from The MAILBOX® magazine

Thematic Units…Thematic Units…

from The MAILBOX® magazine

Dinosaur Days! Fastenyourseatbelt!Holdontight!You’reabouttotravelbackintime—andbacktoschool—withthis“dino-mite”collectionofactivitiesandreproducibles.It’stheperfectcureforanyJurassicjittersyouryoungstersmightbeexperiencing.

ideas by Michele Converse Baerns & Lisa D. Reep

We’re BIG on Books! Thiseye-catchingbulletinboardwillbeanenormoushitwithyourreadersauruses!Mountalargedinosaurcutoutontoyourbulletinboardthatstretchesfromthefloortotheceil-ing.(Seethepatternsonpage10.)Addthetitle“We’reBIGonBooks!”Nearbykeepasupplyofdrawingpaper.Foreachbookayoungsterreadsorhasreadtohim,hecopiesthetitleofthebookonasheetofdrawingpaper,thenillustrateshisfavoritepartofthebook.Displaythecompletedprojectsonthebulletinboard.Everyfewdays,recognizeeachnewadditiontotheboardandinvitetheappropriatereadersaurustotellaboutthebookheread.

LauraGill-Williams—Gr.1HawthorneElementaryTulsa,OK

Feast on These Facts!• Meat-eatingdinosaursateanythingthatmoved,includingother dinosaurs,insects,andbirds.• Plant-eatingdinosaurshadtoeatlargeamountsofplantstofuel theirlargebodies.• Manyoftheplantsthatdinosaursatecanbeseeningardensand parkstoday.• Meateatersoftenhadshort,powerfulnecksandbigheads.• Planteatersoftenhadlongneckssothattheycouldreachthe treetops.• Thereweremanymoreherbivoresthancarnivores.• Someherbivoreshadupto960teeth!• Mostcarnivoreswalkedontheirbacklegs,leavingtheirfront limbsfreeforcatchingandholdingprey.

Herbivore

LucyAime

TressaIan

Jared

Joel

EmmaRobert

My pal is funny. She giggles a lot. She takes ballet les-sons and she loves jelly beans.

My pal is totally cool. He loves to read, too! A cheese-burger a day makes him a happy dino.

Colossal Collages What’sonyourmenuforback-to-schoolsuccess?Here’samealplanthat’ssuretocreateaHUGEappetitefordino-saurs!Gatherasupplyofdiscardedmagazines,andenlargeeachofthethreedinosaurpatternsonpage10ontoalengthofcolorfulbulletin-boardpaper.Cutouttheenlargedpat-ternsandtemporarilydisplaythemonaclassroomwall.Inviteyourstudentstotellwhattheyknowabouttheeatinghabitsofdinosaurs.Leadstudentstounderstandthatalldinosaursbelongedtooneofthefollowinggroups:herbivores—planteaters;carnivores—meateaters;oromnivores—meatandplanteaters.Thendividestudentsintothreegroups.Armedwithastackofdiscardedmagazines,scissors,glue,andoneofthethreedinosaurcutouts,haveeachgroupcreateacolossalcollagebycoveringitsdinosaurwithmagazinepicturesshow-ingthekindsoffoods(meat,plants,orboth)thatitsdinosaurwouldhaveeaten.Asstudentsareworking,shareadditionalfactsaboutdinosaursandtheireatinghabits(see“FeastonTheseFacts!”).Displaythecompletedprojectsinyourclass-roomorschoollibrary.Challengestudentstodiscovermorefactsabouttheeatinghabitsofdinosaurs.

Hot off the Press!

Evenyourmostbashfulbrontoswillfindthisback-to-schoolactivityirresist-ible!Pairstudentsanddeemthempal-osauruses.Askeachstudenttointer-viewherpaltofindoutaboutherfamily,specialinterests,favoritebook,favoritefood,andsoon.Usingtheformonpage9,haveeachchildwriteashortarticleaboutherpal.Whenthearticlesarewritten,instructthepalstoexchangepapers.Thenhaveeachstudentcreateadinosaurnameforherselfthatincludesherrealname(suchasSaratopsorMeganasaurus).Then,intheboxonherpaper,shewritesherprehistoricnameandillustratesherselfasadinosaur.Whenshe’sfinished,shecutsoutherprojectontheboldlines. Decoratethefrontpageofanewspapertoshowthetitle“DinoTimes,”thedate,andaclassbyline.Mountyourstu-dents’completedprojectsonthenewspaperpages.Laminatethepagesfordurability;thenplacethenewspaperinyourclasslibraryforalltoread.Extra!Extra!Thisone-of-a-kindprehis-toricpublicationishotoffthepress!

