A Return Visit to Thorpe Hesley Primary School

A busy morning for Everything Dinosaur, as one of their team members made a return visit to Thorpe Hesley Primary (Rotherham, south Yorkshire), to work with the two classes of Year 1 children who have been spending the summer term learning all about dinosaurs.  This is a topic that the children in previous years have covered, one of the classrooms had a wonderful paper mâché Triceratops on display.

Exploring Dinosaurs

A Large Model of a Triceratops on Display in the Classroom

A Triceratops on display.

Picture credit: Thorpe Hesley Primary School/Everything Dinosaur

In the tidy and well appointed classrooms, the enthusiastic teaching team had been preparing a range of very creative activities for the budding palaeontologists to try on their special dinosaur day.  Our workshops aimed to reinforce learning as well as to introduce different types of dinosaurs to the children.  Could they remember all the dinosaur facts?

Handling Fossils

The children in Class 1 and Class 2 (Key Stage 1), had the opportunity to handle fossils and their super quick reactions ensured that both classes won some dinosaur stickers.  We look forward to seeing how the pupils got on with the “design a dinosaur challenge” that we set them, can they label all the body parts including the skull?  We noted that an area of one classroom had been set aside so that a special dinosaur museum could be created, we think this would be a great place to exhibit some of the children’s prehistoric animal themed work.

Lots of Dinosaur Habitats on Show in the Classrooms

Exploring dinosaur habitats.

Picture credit: Thorpe Hesley Primary School/Everything Dinosaur

Herbivores and Carnivores

We looked at herbivores and carnivores and explored how many Year 1 children could fit inside the tummy of a really big dinosaur.  In addition, the extra resources our dinosaur expert provided should help the children gain confidence with numbers as a couple of the extension exercises involve measuring and counting.  We even spotted some dinosaurs in the play area used by the Nursery.  Our dinosaur expert felt quite at home with all the dinosaurs and prehistoric animal themed displays at the school.

Spotting Dinosaurs in the Nursery Play Area

A triangle shape filled with dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Thorpe Hesley Primary School/Everything Dinosaur

That is a lovely group of plant-eating dinosaurs, can the children name them?

For models and figures of plant-eating dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals: Dinosaur Models and Figures.

Sadly, all too soon our time was up and it was lunch.  The children had lots of questions and we did not have time to answer them all, so with the permission of the teaching team we challenged the children to write us a thank you letter and if they did, they could include a question if they wanted.  We made a “pinkie palaeontologist” promise to read them all.  As the summer term progresses, soon it will be time for sports day, we sported some equipment close by to the well-stocked resources cupboard and we wondered could the children be using dinosaur eggs for the egg and spoon race?

Could the Children Use Dinosaur Eggs for the Egg and Spoon Race?

Dinosaur eggs for the egg and spoon race?

Picture credit: Thorpe Hesley Primary School/Everything Dinosaur

Glad we were able to help the children explore prehistoric animals with a dinosaur themed workshop.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

Year 2 Study Dinosaurs

Thursday was “Dinosaur Day” for the Year 2 children at Newport Infant School (Shropshire) and in preparation for their Summer Term topic the three classes (Deer, Squirrel and Hedgehog) had been challenged to produce a dinosaur themed piece of work over the half-term holiday.  A tweet had been sent out by the school reminding the children to bring in their prehistoric creations and space was set aside in the well-appointed classrooms so that the various models, prehistoric scenes, drawings and posters could be displayed.

Dinosaur Themed Activities

Year 2 Children Made Mini “Jurassic Worlds” for the Summer Term Dinosaur Topic

A mini dinosaur world made by Year 2 children.

Picture credit: Newport Infant School Hedgehog Class

Colourful Dinosaur Displays

There were lots of colourful dinosaur displays and Everything Dinosaur felt quite at home when they visited the school to work with the three classes over the course of the day to provide an appropriate “wow” activity to help to enthuse pupils and teachers alike over the new term topic.  Several children had created special science posters.  These demonstrated that a number of the children had a lot of pre-knowledge when it comes to dinosaurs, their enthusiasm for the subject was very clear and our time working with each class in the spacious hall whizzed by.

Some Fine Examples of Science Posters Featuring Prehistoric Animals from Year 2

Children made dinosaur models and posters over the half-term holiday.

Picture credit: Newport Infant School Hedgehog Class

Dinosaur Workshops

The posters were beautifully illustrated with dinosaurs such as Triceratops, Spinosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex proving to be amongst the most popular.  The additional resources our fossil expert brought with him will help the children to recall and remember prehistoric animal facts, the posters are a wonderful example of non-fiction writing in a Key Stage 1 class.  During our workshops, we challenged the children to write a story about Triceratops coming to lunch, the pupils were amazed when it was revealed how much one of the these huge horned dinosaurs could eat in a day!  This extension activity is aimed at helping the pupils gain greater confidence with their story writing.

Flying Reptiles in Hedgehog Class

Year 2 make prehistoric animal models including a wonderful pterosaur.

