did you learn?• Were there any words you had heard before but had

a different definition than you had previouslylearned?

Evaluate(teacher)• Use the Reading Skills Checklist p. 15 to evaluate

each student’s reading proficiency.

T E A C H I N G M E E T T H E D I N O S A U R S 5

Lesson 3Dino Memory GamePurpose: Students will learn new vocabulary wordsrelating to dinosaurs.

Objectives• Recall information.• Restate facts.• Apply prior knowledge while reading.• Practice using a glossary.• Identify boldfaced words in a text.• Explain the meaning of a word.

Activity Procedures

Prepare(teacher)• Copy Dino Memory Cards pp. 13–14, back-to-back,

for each student.• Copy Reading Skills Checklist p. 15 for each student.

(Some skills are provided on the reproducible. Youmay fill in the blank spaces with additional readingskills. Use the checklist throughout the entire unit.)

Pretest(teacher, students)• Students should choose one of the Meet the

Dinosaurs books to read.• Have students preview the text independently.• What do you think you will learn from the book?• What is a glossary?

Materials• Meet the Dinosaursbooks

• Dino Memory Cardspp. 13–14

• Reading SkillsChecklist p. 15

• pencils• scissors• crayons, markers, orcolored pencils

Pretest(teacher, class)• What is a fossil?• How do scientists use fossils?

Read(students, teacher)• Read different Meet the Dinosaurs books to learn

more about how scientists use fossils.

Model(teacher)• Show students how to roll a piece of dough into a

ball and flatten it with the heels of their hands.• Show students how to press a “fossil” firmly into the

dough and then carefully remove it to make animprint.

• Show the students a completed dry fossil imprint.

Practice(students)• Students will make their own fossil imprints. The

number of imprints made depends on the amount ofdough made by the teacher and the size of the“fossils.”

Discuss(teacher, students)• Once the fossil imprints have dried, students will use

Classify Me! p. 16 to categorize the fossil imprints.Write the name of each category on the line at thebottom of each box.

• Discuss the types of imprints and how many of eachtype were made.

• How do scientists use these imprints to gaininformation?

Evaluate(teacher)• Display fossil imprints in the classroom.

T E A C H I N G M E E T T H E D I N O S A U R S6

Lesson 4Make a Fossil ImprintPurpose: Students will make fossil imprints similar tothe ones scientists find and study.

Objectives• Define the word fossil.• Comprehend how fossil imprints are made.• Make a fossil imprint.• Distinguish between different fossils.• Categorize fossils by type.• Compare different types of fossil imprints.

Activity Procedures

Prepare(teacher)• Make fossil dough. (The recipe below makes about

four 3-inch fossils.) • 1⁄2 cup salt, 1 cup flour, 1⁄2 cup cold coffee,

1 cup used coffee grounds (optional)• Mix ingredients together in a bowl.• Put dough on a large sheet of wax paper and

knead until smooth.• Cut squares of wax paper for each student.• Collect “fossils.”• Copy Classify Me! p. 16 for each student.• Make a sample fossil.

Materials• Meet the Dinosaursbooks

• fossil dough (seerecipe below)

• “fossils” (such as

twigs, leaves, shells,acorns, seeds,chicken bones, etc.)

• wax paper• Classify Me! p. 16• pencils

dinosaur information, games, puzzles, and otheractivities.

Rey, Luis V. Extreme Dinosaurs. San Francisco:Chronicle Books LLC, 2001.This book describes some of the more interestingand little-known facts about various dinosaurs.

Schatz, David. Uncover a T-Rex. San Diego: SilverDolphin Books, 2003.Take an in-depth look at the T-Rex. The readerwill learn many fascinating facts about thispowerful creature.

Stamper, Judith Bauer. Dinosaur Detectives. NewYork: Scholastic, 2002.Miss Frizzle and the gang start by visiting theMuseum of Natural History, but end up travelingaround in the Mesozoic Era.

