Dinosaur Lesson Plan
Learn about T-Rex and Others with this Homeschooling Unit Study
Note: Parents please feel free to print this page for home use.
What are Dinosaurs?
The word dinosaur means "terrible lizard." There are believed to have been over 500 different species of dinosaurs, but they did not all live in the same time period.
The largest dinosaur was the Brontosaurus. It was huge, measuring the length of two school buses and towering as high as a four-story building. This was a gentle giant because it only ate plants. Now, that's not so "terrible," is it?
The smallest dinosaur was the Compsognathus. It was as big as a chicken and weighed only about 6-1/2 pounds. Unlike it's huge counterpart, this dinosaur was a meat eater. Go figure!
Two Basic Types of Dinosaurs
Herbivores. This type of dinosaur only ate meat. About 65% of all dinosaurs were herbivores. They liked to graze all day. Grazing to a dinosaur could mean eating many acres of plants and tree leaves a day! They were constantly moving to find food.
Carnivores. This type of dinosaur ate meat. Carnivores would pick off baby dinosaurs, pick off injured dinosaurs, and steal eggs from nests. Maybe the name "terrible lizard" comes from the fact that carnivores had very sharp teeth in order to rip flesh. Aren't you glad they are not around anymore?
Where Did Dinosaurs Live?
It is now believed that dinosaurs lived on every continent, based on the fact that paleontologists (people who study dinosaurs) have found fossils to prove their existence. As stated above, dinosaurs had to constantly move in order to find food.
What Happened to Dinosaurs?
Dinosaurs are thought to be extinct (no longer living) because they ran out of food to survive. As mentioned above, such big eaters had to constantly move about looking for food. As the food became harder to find they died off. When the plant eaters died off, this also made it nearly impossible for the carnivores to find food as well.
Make Your Own Fossils
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cold brewed coffee
- 1 cup used coffee grounds
Fossils to "Imprint":
- Twigs
- Leaves
- Seashells
- Chicken bones
- Plastic dinosaur foot for texture
Directions:
- Measure salt, flour, coffee, and grounds; add each to bowl; and stir together until well mixed.
- Turn this dough out onto a large sheet of waxed paper and knead it until smooth.
- Break off a piece large enough for the imprint you want to make, roll it into a ball, and use the heel of your hand to flatten it out.
- Press the object you wish to make a fossil imprint of firmly into the dough. You can use more than one object if you like. Carefully remove the objects to leave the prints behind. Let your fake stone dry overnight and you have an imitation fossil. (Reach Out - March 1999).
Use the dinosaur worksheets below to have some fun with these fascinating creatures. To print a worksheet, choose the image you want, right click on the image, and select Print from the options listed.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
