Teaching - Part 32

26 01, 2017

Rare Giant Prehistoric Otter Fossil From South-Western China

By Mike|2024-05-07T13:03:55+01:00January 26th, 2017|Categories: Key Stage 3/4|Comments Off on Rare Giant Prehistoric Otter Fossil From South-Western China

Giant Prehistoric Otter – Siamogale melilutra

A team of international researchers, including scientists from Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, have described the fossilised skull, teeth and limbs of a giant prehistoric otter that roamed south-western China some 6.25 million years ago. The fossil material, which includes a crushed, but quite well preserved skull, represents a new species in the sub-family Lutrinae (otters). The prehistoric otter has been name Siamogale melilutra and it probably weighed six times heavier than the European otter.

A Giant Prehistoric Otter

An Illustration of the Giant Otter from the Late Miocene Epoch

Yunnan Province (south-western China), in the Late Miocene was home to a giant otter (S. melilutra).

Picture credit: Mauricio Antón

Siamogale melilutra

Palaeontologists have suggested that this otter probably weighed in excess of fifty kilogrammes and it specialised on feeding on clams and freshwater mussels. It lived during the Late Miocene Epoch, a time when south-western China was covered in a dense, lush forest. Siamogale melilutra shared its home with tapirs, several species of ancient elephants and crocodiles. It is related to another ancient otter species from Thailand.

Convergent Evolution

S. melilutra had a large, powerful jaw with enlarged, bunodont (rounded-cusped) teeth typical of many otter lineages. The discovery of these fossils, far more complete than the fossils of other ancient otters, poses the question of whether these bunodont teeth were inherited by all otters from a common ancestor, or evolved independently in different otter genera over time because of the evolution of similar adaptations to thrive in similar environments, (convergent evolution).

Skull Size Comparison Between S. melilutra and the Living Giant South American Otter and the European Otter found in the British Isles

Siamogale skull size comparison with South American giant river otter (middle) and European otter (right).

Picture credit: The Journal of Systematic Palaeontology

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the help of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the compilation of this article.

The scientific paper: “A New Otter of Giant Size Siamogale melilutra sp. nov. (Lutrinae: Mustelidae: Carnivora), from the latest Miocene Shiutangba site in north-eastern Yunnan, south-western China, and a total-evidence of phylogeny of Lutrines.” published in “The Journal of Systematic Palaeontology”.

Visit the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

21 01, 2017

Beautiful Model Dinosaurs at Barford Primary

By Mike|2023-04-18T22:23:57+01:00January 21st, 2017|Categories: General Teaching, Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on Beautiful Model Dinosaurs at Barford Primary

Model Dinosaurs Made by an Artist

Children at Barford Primary (Year 1), have been studying dinosaurs at school and Everything Dinosaur came along to give them an insight into how fossils form and what they can tell us about life in the past.

The Year 1 classes have a wonderful and spacious sports hall for them to enjoy. On the walls of the sports hall and elsewhere in the school, which is located in the heart of Ladywood (Birmingham, West Midlands), are some wonderful paintings of characters from children’s literature. These inspirational paintings feature some classic scenes and characters from children’s books, such as “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett as well as more modern tales such as those by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter).

Beautiful Model Dinosaurs

What caught our dinosaur expert’s eye were the large models of various animals on display throughout the school. There were even two large dinosaur models, a Stegosaurus and a very colourful Tyrannosaurus rex.

A Stegosaurus Dinosaur Model on Display at Barford Primary School

A colourful Stegosaurus model.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Barford Primary School

The school provides its pupils with lots of interesting “hands on” experiences and the fossil and dinosaur workshop was enjoyed by the two classes of Year 1 children. The school often invites musicians and artists from the local community to work with the children to help create an inspiring learning environment. Lurking behind a corner, keeping watch on the comings and goings, was a five-foot-high model of T. rex.

Tyrannosaurus rex on Display at the School

Beautiful dinosaur models. A model of T. rex.

The Barford T. rex dinosaur model.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Barford Primary School

Brightly Coloured Dinosaur Models

We are not quite sure as to the colouration of the models, we suspect that many dinosaurs were brightly coloured and there was plenty of counter shading within the Order Dinosauria, but multi-coloured squares might be pushing the bounds of reason a bit too far. However, with these fantastic models and the beautiful paintings, the children certainly have a super learning environment.