Dino Times

Dino Times My pal is a good swimmer and she loves to eat pizza. She says her two brothers are mean!

Dino TimesSaratops

Dino TimesMrs. Baern’s ClassSeptember 1995

Leeasaurus

Samasaurus

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Not “Eggs-actly”! DinosaursmusthavelaidHUGEeggs,right?Not“eggs-actly”!Scientistsknowthattheeggslaidbysmall-andmedium-sizeddinoswereonlyaboutthesizeofchickenorturkeyeggs!Yousee,ifdinosaurshadlaideggsinproportiontotheirsize,alltheeggswouldhavebrokenun-lesstheyhadverythickshells.Andababydinosaurcouldneverhavechippeditswayoutofanegglikethat.Asfortheshapeoftheeggs,fossilsindicatethattheywereeitheregg-shaped,longandthin,orpointedatoneend. Thisdinosaur-eggprojectissureto“egg-cite”youryoungsters!Tobegin,haveeachchildinflatearoundoroblongballoontoaboutteninches—thesizeofthelargestdinosaureggseverfound.Usingstripsofnewspaperandamixtureofequalpartsglueandwater,haveeachstudentcoverhisentireballooninpapier-mâché.Whenthefirstlayerhasdried,havethestu-dentsaddasecondlayer.Provideacolorfulassortmentoftemperapaintsandinvitestudentstodecoratetheirdriedeggs.Scientistscan’tbesurewhatcolor(s)theeggsofdifferentdinosaurswere,soencourageyourpaleontologiststocreatespectaculareggspecimens!

Egads! More Eggs! Justincaseyouryoungsters’mathskillshavebecomeextinctoversummervacation,here’satastywaytorevivethem!Fillalargetrans-parentcontainerwithdinosaureggs(jellybeans)anddisplayitinaprominentlocation.Askthestudentstostudythecontainerofeggsduringthenextfewdays.Whenappropriatehaveeachstudentwriteanestimateofthenumberofeggsinthejar.Collecttheestimates;thendividethestudentsintosmallgroups.Distributethedinosaureggsamongthegroups.Workingasateam,haveeachgroupsortitseggsanddeterminehowmanyofeachcolorithas.Poseaseriesofquestionsthatcouldinclude“Whichcolorofeggdidyouhavethemost(least)of?”,“Didyouhavemoreredeggsormoregreeneggs?”,and“Howmanyeggswereeitherpinkororange?”Haveeachgroupsupplyanswerstothequestions.Nextfindouthowmanyeggswereinthejar.Todothishaveeachgroupcountitseggs,thencombinethecountstodeterminethegrandtotal.Aseachgroupisdividingitseggsamongitsmembers,returntheestimates.GivethestudentwiththemostaccurateestimateaHUGEroundofapplause;thenlettheegg-munchingbegin!

Sizing Up Dinosaurs Helpyourstudentsconceptualizejusthowbigdinosaurswerewiththismeasurementactivity.Cutalargesupplyof1”x13”newspaperstrips.Dividestudentsintosixgroupsandgiveeachgroupinformationonthelengthofadinosaur(seepage31forseveraldinosaurlengths).Usingtheinformation,themembersofeachgroupgluenewspaperstripsend-to-endtocreatetheactuallengthoftheirdinosaur.Explaintostudentsthattheprecutnewspaperstripsmeasure13incheseach,butwhentheyaregluedtogetherend-to-endwithaone-inchoverlap,eachstripwillmeasureonefoot.Suggestthatthegroupsusemarkerstonumberthestripsastheygluethemtogether.Nexthaveeachgroupbrainstormthreeorfouritemsinoraroundtheschoolthatmightequalthelengthofthecompletedstrip.Aftereachgrouphastesteditsideas,setasidetimeforthegroupstoreporttheirfindingstotheirclassmates.Ifdesired,mountthecompletedstripsinaschoolhallway,gym,orcafeteria.Haveeachgroupdesignapostertoac-companyitsstrip.Eachpostershouldincludealabeledillustrationofthefeatureddinosauranditslengthinfeet.Anillustrationofsomethingthatcomparesinsizetothedinosaurcouldalsobeshown. HowBigWereTheDinosaurs?byBernardMost(HarcourtBrace&Company,1994)isanexcellentliteratureconnectionforthisactivity.Inthiscolorfulpicturebook,thesizesofseveraldinosaursaredescribedbycomparingthemtomorefamiliarobjectslikeaschoolbus,abasketballcourt,andabowlingalley.