Tanaka, Shelley. New Dinos: The Latest Finds! TheCoolest Dinosaur Discoveries! New York: Simon& Schuster Children’s, 2003.This book describes recently discovered dinosaursand other exciting information paleontologistshave uncovered.

WEBSITESDinorama

<http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0203/adventures/>This site contains an online scavenger hunt aboutdinosaurs, as well as all the great dinosaurinformation National Geographic has to offer.

Dinosaurs for Kids<http://www.kathimitchell.com/dinosaur.html>Use this site to link to dozens of kid-friendlydinosaur websites.

Download a Dinosaur<http://www.rain.org/~philfear/download-a-dinosaur.html>This site contains designs for easy-to-make paperdinosaurs.

Zoom Dinosaurs<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/>The ultimate dinosaur website includes a dinosaurdictionary, dinosaur anatomy, fossil information,dinosaur jokes, crafts, and other fun stuff.

T E A C H I N G M E E T T H E D I N O S A U R S 7

Additional ResourcesBOOKSAliki. Digging Up Dinosaurs. New York: HarperCollins

Children’s Books, 1988.This book is a brief introduction to the types ofdinosaurs. It also explains how scientists finddinosaur fossils and display them in museums.

———. Dinosaur Bones. New York: HarperCollinsChildren’s Books, 1990.Learn how scientists find dinosaur bones and usethem to gain more information about the lives ofdinosaurs.

Bakker, Robert. Maximum Triceratops. New York:Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for YoungReaders, 2004.This is an introduction to the rare TriceratopsMaximus and its aggressive behavior.

Branley, Franklyn Mansfield. What Happened to theDinosaurs? New York: HarperCollins Children’sBooks, 1991.Different scientific theories about the extinctionof dinosaurs are explained in this book.

Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus In the Time of theDinosaurs. New York: Scholastic, 1995.Miss Frizzle and class go back in time to visitdinosaurs in their natural habitat.

Granowsky, Alvin. Hungry Dinosaurs. Milwaukee, WI:Raintree Publishers, 1992.This book describes different herbivorous andcarnivorous dinosaurs.

Lambert, David. DK Guide to Dinosaurs: A ThrillingJourney through Prehistoric Times. New York: DKPublishing, 2000.Learn more about dinosaur habitats, how theyhunted, how they defended themselves, andmore.

Lessem, Don. Ornithomimids: The Fastest Dinosaurs.Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing, 1995.This book highlights the research that ledscientists to identify and classify Ornithomimids.

———. Seismosaurus: The Longest Dinosaur.Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing, 1996.This book highlights the research that ledscientists to identify and classify the Seismosaurus.

Milner, Angela. Dinosaurs. New York: Barnes &Noble Books, 2003.An illustrated reference book, this book contains

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Teaching Meet the Dinosaurs

My Dinosaur Book Rubric

Name: __________________________________________ Date: ___________________

4 • Book contains both necessary and interesting information about the subject.• All illustrations are neat and colorful, and they correctly depict the subject.• All information presented in the book is correct.• Book was completed within the allotted time period.

3 • Book contains necessary information and some interesting information about thesubject.

• All illustrations are neat and colorful.• Most information presented in the book is correct.• Book was completed within the allotted time period.

2 • Book contains necessary information about the subject.• All illustrations are complete.• Most information presented in the book is correct.• Book was completed, but not necessarily within the allotted time period.

1 • Book contains some information about the subject.• Book is missing some illustrations.• Very little information presented in the book is correct.• Book was not completed within the allotted time period.

Score: _____

Comments: ________________________________________________________________

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Teaching Meet the Dinosaurs

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Time Travel Worksheet

dinosaur name dinosaur name

dinosaur name dinosaur name

It lived _____________

million years ago.

It lived _____________

million years ago.

It lived _____________

million years ago.

It lived _____________

million years ago.

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Teaching Meet the Dinosaurs

Dino Memory Cards

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Teaching Meet the Dinosaurs

Dino Memory Cards

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Teaching Meet the Dinosaurs

Reading Skills Checklist

Mastered Developing Needs Improvement

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Teaching Meet the Dinosaurs

Classify Me!