Picture credit: Newport Infants School Hedgehog Class

T. rex and a Flying Reptile

The picture above shows a model of a T. rex in the background with a flying reptile (pterosaur) replica in the foreground.  It looks like the Year 2 children had a very busy half-term holiday preparing their exhibits for the dinosaur term topic.   Flying reptiles (pterosaurs), are not dinosaurs, although, like dinosaurs they are reptiles and palaeontologists are quite confident that these two types of animal were closely related.  Both dinosaurs and flying reptiles laid eggs, and some children had even created prehistoric animal eggs to go with their displays.  We were most impressed with a model of green dinosaur with a long tail that was accompanied by a large paper mache egg that was full of facts about dinosaurs.

For models and replicas of dinosaurs and pterosaurs: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Scale Models.

A Dinosaur Model with an Egg Full of Dinosaur Facts

A dinosaur model with an egg full of dinosaur facts.

Picture credit: Newport Infants School Hedgehog Class

Top Marks for Dinosaur Themed Activities

Top marks to all the children in Squirrel, Deer and Hedgehog class for making such fantastic prehistoric animal displays.  There were so many amazing things to see, the Everything Dinosaur team member did not have time to photograph them all, but in between the workshops and over the lunch time he did have the opportunity to see the classrooms and to marvel at all the super drawings, posters and models.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.

What Will a High Quality Science Education Achieve?

This week Everything Dinosaur team members participated in a North West Science Alliance meeting.  It took place at the magnificent Preston iSTEM Centre at Preston’s College (Lancashire, northern England).  The ISTEM (innovation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), Centre is a fantastic £13 million facility that provides educational opportunities for some 600 students.  A diverse range of courses are offered from traditional “A” levels to qualifications in electrical engineering, laboratory practice, dental nursing and creative and digital media.

Everything Dinosaur and STEM

The great thing about the iSTEM Centre is that it is not just a shiny, well-appointed, new building.  It is a bespoke learning environment that provides students with real work experiences.  It manages to bridge the student world with that of the world of work.   Many local employers have grasped the Centre’s ethos of delivering top class training and forged meaningful, long-term relationships with the course providers.

We praise all those involved in this important undertaking.

What Does the English Science Curriculum Contribute?

At the meeting, as we listened to the speakers, our thoughts turned to Everything Dinosaur’s own work in schools and later, in the office, we asked the question what does the new English science curriculum hope to contribute?

How to Forge the Next Generation of Scientists?

Developing the next generation of scientists.

Picture credit: Lego

Hopefully, by providing a high quality, challenging science education for children, a science education that is broad-based and led by motivated and enthusiastic teaching staff we shall be able to:

• Encourage pupils to understand how science can be used to explain what is happening as well as helping to solve problems
• Promote a fascination and respect for the natural world
• Equip children with life-long learning skills
• Inspire pupils to ask challenging questions and to work scientifically

When working with classes delivering dinosaur and fossil themed workshops we try to inspire and motivate the next generation of scientists.  With tactile, kinaesthetic lessons we aim to help children develop their scientific knowledge as well as to develop an understanding of scientific concepts.

Helping Students to Gain an Insight into Scientific Working

Helping to inspire the next generation (Neanderthal skull modelling).

Gaining Confidence/Developing Knowledge

At Everything Dinosaur we tailor our workshops to meet the learning needs of the class and we take care to ensure that what we deliver compliments the teaching scheme of work.  Our aim is to develop scientific understanding and to give students an appreciation of the scientific method.

For further information on Everything Dinosaur’s work and ethics: About Everything Dinosaur.

Applying and Using the Skills of a Scientist

When working with a class or a group of students, our qualified teaching team aim to develop good scientific practice and encourage the use of scientific terms accurately as well as encouraging participants to observe, assess the evidence and hypothesise.  We want to promote an ethos of gathering and recording evidence, making evaluations, analysing trends and drawing appropriate conclusions.

In our own small way, Everything Dinosaur is making a positive contribution to science teaching.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

Children from St Thomas More School Send in Dinosaur Drawings

Tuesday, 1st of March saw a team member of Everything Dinosaur visiting the Key Stage 1 classes at St Thomas More Catholic First School (Redditch), to deliver some dinosaur and fossil themed workshops to support the spring term topic. In the classroom we saw lots of models and dinosaur drawings.

Dinosaur Drawings

Amongst the many extension activities we suggested, our prehistoric animal expert challenged the children to have a go at designing their very own dinosaur.  Under the expert tutelage of the experienced teaching team, the children in Year 1, a mixed Year 1 and Year 2 class and in Year 2 certainly set about this task with relish.  A few days ago, we received an envelope from the school and inside was a selection of the very colourful drawings the children had made.

Colourful Dinosaur Drawings from the Key Stage 1 Classes

Lots of lovely dinosaur designs sent into Everything Dinosaur by Key Stage 1.

