My Dinosaur
Lapbook
Day One What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? Read pages 8-11 Bible Read the creation account in Genesis 1:1-31. List what God made on each day. Lapbooking component: Creation flip-flap book. Write what God made on each day under the flaps. After you complete your flip-flap book, determine what day God made dinosaurs. Science: Animal Classification The book mentions that the word dinosaur means "terrible lizard" Discuss lizards with your student. If your student has already done some work in animal classification, discuss reptiles in detail since dinosaurs most likely fit in this classification. Reptile Characteristics cold-blooded which means that they depend on external sources, such as the sun, to maintain their body temperatures most reptile species are oviparous (lay eggs) thick-skinned with scales or modified scales breathe air examples of reptiles: snakes, turtles, crocodiles/alligators, and lizards Lapbooking component: Complete "Dinosaur" matchbook (write the definition inside). Complete the "Reptiles" t-book. Social Studies: Time-line If your student has a time-line, make sure you add two dates Add when dinosaurs were created (on day 6) Also add 150 years ago when scientists first discovered dinosaur bones
Day Two What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? Read and review pages 8-11 Review what God made on each day. Ask your student if he remembers what the word dinosaur means. What Really Happens to the Dinosaurs? mentions that it can be very difficult for a scientist to put dinosaur bones together. Read the book Bones, Bones, Bones by Byron Barton. Science: Paleontology Paleontology is a science dealing with what lived on planet earth a long time ago; these scientists study fossil remains to learn more about life in past geological periods and are called paleontologists. The scientists in the book Bones, Bones, Bones are definitely this type of scientists. You may want to rabbit trail into a discussion of other types of scientists your student knows about/has already been introduced to (zoologist, naturalist, etc.). Just for Fun activity: Let your paleontologist go searching for dinosaur bones! You can do this just about any way you want, but I thought I'd give you a few suggestions to get your creativity a jump start: 1. Putting the pieces together When I did a science class for our co-op, I used a dinosaur puzzle (whatever's on hand or a cheap one from the dollar store, 32 or 48 piece). I put the box out of sight and took all the pieces and placed them in a large flat container. (I used a plastic storage container that was long and not very deep.) I covered the pieces with sand and mixed it up. Then I had the kids excavate. They gathered pieces and had to try to put together the puzzle. Because they had no picture to follow, it helped them see what scientists do: guess. (Only scientists didn't always have the luxury of being able to see that the pieces fit together correctly!) 2. Make Your Own Dino Dig! Mix three cups sand, three cups Plaster of Paris, and two cups of water. Put it in a plastic shoe box. Stick plastic dinos into the mixture. Let it harden for 24 hours. When it's ready, dig out the dinosaurs!
3. Last Minute Mom Dino Dig So, you don't have time to get a puzzle or dog treats Make dinosaur bones out of construction paper (your student could help) or heavy cardboard. If you don't have sand, you could hide them around the house and pretend to dig them up (you could even hide them under couch cushions and really make a big deal of the "digging" part). Add the "Paleontologist" matchbook to your lapbook. Science: Different Kinds of Dinosaurs Review the dinosaur names mentioned in this story. They include: Tyrannosaurus, Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Gallimimus, Thecondontosaurus, and Triceratops. Help your student do some dinosaur research and complete a dinosaur report form. Continue this project as often as you like. There are reminders in the remainder of the lessons. You don't want your student to get bored with this (or NOT want to do it), so try to make it a gentle introduction to "reports" -- you don't even have to use that word! I plan on allowing my student to dictate his answers to me, and I will record them on the pages for him. Another option, for a younger student, would be to use the prepared coloring book (found on the landing page for this unit study). Social Studies: Geography- Dinosaur World Map Where have dinosaur bones been found? All over the world! Review the seven continents on your map and/or globe. The World Map mini-book will help your student learn about a small sampling of dinosaurs and where their fossils have been found. Lapbooking Component: Dinosaur World Map Instructions: Cut out each template as one piece. Layer the book so that the tabs are in order and put the cover on the top. Staple the left side of the book. Mention to your student that many of these dinosaurs have been found on two or three continents (just as we have some of the same animals on different continents) Africa: Brachiosaurus Antarctica: Ankylosaurus
