By Mike|2024-01-06T13:34:36+00:00December 10th, 2019|Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on Dinosaurs Help with Sentence Construction
Dinosaurs Help with Sentence Construction
A team member from Everything Dinosaur spotted this innovative approach to teaching Key Stage 1 children the rudiments of sentence construction whilst on a visit to the school to conduct a dinosaur and fossil themed workshop. In order to help the Year 1 children to understand how sentences are formed, the teacher had drawn a dinosaur and asked the children to describe it. The adjectives the class came up with when they viewed the drawing were recorded and then these adjectives were used to construct a sentence.
Dinosaur Themed Teaching
Dinosaurs Help with Sentence Construction
A super example of a dinosaur themed activity helping to support Year 1 literacy. This example was spotted on a visit to Greenhill Primary in Bury. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
We are not quite sure what the genus the dinosaur illustration represents, perhaps it is one that has yet to be formally scientifically described. That’s not the point, when it came to using adjectives the spotty dinosaur provided the class with plenty of opportunities to come with lots of “describing words”.
By Mike|2024-01-06T11:40:57+00:00December 6th, 2019|General Teaching, Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on Greenhill Primary Children Enjoy Learning About Fossils and Dinosaurs
Greenhill Primary Palaeontologists
Children in Year 1 at Greenhill Primary (Bury, Greater Manchester), have been busy learning all about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals this term. A team member was given the opportunity to visit the school to work with the eager, young palaeontologists over the course of the morning. The first part of the session was based in the spacious hall, the second part of the workshop, which involved dinosaur footprint measuring and finding fossils, took place in the well-appointed and very tidy classroom.
Pupils as Palaeontologists
Year 1 Children Had Created a Play Area for Their Dinosaurs
Children from Greenhill Primary have created a dinosaur play area. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
As an extension exercise, our dinosaur expert challenged the children to draw a dinosaur and to label its body parts including the skull. During the wet play, Nayaab drew and labelled a beautiful pink and blue dinosaur which was then presented to Everything Dinosaur at the conclusion of the morning’s activities.
Drawing and Labelling a Dinosaur
A beautiul pink dinosaur drawn by a young palaeontologist. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
By Mike|2024-01-05T13:44:31+00:00November 28th, 2019|General Teaching|Comments Off on A Unique Wonky Horned Dinosaur Skeleton
Horned Dinosaur Skull – Not Symmetrical
A team of scientists writing in the prestigious journal “Cretaceous Research”, have discovered the beautifully preserved skull of a horned dinosaur. The skull comes from a Styracosaurus, a dinosaur famous for its bony neck frill with spikes. However, the left side of this bony frill looks very different from the right side of the frill. The skull is asymmetrical.
Palaeontologist Scott Persons with the Skull of the Styracosaurus
Scott Persons with “Hannah” the Styracosaurus and his dog.
Picture credit: Scott Persons/University of Alberta
Studying Styracosaurus
When scientists want to display a dinosaur in a museum, they often produce mirror images of bones to replace missing parts of the skeleton. For example, if the right thigh bone is found but not the left, then a mirror image of the right thigh bone can be produced and used in the mounted display. The discovery of this asymmetrical dinosaur skull demonstrates that the heads of dinosaurs could look very different. The right side of the head looks very different from the left. This has implications for how dinosaurs can be displayed in museums – producing mirror images of bones from the skull might not be as good an idea as previously thought.
A Styracosaurus Drawing
A drawing of the horned dinosaur Styracosaurus. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The illustration (above) is based on the CollectA Deluxe Styracosaurus model.
In addition, such variability in the skull and the way that it looks casts doubt over how some dinosaur species get named. Sometimes a new species is erected based on subtle variations in the shape and structure of the skull. If the dinosaurs had such extensive variations in the shape of the skulls, as this Styracosaurus fossil suggests, then some dinosaur species might be invalid.
By Mike|2023-12-31T20:23:49+00:00November 13th, 2019|Early Years Foundation Reception|Comments Off on Foundation Stage 2 Have Fun Learning About Animals
Foundation Stage 2 – Animal Skeletons
Whilst on a visit to a school to conduct a dinosaur themed workshop with some eager and excited Reception class children, our dinosaur expert spotted some super animal skeletons that the children had created. Using straws and cotton buds to represent bones, the Foundation Stage 2 children had made skeletons of various animals. The children had made skeletons of birds, people, dinosaur skeletons, cats, dogs and even a fish.