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Plenty of Prehistoric Humor “WhydidtheStegosauruswearhisspikestotheparty?Becausehewasasharpdresser!”…“Whatdoyoucalladinosaurtelephone?Arep-dial!”Theseareonlytwoofthemanydino-saurriddlesthatfillthepagesofTyrannosaurusWrecks:ABookOfDinosaurRiddlesbyNoelleSterne(ThomasY.Crowell,1979).Theriddlesinthishumorousbookaresuretohaveyouryoungpaleontologistsrollingwithlaughterandeagertodiguptheirownprehistoricriddles.Theresultswillbeamixtureofcleverwordplay,scientificfact,andlotsoflaughter.Considerdis-playingthreeorfourstudent-createdriddleseachdayduringyourdinosaurunit.Attheendoftheday,rewardthosestudentswhoanswertheriddlescorrectlywithdinosaurstickers.

AndreaM.Troisi—LibraryMediaSpecialist,NiagaraFalls,NY

Snacking on a Snackasaurus! Perfectasaculminatingactivity,theseyummysnackasaurusesareeasyandfuntomake.Combineseveralpackagesofrefrigera-tedsugar-cookiedough;thendividethedoughintosixparts.Kneadfoodcoloringintoeachportiontocreatered,green,blue,yel-low,purple,andorangedough.Giveeachchildapieceoffoilandtwoportionsofdifferentlycoloreddough.Workingatophisfoil,thestudentshapesadinosaurbodyfromonecolorofdough;thenheaddsdetailssuchashorns,plates,andclawsusinghisseconddoughcolor.Leavingthedinosaurcreationsonthefoil,arrangetheprojectsonacookiesheet(s).Bakethecookiesat350°for8to12minutes.Whenthecookiesarecool,theycanbeenjoy-edwithacartonofdinosaurmilk(reg-ularmilk)oranyflavorofprehistoricpunch(fruitjuiceordrinkmix).Asstudentsmunchontheirsnackasauruses,encouragethemtodis-cussdinosaurs—whatthey’velearnedandwhatelsetheyhopetofindout!

Designer Dinosaurs Noonereallyknowswhatcolorsdinosaurswere.Eventhoughafewfossilizedpiecesofskinhavebeenfound,scientistsknowthatanycolorwouldhavefadedfromtheskinlongbeforeitwasdiscovered.Sincemanypresent-dayreptilesaregrayorgreen,weknowdinosaursmighthavebeengrayorgreen,too.Buttherearealsoreptilesthathavebrightlycol-oredskin—evensomethathavestripesandspots.Whoknows?Maybedino-saurshadstripesandspots,too! Thesecolorful,prehistoricmasterpiecesarecertaintobeshowstoppers!Inadvance,thingluewithwater.Gatheravarietyofdinosaurtemplatesandaclasssupplyofartpaper.Inadditiontopaintbrushes,pencils,glue,andscis-sors,studentswillneedaccesstoasupplyofcolorfultissuepaper,construc-tionpaper,andwallpaper.Tobegin,astudentbrushesthethinnedglueontoasheetofartpaper.Thenheplacespiecesoftissuepaperonthegluesothattheyoverlap,creatingasky-and-landscapebackground.Anotherlayerofthinnedgluemaybeappliedifnecessary.Nextthestudenttracesandcutsoutseveraldinosaurshapesfromconstructionpaperorwallpaper,andgluesthemontopofthetissue-paperbackground.

