All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
2 04, 2014

Explaining Dinosaur Extinction Using Schematic Story Maps

By |2023-03-11T17:53:18+00:00April 2nd, 2014|Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on Explaining Dinosaur Extinction Using Schematic Story Maps

Schematic Story Maps Help Visual Learners

Children at Wroxton Primary School demonstrated their knowledge to our dinosaur experts during a dinosaur workshop with Year 1.  Under their teacher’s supervision the children had been producing simple stories that map out some of the theories for the extinction of the dinosaurs.  The children were able to demonstrate their learning and there was plenty of evidence of this posted up on the classroom walls and on their display table.

Dinosaur Workshop

The teaching team members at Everything Dinosaur tend to favour the K-W-L technique for charting the course of a term topic (what you know, what you would like to know and what you have learned).  This three-stage approach is very popular, but the schematic maps that the children had created were certainly powerful learning tools.

An Example of a Schematic Story Map

Visual cues to help young children recall facts about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Schematic Story Map

The maps were greatly appreciated by the children, they enjoyed helping to make them and it clearly assisted them when it came to recalling activities.  This was a tremendous asset for visual learners.  At Everything Dinosaur, we recommend using the K-W-L methodology to help plan, record and measure the achievement of learning objectives.  However, there are a number of different techniques available to teaching professionals and this mapping method certainly proved to be effective for these Key Stage 1 pupils.

Everything Dinosaur

To see the range of prehistoric animal themed gifts and toys available from Everything Dinosaur including models of ammonites: Dinosaur Models, Replica Fossils and Gifts.

2 04, 2014

Schematic Story Maps Help Children Remember Facts

By |2023-03-11T17:50:25+00:00April 2nd, 2014|Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Teaching|0 Comments

Dinosaur Extinction Explained using Schematic Story Maps

When it comes to helping Year 1 recount what they have learned during their term topic on dinosaurs, the class teaching team at Wroxton Primary School utilise a simple technique that helps “map out” facts into a straight forward story for the children.

Dinosaur Extinction

Being able to demonstrate evidence of learning at the end of a term topic is extremely important.  It is essential that the teaching team with the support of their learning support providers and teaching assistants can monitor the progress made by pupils.  At Everything Dinosaur, we recommend using the KWL technique to help plan and record the achievement of various learning objectives, however, there are a number of different techniques and methodologies available to teachers.

The KWL Technique

The KWL technique involves working with the class at the start of the topic to establish what the children know, what they would like to learn and this provides the foundation for the scheme of work and permits that all important recall and checking of learning once the topic has been concluded.

A Typical KWL Chart Prepared for a Dinosaur Teaching Topic

A chart to help kick-start a teaching topic about dinosaurs.

A chart to help kick-start a teaching topic about dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Essentially, KWL permits the following:

K= Know (test what the children known, brainstorming/discussion activities) log results.

W = What (during the first stage questions will be raised, ideas to be tested proposed, these can form the basis of the teaching work).

L = Learn (the recounting stage or the recall stage, review at the end of the term topic what the children have learned (check learning, summarise learning).

School Visit

During a school visit to a primary school in Oxfordshire, one of Everything Dinosaur’s dinosaur experts came across some excellent examples of story maps being used to help create visual cues to stimulate learning and recall for use in creative writing activities.  Our expert saw several examples of such “story boarding” maps, one covering the extinction of the dinosaurs, another telling the story of Mary Anning (1799-1847).

Visual Story Map for use in Year 1

Visual cues to help young children recall facts about dinosaurs.

Visual cues to help young children recall facts about dinosaurs. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A level of knowledge regarding possible causes of the extinction of the dinosaurs was clearly demonstrated by the Year 1 pupils who were eager to explain all about an object from outer space crashing into the Earth and what happened to the dinosaurs as a result.  This was a most impressive demonstration of learning using a technique which would appeal to those children who prefer a visual learning style.

To view the range of prehistoric animal themed gifts available from Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur Models, Gifts and Toys.

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