Dinosaurs & Fossils

Narrations:

The Magic School Bus In the Time of the Dinosaurs (7/24/07)

They went back in time to see Maiasaura eggs but went too far. They came back a little, but not far enough. They saw different dinosaurs than before. And then they came back more but it still wasn't far enough. They saw more different dinosaurs than before. They went back again and they saw an ocean with different animals. They went back again and saw different dinosaurs. One last time back and they saw some more dinosaurs and then walked a little and finally saw the ones they were looking for. But before that they saw Tyranosaurus Rex! And when they found the dinosaurs they were looking for, a big sand storm came and buried all the animals. Then they went in the bus and went back home.

Dinosaurs (8/6/07)



I love dinosaurs! Dinosaurs have been extinct for 150 million years. Some were meat-eaters and some ate plants. Meat-eaters are carnivores. Plant-eaters are herbivores. If you eat both meat and plants, you are an omnivore.

My favorite dinosaur is T-Rex. He is a meat-eater. He is a carnivore. He would kill other dinosaurs for food. He is really cool. He used his sharp teeth to kill other dinosaurs. T-Rex killed other smaller meat-eaters and plant-eaters.

Most Useful Library Books:

• Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki
  
• Dinosaur Bones by Aliki
  
• Dinosaurs Are Different by Aliki (heavy on classification)
  
• The Magic School Bus In the Time of the Dinosaurs by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
  
• Eyewitness: Prehistoric Life by William Lindsay
  

Most Enjoyed Videos:

1. Allosaurus: A Walking with Dinosaurs Special
   
2. Bill Nye the Science Guy: Fossils
   
3. Walking with Dinosaurs
   
4. Eyewitness: Dinosaurs
   
5. Walking with Prehistoric Beasts
   

Great Websites (games):

• BBC Prehistoric Games & Puzzles
  
• Dinosphere
  

Field Trips:

• LaBrea Tar Pits
  

Activities:

• Mud Dinosaur Fossil inspired by the Stir-In Fossils experiment in More Mudpies to Magnets: Science for Young Children by Sherwood, Williams, and Rockwell
  
  
• lots of plastic dinosaur play
  

Writing Samples

Copywork 7/9/07


The drawing was supposed to be a self-portrait. He drew himself and his friend S6 playing with LEGOs at our dining room table.




"My name is Cameron. I am in the first grade."

Archaeology

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume 1 (The Ancients), Introduction
  
  • *What is History?
    
  • *What is Archaeology?
  
  

Narrations:

Archaeology (7/16/07)

Scientists collect things underground. They find arrowheads, spear points, skeletons, and human skeletons. They try to figure out what it is and then put it into a museum.

They wear hats so they don't burn in the sun because they work in the hot sun all day long. At the museum they try to figure out what goes where because some of it is broken.

Archaeologists also find buildings and wood pieces that burned in a fire. And that's it.

Illustrations:
copied from photo, page 32, in Art and Archaeology by Shirley Glubok.

"This archaeologist is using a periscope to look for artifacts in an unopened tomb."

Most useful library books:

• The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells: A Book About Archaeology by Scholastic
  
• Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke
  
• Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past, 25 Activities by Richard Panchyk (good book with activities that would be interesting to many varying ages - but we didn't do any of them)
  
• Art and Archaeology by Shirley Glubok (the reading isn't exactly age-appropriate, but the pictures are great)
  

Activities:

• archaeological dig in playground
  
• finding and documenting pottery artifact in our backyard