Students learn about the history of earth by learning about how fossils are formed and what makes dinosaurs unique, and write daily responses to the informational texts that they read.
A note from our team: As part of the upgrade to Fishtank Plus, this unit will be revised this year. Some texts, materials, and questions may change as part of the revision.
In this science/history-based unit, students learn about the history of the earth by studying fossils and dinosaurs. In the first part of the unit, students learn about how fossils are formed and how paleontologists study fossils in order to learn about ancient history. In the second part of the unit, students study what makes dinosaurs unique and fascinating creatures by learning about various species of dinosaurs and how they adapted in order to meet their basic needs for survival. Students will also be challenged to think about what earth was like at the time of the dinosaurs and how learning about dinosaurs helps them better understand the earth’s history. In the last part of the unit, students read a collection of fiction texts, each with a unique perspective on what happened to the dinosaurs and if dinosaurs really are extinct. In this part of the unit, students should be pushed to use what they have learned from the informational texts in order to confirm or deny the statements the author makes in the fiction texts.
In reading, this unit exposes students to both informational and fiction texts. When reading informational texts, students will focus on explaining the connection between two or more pieces of information in a text, particularly in regard to retelling how fossils are formed or how scientists uncover fossils. Students will also be pushed to describe the relationship between the illustrations and the text in which they appear, specifically describing what new or additional information they learn from reading the illustrations. Additionally, students will continue to practice determining the main topic of a text and asking and answering questions about unknown words. When reading fiction texts, students will focus on retelling the story and making connections between the story and the facts they’ve learned from the informational texts.
In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. Written responses should focus on including an inference or critical thinking that shows understanding of the text and/or question and on using more words than pictures to communicate the answer to a question. This unit also includes two longer writing assignments: one research writing assignment and one narrative writing assignment.
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Book: Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems (Disney-Hyperion; 1 edition, 2006) — AD500L
Book: Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs? by Bernard Most (HMH Books for Young Readers; 1 edition, 1987) — AD660L
Book: If the Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most (HMH Books for Young Readers; 1 edition, 1984) — AD450L
Book: How Big Were the Dinosaurs? by Bernard Most (HMH Books for Young Readers; 1 edition, 1995) — NC660L
Book: Dinosaur Roar by Paul and Henrietta Stickland (Ragged Bears, 2005) — AD190L
Book: When Dinosaurs Lived: Apatosaurus by Kate Riggs (Creative Paperbacks, 2012)
Book: When Dinosaurs Lived: Tyrannosaurus rex by Kate Riggs (Creative Paperbacks, 2012)
Book: When Dinosaurs Lived: Pterodactyls by Kate Riggs (Creative Paperbacks, 2012)
Book: When Dinosaurs Lived: Triceratops by Kate Riggs (Creative Paperbacks, 2012)
Book: When Dinosaurs Lived: Velociraptor by Kate Riggs (Creative Paperbacks, 2012)
Book: Dinosaurs! by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House; Reprint edition, 2009) — NC750L
Book: My Visit to the Dinosaurs by Aliki (HarperCollins; Revised edition, 1985) — 540L
Book: Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones by Byron Barton (Greenwillow Books, 1990) — 290L
Book: Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki (HarperCollins; Reprint edition, 1988) — 600L
Book: Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki (HarperCollins; Revised edition, 2016) — 540L
This assessment accompanies this unit and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.
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Building Background Knowledge:
Internalizing Unit Content and Standards:
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Pick two or three language focus correction areas based on student needs.
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nonfiction, fiction
fossil, preserve, rot, dirt, stone, mud, harden, extinct, patient, scientist, expert, skeleton, paleontologist, carnivore, herbivore, characteristics, survival, defend, survive, predator, prey, deceptive, fierce, weak, grumpy, spiky, enormous, gigantic, disguise, shrink, convincing, protesting, persuasive, history, unique, fascinating
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Fossils Tell... — Entire Book
RI.K.1
RI.K.3
Explain why fossils are important by describing the connection between events and ideas in a text.