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

Our dinosaur expert was given a set of questions that the children from each class had composed. He did his best to answer them and praised the children for their excellent handwriting. Such experiences such as a dinosaur and fossil workshop reinforce understanding of a term topic and help develop a greater enthusiasm for learning.

We are sure that the Stegosaurus and the wonderful Tyrannosaurus rex approved.

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

17 01, 2017

Inspiring Dinosaur Day and a Unique Fossil Workshop

By Mike|2024-05-07T13:04:46+01:00January 17th, 2017|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on Inspiring Dinosaur Day and a Unique Fossil Workshop

An Inspiring Dinosaur Day

A day of teaching about dinosaurs and fossils with Foundation Stage pupils as well as Key Stage 1 children and a class of Year 3 at a primary school in Lancashire this week. The dinosaur workshops that we delivered went down very well with the eager and enthusiastic young palaeontologists. The teaching team also had a great time too.

Dinosaurs and Fossils

The visitor from Everything Dinosaur was given a tour of the school and at lunchtime, he was able to view some of the amazing dinosaurs the children had designed – all part of an extension activity that he had set them during their workshop. A special section of the school had been turned into an “Explorers Area”, lots of arts and craft activities were underway and members of the teaching team explained their plans about creating a “Dinosaur Museum” for the duration of the term topic.

Lots of Dinosaur Themed Artwork on Display in the “Explorers Area”

The children created lots of colourful dinosaur stencil drawings. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view dinosaur themed creative arts and crafts: Dinosaur Themed Arts and Crafts.

Inspiring Teachers and Teaching Assistants

The staff at the school are dedicated to continuous improvement and life-long learning. As part of a teacher training initiative, the school administrators had been exploring what it takes to be “world class”. There were lots of pictures of inspirational people as well several inspiring quotations in the well-appointed and tidy staffroom.

Committed to “World Class” Teaching

dinosaur fossils and dinosaur models with Everything Dinosaur

Dinosaurs in school. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

We look forward to hearing more about how the school’s “Dinosaur Museum” develops. It is bound to prove inspiring for the pupils.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

17 01, 2017

Young Explorers at Ansdell Primary Study Amazing Dinosaurs

By Mike|2024-05-07T13:05:13+01:00January 17th, 2017|Categories: Educational Activities, Teaching|0 Comments

Pupils at Ansdell Primary Study Dinosaurs

Children at Ansdell Primary in Lytham St Annes (Lancashire), learned about prehistoric animals with a dinosaur themed workshop from Everything Dinosaur. The pupils in Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and a class of Year 3 were given the chance to get their hands on real fossils and to explore life in the past when a team member visited their school.

A special room had been set up by the dedicated and enthusiastic teaching staff, a space that was referred to as the “Explorers Area”, it was full of exciting and challenging dinosaur and fossil themed craft activities for the children to try. Part of the wall had an enormous prehistoric landscape mural painted on it, including erupting volcanoes – what a stimulating learning environment for the eager, young palaeontologists!

A Dinosaur Themed Workshop

The Prehistoric Wall Mural in the “Explorers Area”

A colourful prehistoric landscape helps to inspire children.

Picture credit: Ansdell Primary/Everything Dinosaur

Many of the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children helped to create the landscape painting, it is a very colourful wall mural and we think the huge volcano is brilliant.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

Jurassic Arts and Crafts

The “Explorers Area” helps to reinforce learning with a focus on particular aspects of the term topic. With the topic this term all about dinosaurs, a sand tray had been placed in the centre of the room and within the tray various plastic bones had been hidden. Children were challenged to dig for the bones just like a palaeontologist and then they were asked to measure them and sort them in order of size.

This activity is a great way to get young children more confident with rulers and measuring cubes and helps them feel more comfortable when using numbers. Art straws had been used to make a number of different dinosaur skeletons and some of the children had been sketching fossils using charcoal pencils.

Another group had been painting dinosaur themed pictures using stencils, this too, had led to the creation of a very colourful display.

Dinosaur Stencil Paintings on Display in the “Explorers Area”

The children created lots of colourful dinosaur stencil drawings.

Picture credit: Ansdell Primary/Everything Dinosaur

Design Your Own Dinosaur

As part of a number of extension activities set by Everything Dinosaur, the children were challenged to design their very own dinosaur. As well as creating a prehistoric animal, the Everything Dinosaur team member asked the children to label various body parts, to consider how their dinosaur might survive in the Jurassic and what colour it might be. The children were asked to think of a suitable name for their creation. Some beautiful and very imaginative drawings were shown to our fossil expert over the course of the day.

