by Lynn Hansen

Grade Level: 4-5

Content Areas: Science

• Students will review, learn, create, and inquire about dinosaurs, the fossilization process and paleontology by successfully completing each station:
  • KWL chart about a dinosaur or paleontologist
  • Draw and animate the 4-6 stages of the fossilization of a dinosaur
  • Create a fiction story about becoming a paleontologist
  • Build and name a dinosaur
  • Create a graph sorting dinosaurs into 3 categories: herbivores, carnivores, and omnivoresReview unit terms
• Students will self-assess their work after each station on a scale of 1-5 dinosaurs, 5 being I did my very best and 1 being I put forth very little effort.
• While students are working in stations, the teacher will be able to pull small groups of students to review prior concepts. Students will use Inspiration to create foodwebs and use inquiry to connect their webs with other student created webs.

Other Materials

• PowerPoint
• Dinosaur and Fossil Books
• Paleontologist Information

Procedures
• Display the Dinosaur Daze PowerPoint slide show. Slides 1-5 are an introduction for the teacher, stating goals, purposes, and materials.
• As each slide is presented, explain expectations to students accordingly.
• Slide 6: Title Page
• Slide 7: This week we will be diving into more dinosaur exploration. You will be in control of what you learn this week. In groups, you will be rotating to each of the six stations that I will be explaining to you. It is your responsibility to keep you and your group on task in order to complete the mission in each station. The handhelds and several programs will be used to help you complete each task. You will be grading your efforts in each station.
• Slide 8 and 9: Here are the 6 stations. I will beam you a task list so you can check off each as you complete them. I will also beam you directions in a MemoPad document. Give feedback about the center using the note feature. Remember to grade yourself by circling the dinosaur that corresponds with your efforts on the paper provided.
• Slide 10: In station 1, “I wonder...”, you will be using iKWL. You may choose a dinosaur or a paleontologist to research. Use the books to help you get an idea. Write everything you know about your topic under the iKnow. Then, think of 5 questions to write under the iWonder. Use the books and your classmates to try and answer the questions. Last, write what you learned where it says iLearned. Share your iKWL with at least 2 classmates in your group by beaming it to them and discussing it. When you are finished, score your effort in this station.
• Slide 11: In station 2, you will be using the program Animator or Sketchy to illustrate the 4-5 stages of how a dinosaur becomes a fossil. You must include words and pictures. You may use the pictures provided www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/ or create your own. When you are finished, share your slide show with a classmate in your group. Remember to score your effort for this station.
• Slide 12: In station 3, you will be writing a short story in What if Builder. The story should be about you and a dinosaur bone you discover in your backyard. What do you do? Where will your adventure take you? You need to have 3 levels. Use the tree button to help you track your story. When you are finished, share with your group by beaming your story. Remember to score your effort in this station.
• Slide 13: In station 4, you will be naming and creating a dinosaur. Think back to when we broke apart dinosaur names and talked about what they meant. Scientists choose names according to what characteristics the dinosaurs exhibited. I will beam you a list of word parts that scientist use to name dinosaurs. (Take 20-30 appropriate word parts from this link and type them in memopad or word processing document.) Your job is to use these word parts to name a dinosaur. Then, using Sketcher, draw your dinosaur. Your drawing should illustrate the meaning of the words you chose to use. When you are finished, share your dinosaur with a classmate in your group. Remember to score your effort in this station.
• Slide 14: In station 5, you will be using the program Cells to organize data and turn it into a graph. Using the books provided, choose 10 dinosaurs and put them in 1 column in Cells. Then, research and find out what each dinosaur ate. Determine if the dinosaur is a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore. Label each dinosaur in the next column. Open a new sheet and type in Omnivore, Carnivore, and Herbivore. Count how many of each you have and type the number in a column next to the labels. Click on the graph button. Next, in MemoPad, write 5 questions about your graph. Beam the questions to someone in your group and have them answer them. Remember to score your effort in this station.
• Slide 15: In station 6, you will be using a program called SpellIT to review words and ideas in this unit. I will beam you the list. Using your science journals, textbook, and classmates, define each word in SpellIT. Write the definition in your own words for the clue. Then, do the practice activity and word jumble. Next, take the Test. How did you do? Remember to score your effort in this station. Students who need to review foodwebs will be working with me to create webs using Inspiration. We will beam are webs to each other and connect them until we have a huge, interconnecting foodweb.
• Slide 16: In one week, we will be having a Dinosaur Daze celebration with our cross age partners. You will be using your handheld and the projects you created and teaching a 1st grader about dinosaurs. Take your time at each station and do your best. Remember, your classmates are here to help you so work together and share ideas.