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Summary:
Using a grid, students will help create an enlarged replica of a stegosaurus drawing.
Main Curriculum Tie:
Science - 4th Grade
Standard 4 Objective 1
Describe Utah fossils and explain how they were formed. Materials:
Additional Resources
Video
Attachments
Web Sites
Background For Teachers:
Dinosaurs are a group of animals descended from reptiles and the
ancestors of birds. They were different from their reptile ancestors in that
they have an S shaped neck and feet held directly beneath their bodies, as
well as several other features. They lived on land, grew both big and
small, and died out 65 million years ago.
We know of over 300 kinds of dinosaurs, half of those from a single
tooth or bone. A reliably new kind of dinosaur is found every seven
weeks on average. There were probably thousands of kinds of dinosaurs,
but most haven’t been found yet. We don’t get a great sample because
fossils are usually only made in lowland areas where bones get covered
over by mud, even though dinosaurs lived all over. And we only find
fossils where rock from dinosaur times is now near the surface, and when
the bones were preserved—many bones are weathered soon after the
animal dies. Many places have dinosaurs but they are deep in the
ground; in other places the weather wasn’t right to turn dinosaurs into
fossils.
More species of plant-eating dinosaurs (herbivores) have been found
than carnivores, because there are always more herbivores than
carnivores in any animal population. One such plant eater was the
stegosaurus. The stegosaurus was a dinosaur that lived in Utah and
surrounding states. It weighed three tons, was nine feet tall and 15 feet
long. It had plates that it used for protection as well as to control body
temperature. The stegosaurus had a curved beak and very small teeth.
These teeth were too weak to chew food, so the plants were torn off by
the beak, swallowed in large pieces, and digested in the stomach.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
1. Use Science Process and Thinking Skills
2. Manifest Science Interests and Attitudes
3. Understand Science Concepts and Principles Instructional Procedures:
Invitation to Learn
Ask: How big were dinosaurs that lived in Utah? Could we enlarge a
picture to represent the size of a dinosaur?
Instructional Procedures
- Mark a grid on the wall using string. The grid should be seven
squares long by four squares high. Each square in the grid
should be one square foot.
- Give each child a Stegosaurus Grid.
- Using coordinates, assign each child one of the squares on the
grid in which there is a part of the stegosaurus outline.
- Give each child a one foot square piece of paper. Using a
marker, have him/her transfer the lines from his/her assigned
square of the stegosaurus onto the large sheet of paper.
- Have each child locate and mount his/her paper in the correct spot
on the wall grid to form an outline of a stegosaurus.
- Add blank paper to the wall grid to fill in the stegosaurus.
Extensions:
Math
Using coordinates, find the correct region on a grid.
Art
Interpret and apply visual arts in relation to history and all learning.
Family Connections
Encourage students to share information on dinosaurs with family
members. Ask students to research information on a dinosaur that
lived in Utah. If possible, have students and their families visit a
dinosaur museum or quarry close to their home.
Assessment Plan:
- Each student should have successfully placed his/her drawing in
the correct location on the wall grid. The drawing should be
enlarged to replicate the original drawing.
Author:
Utah LessonPlans
Created Date :
Oct 19 2004 14:44 PM
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