DISCUSS:
How do you think scientists figure out what dinosaurs looked like?
DISCUSS:
If scientists can’t find many fossils of the soft parts of a dinosaur, what evidence should a paleoartist use to draw those parts?
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DISCUSS:
How do you think scientists figure out what dinosaurs looked like?
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DISCUSS:
If scientists can’t find many fossils of the soft parts of a dinosaur, what evidence should a paleoartist use to draw those parts?
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| Animal Bone Cards (A, B, & C) printout | 1 per pair |
| Dinosaur Decisions worksheet | 1 per student |
| Dinosaur Decisions Answer Key teacher-only resource | 1 per class |
|
Extra Evidence Bone Cards printout
Needs to be prepped prior to lesson (see below). |
1 per group |
|
Scissors
|
1 pair per student |
We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own.
Extra Evidence Bone Cards will print two per page so you will need to prep these cards by cutting along the thick black line in the middle of the page. Each pair of students will need a 1/2 sheet for the activity.
Wait to distribute these cards until Step 16 of the activity.
This activity involves students annotating illustrations of animal bones. Students are asked to write observations and circle patterns on their Animal Bone Cards. Prior to beginning the activity, it may be helpful to have a discussion about how circling similarities and writing notes on diagrams can be a useful way to compare and contrast multiple images.
Student slideshow: English | Spanish
Teacher printout: English & Spanish
In this reading, students learn the story of how whale fossils were discovered during road work in Chile.
You can elaborate student learning and engagement with Mystery Science mini-lessons.
Were dragons ever real? In this mini-lesson students learn how fossils may be the reason people thought dragons once existed.
Are unicorns real? In this mini-lesson students explore how fossils can help us figure out if unicorns are real.
If you are in an NGSS state, these mini-lessons support the DCI LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
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