Asia: Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor Australia: Allosaurus Europe: Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus North America: Triceratops South America: Iguanodon
Day Three What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? Read pages 14-15 Bible: Behemoth Read Job 40:15-24 together. Help your student think of the descriptions of the Behemoth (or write them down as you encounter them in your reading). Read over your list and think of what an amazing creature this must have been! Let your student draw a picture of Behemoth based on the descriptions in the Bible. Read What if the Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most Discuss how big some of those dinosaurs look in comparison to the buildings, etc. Use this discussion to lead you in to the lesson. Math: Measurement and Graphing How big were the dinosaurs? Do some measuring and see how your student sizes up against the dinos! Tyrannosaurus rex 40 feet Iguanodon 33 feet Apatosaurus 90 feet Triceratops 25 feet Utahraptor 20 feet Stegosaurus 25 feet Velociraptor 6 feet If you have room in your home, use a measuring tape to measure the height of each dinosaur (you can do this on the floor). Mark each height with a sticky note or piece of masking tape and write the name of that dinosaur on the note or tape. Ask your student which dinosaur was the largest? Which one was the
smallest? You may want to mark your student's height as well (have him lay on the floor). Complete the graph in the printables section of this file and add it to your lapbook. Science Choose another dinosaur and continue with My Book of Dinosaurs (dinosaur reports).
Day Four What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? Read pages 16-19 Bible: The Fall Read the Genesis 3. Discuss sin and the consequences of sin. Sin is disobedience to God's law and the result of sin is separation from God. Language Arts: Dinosaur Descriptions (Adjectives) Imagine all the words that you can to describe what you know about dinosaurs Have your student write one adjective on each dinosaur shape (shapes provided in the printables section). If you are using this unit with an older student, help him learn how to use a thesaurus to find even more words to describe dinosaurs. Science Choose another dinosaur and continue with My Book of Dinosaurs. Science: Dinosaur Diets The book mentions that dinosaurs ate plants before the fall. How do we know this? God created the world and said it was "very good!" Everything existed in perfect harmony. We also know that all animals were vegetarians because of what we find in His Word: Genesis 1:30, 'And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, which has life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so.’ Some scientists use the argument that dinosaurs had sharp teeth, therefore they ate meat. However,
today Giant Pandas and many other species of bears have sharp teeth (similar to large meat eating cats like lions), and they are vegetarian. After the fall, everything changed. The world was no longer perfect as God had created it. At this point it is possible that some varieties of dinosaurs became meat eaters. Complete the "Dinosaur Diets" concept map and add it to your lapbook.
Day Five What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? Read pages 20-22 Bible: Noah and the Great Flood Read Genesis Chapters 5-8 (you may want to find a condensed version in your Children's Bible or Bible story book). Dinorama (Dinosaur Diorama) Let your student create a dinorama! Make a dinosaur scene using a shoe box and various craft materials you have around the house. If you need templates for dinosaur patterns, try these finger puppets: T-Rex Finger Puppet, Stegosaurus Finger Puppet, Brachiosaurus Finger Puppet, or these dinosaurs made from paper. Material Ideas: Shoe Box Construction Paper Patterns/Cut-outs of dinosaurs (or dinosaur stickers) Play-doh or clay Twigs (for trees) Glue, Tape Markers, Crayons, etc. Scissors Aluminum Foil (for water) Small Rocks or Sand Glitter (for lava if your student wants to make a volcano) Pipe Cleaners
Science Choose another dinosaur and continue with My Book of Dinosaurs (dinosaur reports). Just For Fun: Exercise! If you checked out Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton, take some time to read it together. Do the motions and actions described throughout the book. Have fun! You may want to do this activity again tomorrow or on Day Seven (as time and energy permit).