For further information on Everything Dinosaur’s outreach work: Contact Everything Dinosaur.

13 01, 2017

Key Stage 1 Study Amazing Dinosaurs

By Mike|2024-05-07T12:56:09+01:00January 13th, 2017|Categories: Educational Activities, Main Page, Teaching|0 Comments

Year 1 and Year 2 Study Dinosaurs

A day of studying dinosaurs and fossils was in store for the children in Key Stage 1 at Rykneld Primary as they braved the snowy conditions to make it into school. The trip was certainly worth it with one enthusiastic Year 2 pupil declaring that today had been his “best day ever”, as the children learned all about dinosaurs and fossils in a series of workshops with Everything Dinosaur.

Dinosaurs and Fossils

The spacious, newly constructed sports hall provided a splendid venue for the four dinosaur themed workshops. The three classes that make up the Year 1 cohort were combined together so that two lengthy workshops could be conducted in the morning. Half of Mrs Chell’s class took part in the first workshop, the remainder joined in with the second workshop that commenced later in the morning.

In the afternoon, it was the turn of the ninety children that make up Year 2. Once again, in order to provide longer workshops, one class was split with half of them joining the first workshop of the afternoon and the other half taking part in the fourth and final workshop.

Inspired by Seeing and Handling Ammonite Fossils Children Made Clay Ammonites

Key Stage 1 children make clay ammonite fossils.

Year 1 children make clay ammonite fossils. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Ammonite Fossils

Ammonite fossils were used to help the children learn about how fossils form and what they can tell us about life in the past. After the inspiring fossil workshop, one Year 1 class spent part of the afternoon making their own clay ammonite fossils. The Everything Dinosaur team member who conducted the dinosaur workshops was most impressed by the various spiral shapes and patterns the children had created.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

Cephalopods in the Classroom Fossils in the Field

A big fossil close to the Ammonite Pavement. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Some of the ammonites that Everything Dinosaur had brought were very large and heavy. Lucky pupils got the chance to hold these big fossils to see for themselves just how heavy (and cold) fossils can be. One of the challenges set was to help the children develop their vocabularies by thinking of words to describe some of the specimens. We had some amazing adjectives – well done Year 1 and Year 2.

An Impressive “Wow” Wall in a Classroom

A “Wow” Wall in a classroom with a wonderful volcano exhibit. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Themed Displays

The well-appointed and roomy classrooms had lots of prehistoric animal themed displays. Year 4 had been studying the Stone Age and outside their classroom was a magnificent Woolly Mammoth model, complete with curly tusks. However, our favourite piece of prehistoric themed art was spotted in one of the Year 1 classrooms. The picture above shows a splendid three-dimensional volcano model, complete with lava erupting from its top. Just like Everything Dinosaur’s workshops, such wonderful art is bound to inspire and motivate the Key Stage 2 pupils.

To request information about Everything Dinosaur’s dinosaur and fossil workshops in schools: Email Everything Dinosaur.

13 01, 2017

Magnificent Venue for Dinosaur Workshop

By Mike|2023-05-14T13:14:18+01:00January 13th, 2017|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on Magnificent Venue for Dinosaur Workshop

Great Dinosaur Workshop Venue at Rykneld Primary

The magnificent, recently built sports hall at Rykneld Primary (Burton-on-Trent), was home to Everything Dinosaur for the day as it provided the venue for a series of dinosaur workshops with Key Stage 1. The sports hall was very spacious. It permitted the three form cohorts making up Year 1 and Year 2, plenty of space to conduct the physical activities to help reinforce learning about fossils and life in the past in a dinosaur workshop.

A Wonderful Resource for a Primary School

A wonderful venue for a dinosaur workshop. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A Dinosaur Workshop

One of the teaching assistants informed the Everything Dinosaur staff member that one of the children who had taken part had confided with her and exclaimed “it’s my best day ever”!

Team members at Everything Dinosaur are very adaptable and they can conduct their fossil and dinosaur themed workshops in a variety of locations from outdoor marquees, classrooms, school halls to magnificent buildings such as the new sports hall at Rykneld Primary.

