DINOSAURS

Author(s):

Casie States and Mary McDermott
Section number: 24000
Original Lesson Plan By:
Laurie Sybert
http://www.intime.uni.edu/video/019mole/8/

Grade Level:

First Grade

Timeframe:
3 days
45 minutes to 1 hour a day

Lesson Description or Explanation

This unit will help students know more about dinosaurs. They will learn about dinosaurs habitats, eating habits, as well as other general information about various dinosaurs. Children will make a class poem, class Venn diagram, and class PowerPoint. Students will share information with their classmates. This information will come from prior knowledge as well as their internet research.

Indiana Curricular Standards

Math:
1.5.1 Measure the length of objects by repeating a nonstandard unit or a standard unit.

Science:
1.4.2 Observe and describe that there can be differences, such as size or markings, among the individuals within one kind of plant or animal group.
1.4.3 Observe and explain that animals eat plants or other animals for food.

Language Arts:
1.4.5 Identify a variety of sources of information (books, online sources, pictures, charts, tables of contents, diagrams) and document the sources (titles).
1.4.6 Organize and classify information by constructing categories on the basis of observation.


ISTE Standards

NETS for students:
1. Creativity and Innovation - Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

2. Communication and Collaboration - Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

Assessments

Assessments will be formative and summative.

Formative assessments will take place as the students make lists of action words, use the internet to research their chosen dinosaur, and create their individual PowerPoint slide. Students will be assessed on t heir participation during all activities.

Summative assessments will occur when the students make their group Venn diagrams. Their papers will be collected and review by teachers. The students will also be assessed on the information they put into their PowerPoint slide. Teacher will save this information and assess at the end of the project.


Prior Knowledge

Curricular Knowledge or Skills: To pre-assess our students prior knowledge on Dinosaurs, the morning work prompt will be “Write what you know about dinosaurs.” As we introduce our lesson we will also do an informal pre-assessment by asking the children to tell us what they know. We will make lists of the students prior knowledge. If some of the “facts” the students state are questionable, the students will be given an opportunity to research to prove their “fact” during the research phase.

Technology Knowledge: The students currently use desktop computers in their centers. They know how to navigate to specific websites using the internet.

Technology

Internet Resources:

Yahooligans. http://www.yahooligans.comEnchanted Learning. http://www.EnchantedLearning.com Thunder Lizards. http://www.thunderlizards.com

Hardware: SMART board, computers

Software: Microsoft PowerPoint

Procedure

Day 1: Using the SMART board, the teachers will display the book “Giant Dinosaurs” by Erna Rowe. The teachers will read the book aloud while the children follow along. As a name of a dinosaur appears in the book, the teacher will allow one student per dinosaur to come up and circle the name of the dinosaur using the SMART board. Next, students will get into pairs and discuss the actions of the dinosaurs in each part of the book, making a list of those actions. Then, teacher show students the life-size footprint of a Dilaphosaurus on the SMART board, have students place their hands on the footprint to compare size. Have the children trace their feet and place them inside the dinosaur footprint. Look up the place on the United States wall map where the dinosaur footprint was found. (Found in Pennsylvania) Discuss with the students

Day 2: Using the SMART board, the class will create an acrostic poem together using the word “dinosaur”. Students will use the action words they listed on day 1 to help them create this poem. Next, Each student will pick their favorite dinosaur that they will want to research. As a class, we will use the internet in the computer lab to access different search engines in which the students will research their dinosaurs. Students will create a “dinosaur information card” that they will use when they create their PowerPoint slide about their dinosaur.

Day 3: Children will work with their table mates to construct a Venn diagram. Students will use the information they found during research and classify the dinosaurs they researched on their groups Venn diagram. One circle will represent herbivores and the other will be carnivores. Once the students have completed their group Venn diagram, the class will form one large Venn diagram on the SMART board.

Day 4: On this day, the students will use the SMART board make a cooperative dinosaur PowerPoint presentation using the information they found about the dinosaurs they researched. Each student will get the opportunity to use the SMART board to enter their dinosaur information on a PowerPoint slide.

Differentiated Instruction

ESL
Allowing students type in their native language then translate using translation software. Other students will also use software to translate into other languages.

Challenge/Extend
Be a peer mentor, using the internet to find pictures

Special Needs
Have peer mentor, students can draw pictures and cut out words to be scanned and included into their PowerPoint slide. Students can use JAWS as well as spell check.