Dinosaur Skeletons
Anatomy Class – Reception Class Make Animal Skeletons
A dinosaur made from straws. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The skeletons that the children had created certainly made a colourful display outside in the corridor adjacent to the hall where we were conducting our dinosaur and fossil themed workshop.
The three classes of Reception-aged children at Broughton Primary in Flintshire have been busy learning all about dinosaurs and fossils this term. With the half-term break approaching, a team member from Everything Dinosaur was invited into the school to deliver three dinosaur workshops, one for each class, to help reinforce their learning as the topic came to a conclusion. During the visit, our dinosaur and fossil expert was given a tour of a couple of the spacious and tidy classrooms and shown the prehistoric landscapes that the children had created.
Class 1 (Dosbarth 1) – Prehistoric Landscape
A very colourful prehistoric landscape created by a Reception class.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
What do Dinosaurs Need to Keep them Healthy and Happy?
As part of an enriched and varied scheme of work, the Reception classes have been learning about animals and what they need to help keep them safe, healthy and happy. The children have incorporated some of this learning into their prehistoric landscapes that they have been building. For example, class 1 ensured that there were plenty of plants for the herbivores to graze upon and lots of rocks for the dinosaurs to hide amongst to keep them safe from Tyrannosaurus rex.
As part of the extension activities for the classes following our workshops, we supplied extra resources for the teaching team. Each class was given their very own hard hat to wear when they went out looking for fossils. Dinosaurs as a term topic certainly lends itself to lots of creative play and exploration.
A Prehistoric Landscape Created by a Reception Class – Can you See the Three Fossil Hunting Hard Hats?
The prehistoric scene created by a Reception class (Dosbarth 1). The three fossil hard hats donated by Everything Dinosaur can be seen in the background. These hard hats have a lamp on the front to help the children search for fossils.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
The enterprising teaching team had used a variety of materials to help create the mini “Jurassic Parks”, these items will help the children to explore and learn about the properties of different materials. Class 3 had even included a large, cardboard and cloth cave for their dinosaur models to hide in.
The Prehistoric Landscape Created by Class 3 (Dosbarth 3)
The prehistoric landscape created by class 3. A very colourful landscape for the dinosaur models to play in.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Cretaceous Conifers
The children in class 3 had created a large cardboard and crepe paper forest for the plant-eating dinosaurs to browse. The forest would provide lots of handy nesting places for the dinosaurs too.
Cretaceous Conifers – A Prehistoric Forest for Dinosaurs to Explore
Cardboard and crepe paper trees for the dinosaurs to hide amongst.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
For further information about Everything Dinosaur’s teaching and science outreach work: Email Everything Dinosaur.
By Mike|2023-12-31T15:47:52+00:00October 24th, 2019|Early Years Foundation Reception|Comments Off on Reception Children Make Dinosaur Landscapes
Reception Children Make Dinosaur Landscapes
The children in the three Reception classes at Broughton Primary (Flintshire), have certainly enjoyed learning about dinosaurs this term. A team member from Everything Dinosaur visited the school this morning to deliver three dinosaur and fossil themed workshops to help round off the scheme of work for the first half of the autumn term.
During the visit, our team member was shown some amazing dinosaur landscapes that the children had built.
Children in Class 1 (Reception) have Created a Prehistoric Landscape
A very colourful prehistoric landscape created by a Reception class.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
The Reception classes have been learning about animals and what they need to keep them safe and happy. The children created a river to allow the dinosaurs to catch fish to eat. The river would also provide water for the prehistoric animals to drink. The plant-eating dinosaurs have plenty of leaves to chew but all the dinosaurs have to be careful as the volcano has erupted and bright red lava is spilling out down its slopes.
Class 1 Children Constructed a Volcano as part of their Dinosaur Landscape Project
The prehistoric scene created by a Reception class (Dosbarth 1). The three fossil hard hats donated by Everything Dinosaur can be seen in the background. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Class 3 also constructed a home for their dinosaur models. Their very own version of “Jurassic Park” included a big forest for the dinosaurs to hide in so that they felt safe and a huge cave for them to explore. The hard hats we provided with the lamps on their front might come in handy when it comes to exploring the depths of the cavern.
The Prehistoric Scene Created by Class 3 (Dosbarth 3)
The prehistoric landscape created by class 3. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Reception classes enjoyed their dinosaur workshops and demonstrated some amazing counting and recall of dinosaur facts during the morning. We hope they like the dinosaur hokey cokey activity we provided too.