A spokesperson from the Cheshire-based company stated:

“When you see some of the facilities in primary schools these days, it makes you feel very jealous of all the children. What fantastic facilities and we know how much the pupils and the teachers appreciate them.”

For dinosaur themed prehistoric animals: Dinosaur Gifts and Toys.

The sports hall at this school is certainly well used, no sooner had the day of dinosaur themed workshops ended all the fossils had to be packed up in readiness for this building’s use by the after-school club.

The sports hall at Rykneld Primary school certainly made a magnificent venue for a Key Stage 1 dinosaur workshop.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

12 01, 2017

Year 5 and Year 6 Explore Deep Time

By Mike|2023-05-14T13:05:39+01:00January 12th, 2017|Categories: Educational Activities, Main Page, Teaching|0 Comments

Stone Age/Iron Age and Before with Upper Key Stage 2

Year 5 and Year 6 pupils at Thorne Greentop School are exploring deep time this term. The dedicated teaching team have compiled an exciting and challenging scheme of work covering recent human history and introducing evolution, natural selection and profiling Charles Darwin.

Exploring Deep Time

A member of the Everything Dinosaur teaching staff was invited into the classroom to provide a tactile provocation to introduce some of the topic areas to the children. The enthusiastic pupils had already created some fine artwork reflecting early cave paintings. In addition, suspended from the classroom ceiling, there was a row of Stone Age spears that had been made by Upper Key Stage 2, their flint tips represented by carefully shaped tin foil.

During each workshop, examples of how animals adapt or fail to adapt to environmental changes were provided. Evidence about life in the past was explored using fossils and the concepts of extinction and de-extinction were examined.

As well as learning about life in the past, the thought provoking scheme of work challenged the children to consider how might our own species evolve over time? What changes in us and our bodies will take place? How will technology affect the evolution of mankind?

How Will Our Species Evolve?

How will our species evolve?

Picture credit: Thorne Greentop School

Learning About Coelacanths

One of a number of extension activities set by the visitor involved the children researching the story of the Coelacanth. Coelacanths were thought to have died out with the non-avian dinosaurs some sixty-six million years ago, until one was caught by a fisherman off the eastern coast of South Africa in 1938.

The Story of the Discovery of the Coelacanth Can Help to Support Lesson Plans Focusing on Adaptation and Natural Selection

The Coelacanth fossil (Whiteia woodwardi) from the Lower Triassic of Madagascar. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Coelacanth catches are rare, marine scientists have expressed concern about these remarkable fishes, once thought to be very closely related to the first land animals, numbers may be dwindling as commercial activity and pollution destroys their habitat.

To read about a recent Coelacanth catch: Coelacanth Caught off the Island of Zanzibar.

Creating a Record of the Children’s Work

The innovative plan for the term is to build up the children’s knowledge using a wide range of teaching methods and learning styles culminating in the publication of a workbook that takes the reader through a chronological history of mankind and our planet. We have been promised a copy and we are looking forward to receiving it.

Having discussed the types of animals that roamed the landscape some twenty thousand years or so before the school was built, our teaching team member set the children a creative writing challenge. Could they imagine what it would have been like to take part in a Woolly Mammoth hunt?

For models and replicas of Woolly Mammoths and other prehistoric creatures: Papo Models of Prehistoric Animals.

Preparing for a Woolly Mammoth Hunt

Neanderthals attacking a Woolly Mammoth.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

We look forward to hearing more news from Thorne Greentop school as they explore our Earth’s amazing history.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

10 01, 2017

FS3 – Dinosaur Roar with an Exciting and Unique Dinosaur Workshop

By Mike|2024-05-07T12:57:56+01:00January 10th, 2017|Categories: Early Years Foundation Reception|Comments Off on FS3 – Dinosaur Roar with an Exciting and Unique Dinosaur Workshop

Reception Children at Leigh Primary School Study Dinosaurs

Children in classes FS2 and FS3 had an exciting afternoon learning all about different types of dinosaur. The wet weather outside did not dampen their spirits as these children aged between four and five years old moved like dinosaurs and handled lots of fossils. The budding young explorers learned about fossils and how they formed. Real fossils feel as cold as a stone! Our team members enjoyed exploring dinosaurs with Reception children.

Dinosaurs with Reception Children

Children design rules for their dinosaur museum. Dinosaurs with Reception children. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For dinosaur themed toys and gifts: Dinosaur Themed Toys and Gifts.