Dinosaur Duds Thefollowingpoemmakesafunchoral-readingproject.Ifyoudecidetotaketheshowontheroad,askeachstudenttoillus-trateadecked-outdinosaur.Haveyoungstersholdtheirdrawingsfacedownuntilthelastlineofthepoemisreadorrecited;thenhavethemdisplaytheirdinosforalltosee.Thepoemisalsoafunchoiceforhandwrit-ingpractice.Afterstudentshavecopiedtheproseintheirprettiestpenmanship,they’llbeeagertoillustratetheirwork.

Decked-Out Dinosaurs Whatkindofskin Didadinosaurwear? Didithavesomefeathers? Didithavesomehair?

Whatwerethecolors Itworeinthosedays? Weretheybrightredsandpinks Orcoolbluesandgrays?

Howdiditfeel Totouchdinosaurskin? Wasitbumpyandthick Orslick,smooth,andthin?

Howdoweknow Whatadinosaurwore? Weimagineandcolor— That’swhatcrayonsarefor!

byLuciaKempHenry

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Just-for-Fun Fiction

For “Readersauruses” Only!Books About Dinosaurs

Dazzle the DinosaurWritten&IllustratedbyMarcusPfister

TranslatedbyJ.AlisonJamesNorth-SouthBooks,1994

Thiswinsometaleintroducestwotinydinosaurs,oneofwhomturnshisdistinctionintothestuffofheroes.YoungDazzlesportsareflective,iridescentspinethatseverelycutsdownoncamouflage.Thatdoesnotstoptheresourcefulcritterandhispalfromreclaimingacaveforhisnewfamily.Friendshipandadventuresupportanendearingstorylinethatfeaturesafullrangeofpre-historiccharactersandasoftpaletteofwatercolorpurples,blues,andgreens.

Tantalizingtheoriesattempttoexplainthepossiblecausesfortheirdisappear-ances,buthavethedinosaurseverreallyvanished?Thosecold-bloodedMeso-zoicreptileshavemanagedtoshakethesandfromtheirfossilizedremainsandspringtolifeinbooks,toystores,andeventhemovies!Booksaboutdinosaursarefarfromextinction—butwethinkthiscollectionwillbringaherdofreader-saurusesracingtoyourbookshelves! booksreviewedbyDeborahZinkRoffino

Can I Have a Stegosaurus, Mom?Can I? Please!?

WrittenbyLoisG.Grambling&IllustratedbyH.B.LewisBridgeWaterBooks,1995

Ayoungstercouldlieinbedanddreamterriblenightmaresaboutalargeintrudingreptile—oramoreinventivemindmightcatalogtheincrediblebenefitsofhavingadino-sauratone’sdisposal.Ofcourse,whiletheparades,Halloween,footballgames,andlifeingeneralwouldbeinfinitelybetterwithapetdinosaur,Mommightstillneedabitofconvincing.

Time FliesIllustratedbyEricRohmannCrownPublishers,Inc.;1994

Turnthepagesofthis1995CaldecottHonorbookandtakeajourneythatthrillstheeyeandsetsloosetheimagination.Inthiswordlesstale,abirdswoopsandfluttersitswayaroundadinosaurexhibit.Itsseeminglyinnocentventuretakesaturnfortheworsewhenonedinosaurappearstobeinterestedinmakingamealofthebird.Brilliantlyexecutedoilpaintingsbringlifetothedinosaursandflyingreptilesfeatured.

Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures With

the Family LazardoWritten&IllustratedbyWilliamJoyce

HarperCollinsPublishers,1988 Greatgreennonsenserulesinthisdelightofastorybook.Stylizedandsmooth,Dr.LazardoandhisflawlessfamilytrektoAfrica.Afteratriumphantjourney,theyreturntohome-sweet-homewithanendearing,unassuming,mostagreeablepetdino-saurnamedBob.HisenormityisapureassetandatremendousdiversionforthesnazzylittletownofPimlicoHills.