Picture credit: St Thomas More Catholic First School

Learning About Food Webs and Scientific Working

The children had been learning which dinosaurs were herbivores, which were carnivores and what types of dinosaur were probably omnivorous.  In addition, the simple experiments that the teaching team had incorporated into their diverse scheme of work helped the children to get to grips with the fundamentals of working scientifically.  The dinosaur themed workshops we delivered on St David’s day (March 1st) certainly proved popular with the children and the teachers and we were delighted to receive a number of dinosaur illustrations that the pupils had devised.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

A Splendid Dinosaur Drawing by Alex

Alex sent Everything Dinosaur a picture of “Alexosaurus”.

Picture credit: St Thomas More Catholic First School

Alexosaurus by Alex

Alex sent in a wonderful dinosaur drawing.  We love the thick neck and the spikes running down the body.  We challenged the children to have a go at labelling the body parts of their very own dinosaur.  This dinosaur was named “Alexosaurus”.  Ironically, there is a dinosaur genus called Alxasaurus (pronounced Alks-ah-sore-us).  Although descended from meat-eating dinosaurs (carnivores), Alxasaurus was very probably an omnivore.

An Illustration of Alxasaurus

A scale drawing of the theropod dinosaur Alxasaurus.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For models and replicas of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Alxasaurus may have been a spectacular looking dinosaur with its toothless beak, long arms, huge claws and feathers but Victoria’s illustration is of an even more amazing animal.

Victoria’s Prehistoric Animal Design

Victoria imagined a brown dinosaur with huge green spikes.

Picture credit:  St Thomas More Catholic First School

Victoria imagined a huge, brown, herbivorous dinosaur with massive triangular spikes running down its back to the tip of its very long tail.  The dinosaur has been named Vicosaurus, and Victoria even drew a prehistoric tree and a stream so that this dinosaur had something to eat and some water to drink.

They are certainly a most impressive set of dinosaur drawings.  Our thanks to Katy the teacher, for sending them into Everything Dinosaur.

Year 2 Classes at Great Wood Primary Explore Dinosaurs

Last month, we visited Great Wood Primary in Lancashire to work with the two classes of Year 2 to help them explore dinosaurs and fossils as part of their term topic entitled “Dinosaur Hunters”.  Our thanks to the talented teaching team Mrs Parkin, Mrs Coulthard, Mrs Stroud and Miss Nicholson for their assistance on the day.

Dinosaur Hunters

A special thank you to Mrs Norman for helping to put the gym mats away once the two dinosaur workshops had concluded.  An extension idea we suggested was to challenge the children to “design their own prehistoric animal” and we received last week a set of beautiful and very creative dinosaur designs.  We loved looking all the different animals and reading the labels that the children had carefully added to their drawings.

A Very Colourful Display of Dinosaur Designs by Year 2 Children

A selection of prehistoric animal designs by a Year 2 class at Great Wood Primary.

Picture credit: Great Wood Primary School

One of the Wonderful Dinosaur Designs (Great Labelling by Great Wood Primary)

Blake_o_saurus by Blake. An extension activity after a dinosaur workshop.

Picture credit: Great Wood Primary School (Blake)

Some very impressive labelling of the dinosaur’s body parts by Blake (Mrs Parkin’s class).

Aidan Designed a Long-Necked Dinosaur with a Sharp Nose Horn

Aidan (Year 2) designed a long-necked dinosaur.

Picture credit: Great Wood Primary School (Aidan)

Creative Dinosaur Designs

Challenging the class to design their own prehistoric animal is a great way to help reinforce learning.  Labelling of the various body parts helps a child to develop their vocabulary as well as exploring ideas about what the dinosaur might have eaten, its colour and where it might have lived – this leads on to exploring simple food chains and animal adaptations.

Both classes of Year 2 children wrote letters and these were kindly sent into Everything Dinosaur by the teaching team.  An extension activity such as writing a thank you letter gives the children the opportunity to practice their handwriting and there were certainly some splendid letters sent into us.  The letters and drawings have been posted up on one of the walls in our warehouse.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

A Lovely Letter Sent in by Hannah

A thank you letter sent in by Hannah to Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Great Wood Primary School (Hannah)

Studying Stegosaurus

Hannah and her class mates certainly seemed to have enjoyed the dinosaur workshop.  She asked how many years did a Stegosaurus live?  That’s a fascinating question and palaeontologists have been able to use the fossilised bones of dinosaurs to work out how old some dinosaurs were when they died and how quickly they grew.  The most famous Stegosaurus fossils come from the United States and these fossils are more than 145 million years old.   It is likely that some stegosaurs could live for perhaps as long as twenty years.

For models and replicas of Stegosaurus and other prehistoric animals: Papo Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Models.

A Letter from Charlie

Charlie wrote that he now knew that birds are related to dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Great Wood Primary School (Charlie)

A very big thank you to both classes of Year 2 at Great Wood Primary, we are sorry that we can’t answer all the questions but we will post up more examples of the children’s work on our social media pages and email the school to say thank you for sending them all into our offices.   As we post up the letters and drawings it will help to remind us about the fun we had delivering the dinosaur workshop for Year 2.

For further information about Everything Dinosaur’s work in schools: Contact Everything Dinosaur