Teaching aids play a vital role in primary education. However, accuracy must always come first. At Everything Dinosaur, we support teachers and teaching assistants.  We have produced helpful lesson plans and have even outlined term topics.  Unfortunately, some teaching materials still promote misleading ideas, including illustrations of “swimming dinosaurs”.

Team members at Everything Dinosaur recall spotting a misleading teaching aid. An image showed a plesiosaur. However, the caption referred to swimming dinosaurs. This is incorrect. Plesiosaurs were marine reptiles, not dinosaurs.  In addition, another visual referred to “Tyrannosaurus Rex”. In binomial nomenclature, the trivial or species name is never capitalised.

Spotted in a primary school, a series of pictures of prehistoric animals. However, not all the information is correct. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Swimming Dinosaurs? Why Accuracy Matters in the Classroom

Such mistakes may seem minor. However, they undermine learning. Children build knowledge step by step. Therefore, early inaccuracies can create long-term confusion.  Marine reptiles such as the Plesiosauria lived during the Mesozoic, non-avian dinosaurs are also associated with the Mesozoic.  However, plesiosaurs are not members of the Dinosauria.  In fact, they are not closely related. Consequently, grouping them together weakens scientific understanding.

Everything Dinosaur believes clarity is essential. Accurate terminology supports curiosity and confidence. Most importantly, it encourages children to ask better questions.

By challenging misconceptions about marine reptiles and swimming dinosaurs, educators can promote stronger, evidence-based learning in the classroom.

Mike from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“At Everything Dinosaur, we are committed to helping people.  We demonstrate this in various ways. For example, we answer lots of questions about dinosaurs and we supply free prehistoric animal fact sheets with the models we sell.  Helping to inform and educate about the amazing creatures that once roamed our planet is at the heart of everything we do.”

A collection of Beasts of the Mesozoic fact sheets created by Everything Dinosaur.  Information sheets are supplied free of charge. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The multi-award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Figures.