Dinosaurs Greet Year 3 As They Return from Half-Term

Year 3 children at Foxhill Primary school (South Yorkshire) got a pleasant surprise when they returned to school after their half-term break this morning.  Teachers, Miss Faulkner and Miss Hartley had been busy preparing the classrooms in readiness for teaching about dinosaurs, which is Year 3’s topic for the rest of the winter term.

Teaching About Dinosaurs

Lots of dinosaur pictures and information adorned the walls of the classrooms, along with questions about dinosaurs that the children had compiled as part of their preparation for this topic.  The segregated part of the classroom that had been designated as a quiet reading area had some wonderful cut-out dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals on the wall. Even the sign stating “Reading Area” had been created using dinosaur pictures – very imaginative.  Guarding the reading room was a big illustration of a meat-eating dinosaur, not a T. rex (three-clawed fingers) perhaps some sort of Allosaurus?

Fearsome Dinosaur Pictured on the Classroom Door

Having a “roaring” time in the reading area.

Picture credit: Foxhill Primary/Everything Dinosaur

A Clever Dinosaur Illustration

We love the way the tail has been shaped round the door handle.  Miss Faulkner made the yellow tummy by carefully placing sticky, yellow squares onto the dinosaur’s underside.  The children enjoyed spotting the changes that had taken place in their classroom over the half-term holiday period.  The teachers aided by teaching assistant Mrs Wainwright and Everything Dinosaur began the topic with a morning of dinosaur themed activities.  As Miss Faulkner had chosen “Collaboration” as one of the key objectives for her class this term, the children collaborated on making a cast of a dinosaur tooth, before going on to look the fossilised teeth of prehistoric animals.

In a second session with Miss Hartley’s class, the budding young palaeontologists explored the differences between carnivores and herbivores and Miss Hartley got the chance to handle and describe some fossils.  There was even some time to look at the questions the children had come up with as they thought about how the dinosaurs died out, where can fossils be found and which animals alive today most resemble dinosaurs?

A Dinosaur Timeline

We have sent over a template for creating a scale model of a dinosaur timeline, so that the children can learn about some of the geological periods and plot on the timeline when dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals lived.  Sounds like Year 3 are going to getting involved with plenty of extension activities as they explore this particular topic.

To view the range of educational dinosaur and prehistoric animal themed toys and gifts available from Everything Dinosaur: Everything Dinosaur’s Website.