Dinosaur DaysWrittenbyLindaManning&IllustratedbyVlastaVanKampen

BridgeWaterBooks,1993 Adinoadaycreatesonewildweekforthelittlegirlwholivesinthishouse!Fromadinosaurslidingdownadrainpipe,toadive-bombingdinothatentersthroughthebathroomceil-ing—mayhemfliesthroughthepagesofthisfancifulbook.It’sareviewofthedaysoftheweekthatisnearlyeffervescent.Textandpicturesconstituteabuoyantenticementforbegin-ningreaders.Amanageableglossaryofdinosaurnamesisalsoincluded.

A Tale Of

Two Din

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Notable Nonfiction

You Can Name 100 Dinosaurs!WrittenbyJimBeckerandAndyMayer

IllustratedbyRandyChewningScholasticInc.,1944

Forgetthefactthatthereisnostoryline;thisbookwillbeapopularchoiceinanylibrary.Small,detaileddrawingsdistin-guish100dinosaurs.Identifiedbybonesandfossilfootprintsnearly150millionyearsold,theseextincthulksdemonstratepowerfulpersistenceintheheartsofchildren.Withthissturdyboardbook,studentscantrace,research,andlearntospellandpronouncethetortuousnamesinthiscollection.ThedinosaursaregroupedintoTriassic,Jurassic,andCretaceousperioddwellers.

The Big Book of DinosaursWrittenbyAngelaWilkes&Illustratedwithphotographs

DorlingKindersley,Inc.;1994 Forscrutinyorbrowsing,fortrackingteethofterror,orforutteramazement—directyoungmindstothisbigbook.Irresist-iblephotosofmuseumdinosaursandactualskeletonscommandattentionacrossfull-pagedisplays.Partsarelabeledandfactoidspopupineveryspace.Thephotospermitclose-upexaminationofleatheryhides,mightyjaws,andspikyclaws.Thefinaleisanin-scalecompositepicturethatcomparesthesizesofthedino-saursinthisresearchbook.

Triceratops: On the Trail of the Incredible Armored Dinosaur

American Museum of Natural History Series

WrittenbyWilliamLindsay;MarkNorell,ConsultantDorlingKindersley,Inc.;1993

Theceratoids,orhorneddinosaurs,mayhavedeflectedpreda-torswiththeirconspicuousspikyprotrusions,butafterseveralmillionyearstheappendagesonlyseemtoattractyoungsters.Explorationisencouragedinthiscomprehensiveinvestigationofonefamilyofprehistoriccreatures.Otherbooksinthisspec-tacularseriesbyaBritishpaleontologistenablereaderstofindmodels,facts,fossils,andskeletonsofBarosaurus,Tyrannosau-rus,andCorythosaurus.Allvolumesfeaturemapsandrealpho-tographsfromfamedexpeditionsanddinosaurdigs.

Dinosaurs! Strangeand Wonderful

WrittenbyLaurencePringle&IllustratedbyCarolHeyerBoydsMillsPress,1995

Likepostcardsfromprehistory,themanypagescarrytorn-edgedpictureswithenormousreptiles.ThisoverviewofMe-sozoicinhabitantsdiscussesdinosaursthatwalked,climbed,swam,andflew.WithmanyliteraltranslationsoftheirLatinandGreeknames,thedinosaursinthisbookroamdense,primitivelandscapeswithmurky,methane-saturatedskies.FamiliarnameslikeTriceratopsandStegosaurusblendwithmoreoutlandishdesignations,suchasthechicken-sizeCompsognathusandthewolflikehunterVelociraptor.

An Alphabet of DinosaursWrittenbyPeterDodson&IllustratedbyWayneD.Barlowe

ScholasticInc.,1995 Thealphabetepithetmightmislead.Thisnovelexaminationof26typesofcreatureschallengesmindsandvocabularies.Primeval,shadowedpaintingsfaceapageoflarge-sizetextwithdefinitions,shortfacts,andaskeletalsketch.Archeologistskeepdiggingupmorefossilizedbeasts,and“dinophiles”cansurelyaddtotheirstoreofdatawiththissetofcreatures.Aconcludingchartsummarizesthestudy.Thispicturebookcouldcomewithaguaranteetoturnonnew,reluctant,orpickyreaders.

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