® EDUCATOR’S GUIDE CLASSROOM LESSON PLANS AND FIELD TRIP ACTIVITIES Table of Contents Introduction The Field Trip .................................. 2 The Educator’s Guide ...................... 4 Field Trip Activity ................................. 5 Lesson Plans Lesson 1: Form and Function .......... 7 Insert venue Lesson 2: Dinosaur Detectives ...... 11 contact info Lesson 3: Mesozoic Math ............. 15 Lesson 4: Feathered Discoveries ... 23 here Lesson 5: Finding Fossils .............. 29 Lesson 6: Traces of Dinosaurs ....... 33 Games and Puzzles Crossword Puzzles ........................ 36 Logic Puzzles ................................ 39 Word Searches .............................. 44 Answer Keys ..................................... 46 Additional Resources © 2013 Dinosaurs Unearthed Recommended Reading ................ 51 All rights reserved. Except for educational fair use, no portion of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any Online Resources .......................... 52 means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other without Dinosaur Data ............................... 53 explicit prior permission from Dinosaurs Unearthed. Multiple copies may only be made by or for the teacher for class use. Discovering Dinosaurs ................... 59 Content co-created by TurnKey Education, Inc. (2012) Glossary ............................................. 61 and Dinosaurs Unearthed (2013) Standards www.turnkeyeducation.net www.dinosaursunearthed.com Curriculum Standards ................... 65 Introduction Welcome to Dinosaurs Unearthed! The Field Trip Welcome to Dinosaurs Unearthed, a step back in time to the Mesozoic Era and the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Here you will encounter the beasts that dominated the planet for over 180 million years. This multi-sensory and interactive experience brings insights into the new scientific discoveries regarding the appearance and behaviors of dinosaurs and highlights some of the latest finds including the most recent facts concerning the iconic predator of the North American landscape, Tyrannosaurus rex. This unique state-of-the-art exhibition features animatronic dinosaurs, full-size skeletons, fossils, Dinosaurs Unearthed also features feathered fossils and interactive stations which not only delight in from both theropod dinosaurs, such as Microraptor, presenting well known herbivores such as Triceratops and primitive birds such as Yanornis and Longipteryx, and Stegosaurus but introduces life-size recreations in order to allow guests to compare and contrast the of the largest feathered, toothless dinosaur found to similarities of feathered flying dinosaurs and primitive date, the 26 foot long Gigantoraptor. The story of one birds. of the rare instances of dinosaurs engaged in combat is highlighted in the scene of Protoceratops versus In the scientific community the theory of birds Velociraptor and captures the moment just before evolving from dinosaurs is not new. Shortly after the contact ensues. Students can create a written or publication of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species oral history of these events detailing what happened in 1859, T. H. Huxley argued that dinosaurs and birds before, during and after what they see depicted so have a common ancestry. In 1916 Gerhard Heilmann vividly at the exhibition. published The Origin of Birds and commented on the similarities between theropods and birds. He Combining finely detailed, hand-crafted animatronics, also noted that the clavicales (collarbones) that fossils, skeletons, interactive consoles, a lush setting fuse together in birds to become furcula (wishbone) with surprises around every turn in the exhibition and were missing in theropods. Unfortunately, Heilmann educational content that reflects the latest scientific was wrong due to the incomplete fossils he studied. theories Dinosaurs Unearthed offers not only the Perhaps it was this supposed lack of wishbones in excitement of a tail thrashing, clawing, and roaring theropods that steered the debate for generations exhibition but the opportunity to actively engage in regarding the lineage of modern birds. Today’s a unique learning experience. The Educator’s Guide generation of students, however, are catching up to which accompanies the Field Trip was developed by the latest theories regarding feathered theropods an award winning educational consultant to meet and birds. curriculum standards. 