Teacher sheet · Ages 10–11 · about 45–50 minutes
Dinosaurs: when, what and how we know
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/dinosaurs/ages-10-11/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/dinosaurs/ages-10-11/print/
Learning aims
- Place the age of dinosaurs on a timeline.
- Say what makes a dinosaur and name animals that were not dinosaurs.
- Describe what fossils and trackways can tell us.
- Explain the asteroid impact and why birds are dinosaurs.
- Plan a fair test.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: true or false? 'People hunted dinosaurs.' |
| 10 min | Read the text; build a timeline on the board. |
| 15 min | Footprint detectives. |
| 5 min | Play Dino fact or myth? |
| 10 min | Quiz and discussion. |
Materials for the experiment
- A tape measure or metre stick
- Chalk, or a long strip of paper and a damp sponge for wet footprints
- Calculator
- A recording table
Safety: Use a flat, dry, uncluttered space. Jog gently, do not race. Wipe up wet footprints so nobody slips.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Pterosaurs and sea reptiles were dinosaurs. | They lived at the same time but were not dinosaurs. |
| Dinosaurs and early humans met. | There are more than 65 million years between them. |
| Scientists' ideas about dinosaurs never change. | Iguanodon was first mounted standing up and later shown to walk on all fours. |
Worksheet answers
- A line with the first dinosaurs at about 230 million years ago, the asteroid at 66 million years ago and the first Homo sapiens at about 300,000 years ago, very close to 'today'.
- Answers vary; the rule is only rough; the stride is usually longer when jogging; fair: same person, same shoes, same surface, only the speed changed.
- For example: birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs; many dinosaurs had feathers; Archaeopteryx had feathered wings; early birds had teeth, bony tails and claws.
- A new study of the skeletons in 1980 showed that the back was held roughly level and that it walked on all fours.
Quiz answers
- When did the non-avian dinosaurs die out? About 66 million years ago. The Mesozoic Era ended 66 million years ago.[2]
- Which of these was NOT a dinosaur? A flying pterosaur. Pterosaurs lived at the same time but were not dinosaurs.[1][2]
- How do scientists sort dinosaurs into two big groups? By the shape of their hip bones. Ornithischians and saurischians differ in hip structure.[3]
- What does the shape of a dinosaur's teeth tell us? Whether it ate meat or plants. Tooth shape shows the diet.[3]
- Why do scientists now think Iguanodon walked on all fours? A new study of the skeletons in 1980. Scientists change their ideas when there is new evidence.[7]
- What hit Chicxulub in Mexico 66 million years ago? An asteroid about 15 km wide. The impact caused a global winter and a mass extinction.[4]
Going further
Visit or explore online the dinosaur gallery of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, where the Bernissart Iguanodons stand in a glass case.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur (US National Park Service (NPS)): reliability High
- [2] What is a dinosaur? (Australian Museum): reliability High
- [3] Dinosaur summary (Encyclopaedia Britannica): reliability High
- [4] Asteroid killed off the dinosaurs, says international scientific panel (Imperial College London (news, March 2010)): reliability High
- [5] How dinosaurs evolved into birds (Natural History Museum, London): reliability High
- [6] Feathered dinosaurs (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels)): reliability High
- [7] The Bernissart Iguanodons at a glance (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels)): reliability High
- [8] When and how did modern humans spread out of Africa? (Natural History Museum, London): reliability High
- [9] The speed of extinct organisms (The Open University (OpenLearn)): reliability Medium-high
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/dinosaurs/sources/
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