DINOSAURS Curriculum: A Closer Look
Summary
Play, skit, and lessons explore ecosystems, dinosaur habitats, carnivores, herbivores and the food chain. Students will investigate dinosaur names to demonstrate common use of prefixes and suffixes.
Introduction
Letty and her class arrive at the museum for a sleepover in the dinosaur exhibit. When the students question what they will learn from looking at dinosaur “statues,” the imaginative docent suggests that the students listen with their eyes. While the other kids imagine what the dinosaurs are saying, Letty actually hears a sneeze and gets involved in running an errand between a triceratops with a cold and Parasaurolophus physician. Unfortunately, she also encounters a Tyrannosaurus Rex that wants to eat her for lunch! This comic investigation into dinosaurs and their environment inspires students to use their imaginations as a jumping off point for inquiry.
Teacher Guide
· Background · Director/Educator Preparation · Casting Notes · Performers · Working with your Set · Program · Integrating Curriculum · Fun Facts
Two Act Play
Script for 17 actors
The setting is inside a natural history museum. The backdrop serves as the diorama of dinosaurs on display in their exhibit. MRS. HARRIS and her students DAVID, PETE, TINA, KIM, JOE, AL and LETTY enter. They are on a field trip. They each have paper or folders or clipboards to write on for their class research. They also carry backpacks and sleeping bags. LETTY drags three suitcases.
Short Skit
Script for 6 actors
There are performers standing in front of their counterpart on the backdrop. They are frozen as if they are statues in a museum exhibit.
Creative Play Ideas
3 Scenarios for Imaginative Play
Scenario 1: Pretend that you and your friends are a dinosaur family. It suddenly begins to rain. What do you do? Where do you go for shelter? Describe what you are doing and how you feel as you act it out.
Lesson #1
Vocabulary Strategy - Word Tree
Subjects: Reading, Vocabulary
Lesson #2
What’s for Lunch? Carnivores, Herbivores and the Food Chain
Subject(s): Science, Writing
National Standards:
NS.K-4.1 Science as Inquiry
NS.K-4.3 Life Sciences
Lesson #3
Make-Up-A-Saurus! - Prefixes and Suffixes
Subject(s): Reading, Writing, Spanish Language
National Standards:
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NS.K-4.3 Life Science
NS.K-4.7 History of Nature and Science
Lesson #4
Dino Differences – Therapods and Ceratopsians
Subject(s): Science, Writing
National Standards:
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NS.K-4.1 Science as Inquiry
NS.K-4.3 Life Sciences
NS.K-4.7 History of Nature and Science
A Sneak Peek Inside