Day Six What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? Read pages 24-25 You may want to stop and discuss the information on page 24 if your child has questions. Science: Fossils Today the book mentions fossils. What is a fossil? It is a trace or print or the remains of a plant or animal of a past age preserved in earth or rock. Fossils form when animals are buried quickly. How could so many animals have been buried so quickly? Review this quote from the book, if there was a flood, you could expect to find, "billions of dead things buried in rock layers, laid down by water, all over the earth." Discuss this. Memorize it! Help your child to understand how the layers and fossils found today were formed. I am including two fossil activities. The first (making a fossil print) uses modeling clay and the second (casting a fossil print) uses plaster of paris. If you have time and energy, and if your student has taken a real interest in fossils, do both! Activity: Make Fossil Prints #1 Collect some small objects to make fossils with. Some ideas include-- bones (you may want to save a chicken bone for this project-- make sure you really boil it before using it), leaves (ferns work well), shells, coins, twigs, etc. You will also need some modeling clay.
Start with a lump of clay about the size of your fist. Give your student a lump, too. Take half the clay and press it flat/smooth; instruct your student to do the same. Press an item into the clay. Roll out the other half and place it over the object you put in the clay. Gently push the two pieces together (don't let it break). Make sure the clay molds around the object. After the clay has dried out a little, carefully separate the pieces. Can your student see the print? Can your student explain to you how the flood played a part in the process of making fossils? Activity #2: Making a Cast Fossil Supplies to gather: disposable spoon and cup (for mixing), plaster of paris, measuring cups and spoons, oil, fossil imprint from activity #1, 1 half pint milk container (rinsed and dry) with top cut off, objects used to make imprints (for comparison) When minerals from the earth or water fills an imprint (like your student made in activity #1), cast fossils are the result. The minerals harden into stone which is shaped like the original object that made the imprint. 1. Mix up 1/2 cup plaster of paris with 2 1/2 tablespoons cold water (if you have two students, double this amount). 2. Have your student wipe his fossil imprint from activity #1 with oil. 3. Give your student the milk container. Have him set his imprint at the bottom. Using a spoon, let him cover the imprint with about one inch of the plaster of Paris. 4. Leave the container to dry for at least one hour. Let your student peel the milk carton away and pull the clay off (gently so that it is still intact). What's left? 5. Compare the imprint and the cast to the original object. Which fossil (the imprint or the cast) is more like the original? Take pictures of your fossils and include them in your lapbook along with the definition of fossil. You may also want to include some pictures of real dinosaur fossils that you find on the web.
Pictures below contributed by Shannon
Day Seven What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? Read pages 26-29
Bible: After the Flood Genesis Chapter 9 Science: Extinction An animal that is extinct is an animal that no longer exists. Discuss what it means to be extinct. How does this happen to animals today? (You may want to discuss the term endangered as well.) What other extinct animals were mentioned in What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? If you checked out Edwina, the Dinosaur -- this would be a good day to read it. Lapbooking Component: Add the "Extinct" and "Favorite Fact" matchbooks to your lapbook. Science: What Happened to the Dinosaurs The book gives many different explanations as to what might have happened to the dinosaurs after the flood. Review these with your student. For extra review, help your student make the wheel in the lapbooking component (you will need a brass fastener). Lapbooking Component: "What Happened to the Dinosaurs?" wheel Language Arts: Creative Writing Read If the Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most. In the same pattern of Most, help your student write her own, If the Dinosaurs Came Back story.
