Curated OER
Dig This: A Relief Sculpture of Dinosaur Bones
This is a truly amazing project. Perfect to use during your next dinosaur unit. Second and fifth graders work together to draw and make a relief sculpture of a nine foot-long stegosaurus. They discuss what paleontologists do and then...
American Museum of Natural History
What Do You Know About PaleontOLogy?
Believe it or not, some dinosaurs are not extinct. Discover this and other interesting facts about dinosaurs in a 10-question online quiz. As individuals answer questions, the resource provides them with feedback and additional facts...
Curated OER
Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life
Students explain how the earth makes fossils and how dinosaur remains become fossils. In this Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life lesson, students solve paleo-puzzles which ask students to solve problems as if they were paleontologists....
Curated OER
When Dinosaurs Ruled The World
Students discover how a paleontologist digs up fossils and what tools they use. In this paleontology lesson, students discuss the importance of the job of a paleontologist, watch a video on the process of extracting fossils, and pretend...
Curated OER
Dinosaur Traces
Students identify and interpret the type of evidence found at a typical dinosaur dig and mimic a paleontologist by taking crayon rubbings of simulated bone impressions. After the rubbings are taken, the students reconstruct the complete...
Curated OER
Dinosaur Tracks: From Stride To Leg Length To Speed
Students determine the relationship between leg length, stride length, and speed in humans and bipedal dinosaurs. They collect data and graph these human characteristics then use actual data collected from dinosaur track pads and fossils...
American Museum of Natural History
Fighting Dinos
A famous fossil of fighting dinosaurs holds as many questions as answers. Scholars first analyze the fossil itself by virtually highlighting the specific bones of the dinosaurs and read about their function and importance. They then test...
Curated OER
Dinosaur Daze
Students review, create, and inquire about dinosaurs, the fossilization process, and paleontology by successfully completing each of six classroom stations.
Curated OER
Footprint Detectives: Making Inferences Using Dinosaur Trackways
Young scholars analyze and discuss footprints and dinosaur tracks. They listen to books about paleontologists, create and analyze their own trackways using black paper and chalk, examine the data, and form hypotheses about footprints and...
Curated OER
Dinosaur Prints
Students examine dinosaur footprints and compare them to the shape of elephant footprints and to the size of their own footprints.
Curated OER
Weighing a Dinosaur
Students role play as paleontologists who make inferences about the weight of dinosaurs. They use models and the density of water to make these inferences.
Curated OER
Fossils
Students discuss the work of a paleontologist and examine several fossils and books on paleontology. They use clay and Plaster of Paris to create a cast of an object and compare this activity to the formation of fossils in nature.
Curated OER
The Dinosaur Body
Students investigate how body design affects balance. They make simple models of dinosaur bodies using straws and marshmallows. Before making their models, they discuss the effects of gravity and the importance of balance in body shape.
Curated OER
Dinosaur I Finding And Dating
Students investigate how long dinosaurs lived on Earth and how that compare to how long man has been on Earth. They discover how scientists excavate fossils.
Curated OER
Fossil Kit II
Youngsters examine four fossil replicas and chart their time periods, vertebrate or invertebrate, and the names of other organisms living at the same time. A specific fossil kit is available for sale if you do not have the same samples....
American Museum of Natural History
Anatomy Adventure
Sometimes science is puzzling. Using an online animation, individuals manipulate skeletal bones of an ancient species to recreate its skeleton. Learners complete the skeletal puzzle and learn about the process of paleontology in person...
American Museum of Natural History
Pterosaurs: The Card Game
Piecing together the past is a challenging endeavor. Learners get a taste of that challenge as they play a game that incorporates several components such as trophic levels, geological time periods, and catastrophic events. Pairs work to...
Curated OER
Dino Traces
Students are introduced to the type of evidence that is found at a typical dinosaur dig. They create rubbing casts of bone impressions on paper and, using bones, identify dinosaurs.
Curated OER
Paleontology: A Field Experience
Students go to a dig where they prospect for bones which simulate fossils. They encase the bones in plaster and transport them back to school for further investigation.
Curated OER
We Really Dig Archeology and Palentology
Sixth graders examine the differences between archeology and paleontology. Using the internet, they explore the tools and techniques used in each field. They must use the correct tools to uncover and record the objects they find. They...
Curated OER
Fossil Inferences
Fourth graders use their knowledge about fossils to arrange fossil pictures in sequence from oldest to youngest. They explain how fossils can be used to make inferences about past life, climate, geology, and environments and discover...
Curated OER
Animal Tracks - Walking and Running
Students, using paper and water, make tracks and record the time needed to make them. They compare tracks made walking and running to determine the speed of the animal.
Curated OER
Fossils
Fourth graders act as paleontologists and attempt to figure out the environment where various fossils would have existed. They explain how fossils can be used to make inferences about past life, climate, geology, and environments.
Curated OER
Fossil Formation Fun
Students compare the three types of fossils: preserved organisms, mineral replacement fossils, and impression fossils. They create a model of amber,
sponge fossil, and make traces of fossil.