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The Mission

A lost world of dinosaurs has been discovered, but where will they live?  It is up to you to work in teams to design a dino-zoo. Before you begin, each design team must learn as much as they can about the dinosaurs in their time period. Areas you’ll need to explore include: climates, plants, animals, anatomy, diet, behavior, locomotion, and any other important information. When you have collected all of your information, each team will design their dino-zoo for all to visit.  Good luck on your dino-trip!

The Process

Week 1

1. You are going to complete a KWL Chart. You should think about what you know and what you would like to know about dinosaurs.

2. Each team will be assigned a time period and two dinosaurs that lived in that period.  When you have gathered all of your information you will design a dino-zoo.

3.  Before you begin, the class will read The Magic School Bus in the Time of Dinosaurs.  The bus turns into a time machine that takes the students back to prehistoric times and the land of dinosaurs.  After we are done reading the class will record some interesting facts about the book.

4. The class will be given a list of vocabulary words. You and your partner will go to http://www.zoomdinosaurs.com   and click on Dinosaur and Paleontology Dictionary and then click on the letter that the word starts with to find the meaning of the words. You will then divide the words up with your partner and write the meaning of the words on the dino-vocabulary sheet.

Week 2

1. Teacher will discuss rubric with students.

2. I’m sure you are wondering where you will need to go to gather all of your information.  To get you started, you will go on a cyberhunt. This will be the first step in helping you dig up some of the information that you will need.  Good luck, and don’t return until you have all of the necessary information.

Week 3

    1.You will continue on your dino-trip gathering information that will help you design your dino-zoo. Use this dino-research sheet to help you get started.  Below are some web sites that can help you on your journey.

• http://www.rain.org/~philfear/download-a-dinosaur.html

• http://www.brainpop.com/science/plantsandanimals/dinosaurs/index.weml

• http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/tour/tour.htm?dinosaurs

     2.You will then start organizing your information (characteristics of your dinosaur, diet, behavior, anatomy,  locomotion, and any other important information that needs to be in your tour guide. Use this dino-information sheet to help you organize your information.

Week 4

1. You will complete your research and have all of your information organized in written form for your tour guide.

2. You and your team will make sure that you have gathered all of the information that you will need to design your dino-zoo.

Week 5

1. You are now ready to design your dino-zoo.  You have three choices to choose from.

2. Create a poster          

3. Present a slide show presentation

4. Construct a diorama

5. Your classmates will do a peer evaluation of your presentation.

6. The teacher will show the students a copy of the peer evaluation.

7. Teacher will review what she will be looking for when she evaluates the projects.

8. You will decide which project you will complete and inform the teacher.

Weeks 6-8

1. Work on Final Project

2. You will finish up your design and be prepared to present to the class next week.

3. Teacher will review what she will be looking for during the presentations.

Week 9

1. You will present your design to the class by taking us on a tour of your dino-zoo.

Student Resources

Scaffolding Lessons

KWL

Read Aloud

Vocabulary Intro

Discussion of Rubric

Cyber Hunt

Research & Note Taking

Categorize Information

Discussion (how to design the zoo)

Create a Poster

Present a slide show

Construct a diorama

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