Day Eight What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? Review page 30 where it gives information about knights and dragons. Almost every culture in the world has legends about dragons. Is it possible or probable that dragons were dinosaurs? Remember the passage in Job 40 about Behemoth? Job 43 describes Leviathan like a dragon. Dragons were probably dinosaurs! Read Raising Dragons by Jerdine Nolen Discuss more about dragons and dinosaurs. How do the "dragons" in this story
seem like dinosaurs? Since the heroine in our story (Raising Dragons) was left a wheelbarrow full of eggs to care for, you can have some art fun making a "dinosaur" egg with your student! Art: Paper Mache' Dinosaur Egg As a fun way to wrap up your unit, make a paper mache' dinosaur egg together. Materials Glue or Flour (depending on what kind of glue you are going to make) Water Newspaper Strips (about 1-1 1/2 inches wide, 8-12 inches long-- length isn't a big deal) Balloons (large round work best for this) Plastic dinosaur (optional) 1. Blow up a balloon until it is nice and big with an almost oval shape. For a special egg, throw a plastic dinosaur figure in the balloon before you blow it up. 2. Mix up your glue Option 1 - 3/4 white glue to 1/4 water OR Option 2- Mix 1 cup of flour into 1 cup of water until the mixture is thin and runny. Stir into 4 cups of boiling water. Simmer for about 3 minutes, then cool. 3. Dip each strip of paper in the glue. Get the excess off by running it through your fingers. If you don't get the extra off, you will probably end up with a gloppy mess. Wrap each strip around the balloon. When the entire balloon has a layer of strips, let it dry a bit. (We used fans). Once it is dry, you can add another layer. I recommend three layers just to make sure you will have a sturdy egg. 4. Once the egg is completely dry, you can pop the balloon from inside the egg. 5. Let your student decorate the egg with paint, makers, or whatever else you may want to try. 6. If you have a plastic dino inside, let your student "hatch" his egg. You can see some pictures of our process below. We made these for a birthday party, so that's why there are so many! If we can make this many, you can make one! :)
Materials and information on this website may be used for your own personal and school use. Material may not be used for resale. Š Homeschool Share
Certificate of Achievement
This certificate is awarded to
For becoming an outstanding
JUNIOR PALEONTOLOGIST
Signature
Date
Signature
Date
BRACHIOSAURUS
Africa
APATOSAURUS
Europe
STEGOSAURUS
VELOCIRAPTOR
TYRANNOSAURUS Asia
ALLOSAURUS
Australia
TRICERATOPS North America
IGUANADON South America
ANKYLOSAURUS
Antarctica
Images used from www.clipart.com under license. Material created for www.homeschoolshare.com and may be used for your personal and school use. Material not intended for resale.
OVIRAPTOR
APATOSAURUS
BRACHIOSAURUS
ANKYLOSAURUS
LEPTOCERATOPS
STEGOSAURUS
PLATEOSAURUS
CORYTHOSAURUS
KENTROSAURUS
TYRANNOSAURUS
TRICERATOPS
Cut pocket out as one piece. Fold back up. Wrap flaps around the back and glue down.
Directions: Cut on solid lines. Fold on dotted line. Paste title at the top of the book.
Directions: Cut books out. Fold on lines (matchbook style). Write the definitions of the words inside the matchbooks.
Directions: Use these shapes to write dino adjectives on. Paste on to small rectangles of paper and staple together or attach with a brad. Print as many copies as you need.
Cut out as one piece. Fold left side in. Fold right side in. Fold top down. Paste inserts on the next page to the inside of the book.
Reptiles breathe air.
Reptiles have scales.
Reptiles lay eggs.
Reptiles are cold-blooded.
What Happened to the Dinosaurs . . .
. . . After the Flood?
Directions: Complete graph on next page. Fold in half and paste cover piece (above) on the front. Use the clip-art on this page to decorate lapbook.
40 feet 38 feet 36 feet 34 feet 32 feet 30 feet 28 feet 26 feet 24 feet 22 feet 20 feet 18 feet 16 feet 14 feet 12 feet 10 feet 8 feet 6 feet 4 feet 2 feet Tyrannosaurus
Iguanodon
Triceratops
Utahraptor
Stegosaurus
Velociraptor
Directions: Cut on solid lines. Fold on dotted.
It ate grass like an His tail was large like a
His bones were strong like
Behemoth
It had powerful hind
It had a strong
He lived in a
Hotdog Book Folding Instructions