The 50-year anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch and landing occurred in late July of 2019. It seems fitting that I launch my Dinosaur Dig & Research Project at about the same time (This is perhaps a little melodramatic, but I have waited so long to share these projects that I decided to push the envelope on verbiage. Besides, it is hard not to mention the momentous day in history for science!). These upper-level projects have been a labor of love and have been improved upon after years and years of use and tweaks after application in the classroom. In addition to the higher-level activities, I have created an early elementary dinosaur activity that can be used to inspire, promote curiosity and discussion about fossils, prehistory, biology and the impressive size of these creatures. Dinosaurs are loved by young and old and these sets of activities can provide science material for elementary, junior high and high school teachers to use in their classrooms.
The videos shown here demonstrate how the junior high and high school projects are performed. A high school student artist reenacts how he accomplished his Dinosaur Dig & Research Project (a stegosaurus) as well as makes comments about his thoughts on completing his work. Students who are artistic greatly appreciate this project, so he was an excellent choice for an interview. In addition, other students are interviewed about what they specifically liked about their project. “There’s Little Foot over there” and it was “like a dinosaur dig with paper” are some descriptions made by students. Other student say, “I got to show off my own artistic technique” and “It was fun because it was unique to each and every person”.
The junior high project is also demonstrated by my student who happily volunteered to make this dinosaur on his own time. His enthusiasm for this project and the opportunity to demonstrate his artistic ability prompted his efforts, and it is greatly appreciated. This junior high school level activity is significantly simpler than the high school version, both in assembling the bones and in the research. Watch the videos and visit my TpT store to purchase an amazing project for your students today!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Midnight-Star
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This article was originally published at midnightstarsciencelessons.com.