Feedback from a Teacher

One of the teachers emailed on behalf of the children and the rest of the hard-working and dedicated teaching staff at the school, she said:

“Thank you for visiting Reception yesterday. We had lots of fun learning about dinosaurs. We think you are very clever and you know lots about dinosaurs. Fletcher enjoyed learning about T. rex. Miller enjoyed holding the fossil and showing his friends. Heidi thought it was cool holding the dinosaur’s head. We couldn’t believe that a dinosaur’s brain was so small. Thank you for showing us the model of the dinosaur. We loved being dinosaurs and showing our teeth and dinosaur fingers. We liked roaring like a dinosaur and Mrs Thomas [class teacher] is going to put our photo on the school website. I hope we don’t scare the mums and dads! “

Today, the enthusiastic children are going to get busy making dinosaur pictures, which sounds wonderful. We hope to see some pictures of the children’s creations very soon.

So pleased to hear that the young children enjoyed the school dinosaur workshop, our dinosaur expert certainly enjoyed teaching about dinosaurs in school.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

9 01, 2017

A Superb Ammonite Aquarium Created by Model Fan

By Mike|2024-03-14T09:25:15+00:00January 9th, 2017|Categories: Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on A Superb Ammonite Aquarium Created by Model Fan

Ammonites on Display

When working with Key Stage 1 classes we like to give the young children the opportunity to handle and explore fossils. Fortunately, we have lots of fossils to show them, including a lot of different sized ammonites.

We ask the children to think of words that mean the same as “small” when it comes to describing the ammonites and we delight in being told that we have “tiny”, hand-sized”, “baby” ammonite fossils. Then we ask the class to think of words that mean the same as “big” to help us describe the larger ammonite fossils that we bring into the classroom. We have lots of amazing words, “giant”, “gigantic”, “huge” and even “enormous”. This is a great exercise that not only explores the properties of materials (the fossils), but allows the children the opportunity to develop their vocabulary too.

An Ammonite Aquarium

Ammonites on display.

Picture credit: Paleo Paul

For models and replicas of ammonites and other prehistoric creatures: Models of Iconic Fossils such as Ammonites.

Ammonites

Ammonites were all marine creatures, (they all lived in saltwater). The picture above shows a photograph of ammonite models in a pretend aquarium. This is a great way to show what the animals whose fossil shells the children have been handling actually looked like. An ammonite aquarium, can make a useful addition to the Key Stage 1 scheme of work especially when it comes to considering what animals need to live and what animals live where.

Extension Topic Ideas

Lots of challenging questions can come out of an exploration of ammonite fossil shells:

What other animals live in the sea? Can the children make a seascape?
Why do the shells fossilise? Why doesn’t the rest of the ammonite become a fossil too?
What food did ammonites eat?
Ammonites live in the sea and they have tentacles, what other animals live in the sea today which also have tentacles?

To purchase ammonite models, plus real fossils to use in school, visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Visit Everything Dinosaur’s Website

6 01, 2017

Sir David Attenborough Inspires Children to Love Science

By Mike|2024-05-07T12:59:52+01:00January 6th, 2017|Categories: General Teaching|Comments Off on Sir David Attenborough Inspires Children to Love Science

Sir David Attenborough Inspires Children

Spotted in the hall of an academy school in the north-west of England, an inspirational poster of Sir David Attenborough helping to motivate and enthuse the next generation of scientists. The school has set up six houses for the children and each one is fronted by a well-known personality representing virtues such as, in the case of Sir David Attenborough, respect for ourselves, others and the world around us. Good behaviour and excellent schoolwork can earn the children house-points and at the end of each term the best performing house wins a prize.

Sir David Attenborough

Naturalist and broadcaster Sir David is celebrating his 91st birthday later this year. He remains an inspiring figure to people of all ages.

Sir David Attenborough Helping to Inspire Children

Life Stories, just one of Sir David Attenborough’s many media projects.

Picture credit: BBC

The other house leaders are Sir Lenny Henry, J. K. Rowling, Sir Richard Branson, Baroness “Tanni” Grey-Thompson and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, without whose pioneering work you wouldn’t be reading this short blog post.

We pay tribute to all those inspirational people who help inspire the next generation.

Everything Dinosaur team members in their own small way help to inspire the next generation of scientists.

The Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.