Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Dinosaur detectives
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/dinosaurs/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/dinosaurs/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Know that dinosaurs lived a very long time ago, long before people.
- Know that we learn about dinosaurs from fossil bones and footprints.
- Know one fact about the Bernissart Iguanodons.
- Know that birds are living dinosaurs.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Show a picture of a bird and a dinosaur skeleton. What is the same? |
| 10 min | Read the text together. |
| 15 min | How long was Iguanodon? (outside or in the hall) |
| 5 min | Play Dinosaur or not? |
| 5 min | Quiz together. |
Materials for the experiment
- A long tape measure or a rope at least 7 metres long
- Two cones, chairs or bags to mark the ends
- Chalk (if you are outside)
- Paper and crayons
Safety: Lie down only on a clean, dry floor or soft grass, away from other games. Walk, do not run. Do not trip over the rope.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| People and dinosaurs lived at the same time. | The big dinosaurs died out millions of years before the first people. |
| Every big old reptile was a dinosaur. | Flying pterosaurs, sea reptiles and crocodiles are not dinosaurs. |
| All dinosaurs are gone. | Birds are living dinosaurs. |
Worksheet answers
- A drawing of a dinosaur with flat teeth for plants or sharp teeth for meat.
- Yes.
- For example: bones, teeth or footprints found in rock.
Quiz answers
- When did dinosaurs like Iguanodon live? A very, very long time ago. They lived millions of years ago, long before people.[2]
- How do we know about dinosaurs? From bones and footprints found in rock. Their bones and footprints are found in rock.[7][9]
- What did Iguanodon eat? Plants. Iguanodon was a plant-eater.[7]
- Which animal today is a dinosaur? A bird. Birds come from small meat-eating dinosaurs. Crocodiles are not dinosaurs.[1][2]
- Where were the Iguanodons found in Belgium? Deep in a coal mine. Miners found them deep under the ground at Bernissart.[7]
Going further
Make dinosaur footprints: press a hand or a toy into play dough, then swap with a partner and guess what made each print.
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
- [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/
Privacy: the lesson pages have no ads, no tracking and no cookies. Quiz answers and game scores stay in the pupil's browser. A short video for each age is coming.