6/15K Dinosaurs Unearthed | 2 The Educator’s Guide This Educator’s Guide has been created to help fun facts. We know how important it is to be able teachers and students make the most of their Field to justify field trips and document how instructional Trip to Dinosaurs Unearthed. In this guide there are time is spent outside your classroom. To that end, six Classroom Lesson Plans based on STEM criteria the Educator’s Guide is directly correlated to national centered on key topics highlighted in the exhibition. curriculum standards. These Lesson Plans contain dynamic activities and These resources can be used before your visit to assignments geared towards elementary school prepare students for the teachable moments found students as well as adaptations and advanced lessons throughout the exhibition as well as when you return for older grades. The guide is created to be flexible; to school to further explore the connections between use it to best fit the needs and capabilities of your the educational themes of the exhibition and your class. You may select some of the lower level activities classroom instruction. Take advantage of this unique for use with your eighth graders or you might pull from opportunity to bring science to life for your students. some of the more advanced activities for use with your most curious and sophisticated young paleontologists. The Educator’s Guide which accompanies the Field Trip was developed by an award winning educational The guide also contains recommended reading lists consultant to meet curriculum standards and enhance to expand your students’ knowledge of the world of your school’s visit. We look forward to seeing you at dinosaurs, plus dinosaur-themed games and puzzles Dinosaurs Unearthed. for both younger and older students and dinosaur LESSON 1: LESSON 3: LESSON 5: FORM AND FUNCTION MESOZOIC MATH FINDING FOSSILS At the exhibition you will see how Students work with Demonstrates the complexities dinosaurs adapted based on their measurements, proportions and involved in identifying and needs, environments and diets. In scale models of the true-to-life reconstructing dinosaur skeletons the classroom, your students learn size dinosaurs they see on their – like those at the exhibition – about some of the anatomical field trip. based on rare and incomplete differences between predators fossil evidence. and prey while doing a hands-on LESSON 4: experiment on depth perception. FEATHERED FRIENDS LESSON 6: At Dinosaurs Unearthed, you TRACES OF DINOSAURS LESSON 2: learn about feathered dinosaurs Students determine the best DINOSAUR DETECTIVES and their connections to the living conditions for preserving dinosaur Students research paleontologists birds of today. In the classroom, footprints while extrapolating and their discoveries and learn younger students examine the knowledge about how dinosaurs first-hand that science is a feathers that both birds and behaved from trace fossils like dynamic and ever-changing world. dinosaurs need to fly, while older trackways and coprolites. While at the exhibition, your students prepare for a mock trial students will see the culmination to prove that modern day birds of over a hundred years of are in fact the descendants of paleontology. dinosaurs. 6/15K Dinosaurs Unearthed | 3 Field Trip Activity Name Class Date Who am I? Read the clues and look for these creatures on your field trip to Dinosaurs Unearthed. Fill in the first column with the dinosaurs’ names as you encounter them; then answer the questions following the chart. Who am I? My unique fact I lived in the The area I lived in was I was the first feathered Early Cretaceous Asia: China – Liaoning 1. dinosaur discovered in 125 million years ago Province China. North America: USA – I have a specially Late Cretaceous Colorado, Montana, New 2. strengthened nose structure. 65 million years ago Mexico, Wyoming; Canada – Alberta North America: USA – I was the largest Late Montana, Kansas, North Late Jurassic 3. Jurassic North American Dakota, South Dakota, 150 million years ago predator. Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado; Europe: Portugal Late Cretaceous I am the largest, toothless Younger than 93 4. feathered dinosaur yet Asia: Mongolia million years ago; discovered. probably 71-72 A four-winged glider, I may Early Cretaceous Asia: China – Liaoning 5. look like a bird but I am a 125 million years ago Province theropod. In 2007 it was revealed that Late Cretaceous 6. Asia: Mongolia my forelimbs had quill knobs. 75 million years ago North America: USA – My horns were used in Colorado, Montana, South inter-group displays of Late Cretaceous 7. Dakota, Wyoming; domination and as weapons 65 million years ago Canada – Alberta, against predators. Saskatchewan North America: USA – My two pairs of tail spikes Montana, Kansas, North Late Jurassic 8. (each up to 4 ft long) are an Dakota, South Dakota, 150 million years ago awesome defensive weapon. Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado; Europe: Portugal I am one of the first Late Cretaceous 9. Asia: Mongolia horned-face dinosaurs. 75 million years ago 6/15K