The artist has taken great care to illustrate this dinosaur. Lots of amazing detail such as different shaped scales on the skull and the bony ridges over the orbit (eye socket) can be seen in this line drawing. Our congratulations to Caldey for creating such a super dinosaur illustration.
Everything Dinosaur team members receive lots of dinosaur themed drawings. Our thanks to Caldey for sending in a rather splendid red-headed Tyrannosaurus rex illustration.
By Mike|2023-12-31T12:02:49+00:00October 14th, 2019|General Teaching, Key Stage 1/2|Comments Off on Stunning and Beautiful Autumn Dinosaurs
Dinosaur Display Made from Leaves
Lots of Key Stage 1 children and Reception classes have been learning about dinosaurs this term. On one of our many school visits a dinosaur expert at Everything Dinosaur spotted a colourful display of prehistoric animals that had been created using leaves. It seems that dinosaurs are even becoming involved in forest school activities, all part of creative, imaginative and thoroughly engaging teaching schemes of work.
A Dinosaur Created from Autumn Leaves
Dinosaur leaves and outdoor learning. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A Dinosaur Leaf Monster
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“We come across lots of wonderful and creative curricular during our visits to schools. We congratulate the teaching team for combining the term topic all about dinosaurs and fossils to learning about the changing environment and seasons. This really is a great example of creative cross-curricular teaching.”
A Dinosaur Leaf Monster
A dinosaur leaf monster. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
The autumn term is well underway and team members at Everything Dinosaur are busy conducting dinosaur themed and fossil workshops in schools, catering for a wide range of different age groups. This week, our team members will be dealing with the eager and very excitable Early Years Foundation Stage classes (Nursery and Reception), as well as working with slightly more mature (we hope), students in Key Stages 3 and 4.
Everything Dinosaur Team Members Preparing for a School Visit
One of the things we have been asked to discuss with the students in year nine and ten that we will be working with this week, is potential career options in the Earth sciences. This is certainly a very broad subject and we hope to provide some pointers. We have been brushing up on our knowledge regarding career paths as well as brushing up some rather beautiful Dactylioceras ammonite fossils that we intend to use in a short exercise looking at taphonomy and the importance of index fossils.
Selecting Fossils to Use in Our Exercise with Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 Students
A selection of ammonite fossils to be used in an exercise exploring the role of index fossils with science students.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
The children in Year 1 at St Joseph’s Primary (Lancashire), had a morning of pretending to be palaeontologists as their autumn term topic “Dinosaur Planet” was kicked-off in style. The friendly staff had prepared a scheme of work all about dinosaurs, an area of learning used elsewhere in the school, as the Nursery children (EYFS), would also be studying Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus et al over the course of the academic year.
“Dinosaur Planet”
Prior to our visit to conduct a morning of dinosaur and fossil themed activities with the enthusiastic children, the teaching team had challenged the class to record in their topic books what they knew about these long extinct animals. Our dinosaur expert was impressed with the neatness of the handwriting, how well the letters had been formed and the appropriate finger spacing between words.
“Dinosaur Planet” – What I Know About Dinosaurs
At the start of the dinosaur topic the Year 1 children recorded what they know about dinosaurs. For example, one pupil wrote that dinosaurs are related to reptiles – that’s right, the Dinosauria are indeed a diverse group of reptiles.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Why Did Diplodocus Have a Long Neck?
As part of the writing exercise, referred to as KWL:
what I know?
secondly, what I want to know?
what have I learned? An opportunity to check understanding at the end of the topic.
The year 1 children wanted to know why did a Diplodocus have a long neck?
Why Did a Diplodocus Have a Long Neck?
During the morning of dinosaur themed activities, the school visitor from Everything Dinosaur made sure to answer the question about the neck of Diplodocus.
The picture (above) shows a Diplodocus model from the CollectA Age of Dinosaurs model range.
The first part of the morning involved visual and kinaesthetic learning with lots of physical exercises to help reinforce learning. In the second part of the workshop, which was conducted in the classroom, the children were given the opportunity to find their own fossils. The eager young palaeontologists found lots of fossils in our special challenge, teeth from prehistoric sharks, pieces of fossilised turtle shell, lots of ammonites and even some armour from a Jurassic crocodile!
The Children Demonstrated Lots of Pre-knowledge
KWL exercise (Year 1 term topic). The Year 1 children were keen to demonstrate their knowledge about dinosaurs, even a Gallimimus was mentioned.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
We are confident that the budding young palaeontologists at St Joseph’s Primary are going to really enjoy their autumn term topic.
If you are preparing for a “Dinosaur Planet” term topic, visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.
