Integrated Unit: Second Grade: Dinosaurs

Meat Eaters Vs. Plant Eaters Lesson #1
Objective: Students will gain a better understanding of what it means to be a plant eater or a meat eater dinosaur (carnivore/herbivore) or omnivores. They will also explore different dinosaurs and learn which ate meat and which ones ate plants.
Prior Knowledge: I will assume that students have been introduced to dinosaurs but have not yet learned much about their habitats and eating habits.
All Students Will: understand that some dinosaurs eat plants and some eat meat (while some eat both).
Most Students Will: be able to name several dinosaurs in each category.
Some Students Will: understand why different dinosaurs have different diets.
Lesson:
1. At the beginning of class the teacher will hand each student a cut out of a dinosaur.
a. On the dinosaur will be written the name
2. There will be two charts on the board
a. One titled carnivores and one titled herbivores
3. Students will guess which category their dinosaur falls under and place them on the appropriate chart (they can be taped or glued)
4. Students will then gather on the rug (or circle)
5. The teacher will read How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
6. The class will then discuss the difference between carnivores and herbivores.
Assessment: Children will have an opportunity to discuss the differences in diet with the teacher and class. They will also have the opportunity to switch which category they placed their dinosaur in. This activity is not so much for grade as it is for understanding.
Use of Books:
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? By Jane Yolen
This book will be used at the beginning of the lesson to introduce dinosaur eating habits in a funny way. This is a story and is fiction but it is a funny way to dive into the topic of herbivores and carnivores.
Vocabulary: herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, diet
Intelligences: intrapersonal, interpersonal, linguistic, kinesthetic, spatial

Dinosaur Facts Lesson #2
Objective: Students will explore different dinosaurs and learn about the three different time periods, Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous, in which they lived. Students will explore the differences in the time periods and characteristics of the dinosaurs alive at each time.
Prior Knowledge: I will assume that students have been introduced to dinosaurs, know when they lived, and how they became extinct.
All Students Will: know the names of the three different time periods.
Most Students Will: know the names and order of the different time periods.
Some Students Will: be able to name dinosaurs that lived in each of the three time periods.
Lesson:
1. The teacher will begin class by reading The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
2. Students will review information on the three time periods with students. This can be done with overheads, books, and class discussion.
a. Books to use include The Dinosaur Museum:An Unforgetable, Interactive Virtual TourThrough Dinosaur History and First Dinosaur Encyclopedia
3. Students will explore several books on dinosaurs on their own.
4. They will then pick a time period and create a dinosaur to live in that time period.
a. They must include what they look like, what their defenses are, what time period they live in, and what they eat
5. Students will then make a poster including their dinosaur picture and basic information.
6. Posters will be displayed in the classroom.
Assessment: Students will have a completed poster. They teacher will be able to look over their information and see that it fits with the time period the student has chosen.
Use of Books:
The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
First Dinosaur Encyclopedia by DK Publishing
The Dinosaur Museum: An Unforgetable, Interactive Virtual TourThrough Dinosaur History by National Geographic Society and Sebastian Quigley
Both books will serve as informational texts for the teacher to use to provide information to the students. The books have good information and great pictures to help students think of ideas for their own dinosaurs. Students will also have the opportunity to look through the books on their own time after the group discussion.
Vocabulary: Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous
Intelligences: intrapersonal, interpersonal, spatial, linguistic

Dinosaur Skeletons Lesson #3
Objective: Students will have the opportunity to look at the bone structure of different dinosaurs. Students will learn the different structures that different dinosaurs have.
Prior Knowledge: I assume that students know several different dinosaurs and some basic facts.
All Students Will: have a completed dinosaur skeleton of which they know the name.
Most Students Will: know the diet of their dinosaur, and their skeleton will look like a real dinosaur.
Some Students Will: know the era in which their dinosaur lived.
Lesson:
1. Students will review different types of dinosaurs and look at several different bone structures.
a. Pictures from Visual Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs
2. A large piece of black construction paper and a box of toothpicks.
3. Students will sketch out a dinosaur skeleton of their choosing on the paper.
4. The name of the dinosaur will be written on the top of the paper.
5. Next students will construct the skeleton with the toothpicks in order to make a 3-D dinosaur skeleton.
6. The skeletons will be hung up on the wall for display.
Assessment: Each student will have a completed dinosaur skeleton. The skeletons will be looked at for their realistic (factually accurate) depictures of dinosaur skeletons (plant eaters should not have pointy, sharp teeth etc.).
Use of Books:
Visual Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs by DK Publishing
The book will be used for students to look at pictures of dinosaur skeletons. There are detailed pictures of dinosaurs as a whole and of different dinosaur parts and dinosaur bones. The teacher will show several pictures at the beginning of class and talk about the differences in the bone structures of different dinosaurs (very basic information), and then students will have the opportunity to look at different pictures on their own while working on their toothpick skeletons. Vocabulary: skeleton, bone structure
Intelligences: intrapersonal, kinesthetic, special, logical

Conclusion
A unit on dinosaurs can tie in several different subjects from math to art. All of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences can also be brought into the classroom, allowing all students to have an optimal learning environment. There are many books in local libraries, classroom, and book stores to use with this unit. There are factual texts as well as stories that contain a dinosaur as the main character. Below is a sample list of dinosaur books that can be used with a number of different subjects.

Literature/Reading
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen
How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? by Jane Yolen
Danny and the Dinosaur by Sid Hoff
Dinosaurs Before Dark (part of the Magic Tree House series) by Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs by Byron Barton
Science
The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
First Dinosaur Encyclopedia by DK Publishing
The Dinosaur Museum:An Unforgetable, Interactive Virtual TourThrough Dinosaur History by National Geographic Society and Sebastian Quigley
Dinosaurs: A Concise Natural History by David E. Fastovsky and David B. Weishampel
Math
Digging for Dinosaurs (math adventures) by Wendy Clemson and David Clemson
Tyrannosaurus Math by Michelle Markel and Doug Cushman
Art
Visual Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs by DK Publishing
History/Social Studies
Walking With Dinosaurs: A Natural History by Tim Haines
The Natural History Museum Book of Dinosaurs by Tim Gardom and Angela Milner