Fossils Tell... pp. 4 – 14
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Describe how fossils are formed, by using illustrations and details to describe the connection between events and ideas in a text.
Digging Up... pp. 1 – 13
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Explain what the diagram on p. 13 teaches and how the steps are similar to or different from the steps in Fossils Tell of Long Ago by using illustrations and details to describe the connection between events and ideas in a text.
Digging Up... — 14-end
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Defend if being a fossil hunter is a difficult or easy job by using illustrations and words to describe the connection between events and ideas in a text.
Dinosaur Bones
RI.K.9
Describe how the information in Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones was similar to and different from Digging Up Dinosaurs by identifying basic similarities between two texts on the same topic.
Writing
All unit texts
W.K.2
SL.K.1
SL.K.5
SL.K.6
L.K.6
Explain how people learned about dinosaurs, by using a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose an informative text that supplies information about a topic.
Project
SL.K.2
SL.K.6
L.K.6
Participate in a teacher-created activity to deepen understanding of scientific concepts and ideas.
My Visit...
RI.K.2
RI.K.7
Explain if all dinosaurs were the same or different by retelling key details about the main topic of a text.
My Visit... — 11-20 and 24-30
RI.K.2
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Describe what makes each dinosaur special and why by retelling key details about the main topic of a text.
Dinosaurs! pp. 10 – 25
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Explain why different dinosaurs needed different characteristics for survival and what would have happened if they all had the same characteristics by using words and illustrations to make inferences about key details.
Tyrannosaurus rex
1-LS1-1
RI.K.2
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Defend if the T. rex should be called “one of the scariest meat-eating dinosaurs ever” by using words and illustrations to make inferences about key details.
Apatosaurus
1-LS1-1
1-LS3-1
RI.K.2
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Explain what made apatosauruses different from most dinosaurs by using words and illustrations to make inferences about key details.
Pterodactyls
1-LS1-1
1-LS3-1
RI.K.2
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Explain what made pterodactyls different from most dinosaurs and how those differences helped them by using words and illustrations to make inferences about key details.
Triceratops
1-LS1-1
1-LS3-1
RI.K.2
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Explain what made triceratops different from other dinosaurs and how their body parts helped them by using words and illustrations to make inferences about key details.
Velociraptor
1-LS1-1
1-LS3-1
RI.K.2
RI.K.3
RI.K.7
Explain what made velociraptors different from other dinosaurs and how their different body parts helped them by using words and illustrations to make inferences about key details.
Writing
All unit texts
W.K.2
W.K.7
W.K.8
SL.K.1
SL.K.6
L.K.6
Write a book that teaches about an additional dinosaur by participating in either a shared or an individual research and writing project in which they name a topic and supply information about the topic.
Dinosaur Roar
RI.K.1
RI.K.4
Use descriptive words to describe a dinosaur by asking and answering questions about key details and words in a text.
Writing
All unit texts
W.K.2
W.K.8
SL.K.5
L.K.6
Describe dinosaurs by using a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose an informative text that supplies information about the topic.
How Big...
RI.K.3
Describe how big a dinosaur was and how the author helped us understand how big it was, by retelling key details to explain the connection between two ideas in a text.
Whatever Happened...
RI.K.8
Describe what the author thinks happened to the dinosaurs by identifying reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
If the Dinos...
RI.K.8
Describe what the author thinks will happen if the dinosaurs come back, by identifying reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
Discussion
Whatever Happened...
If the Dinos...
How Big...
RL.K.5
RL.K.9
RI.K.9
Compare and contrast the Bernard Most books with other books from the unit by identifying basic differences between two or more texts on the same topic.
Edwina
RL.K.3
Explain how Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie changed, by asking and answering questions about characters and key events in the story.
Writing
W.K.3
SL.K.6
Write a story about what would happen if a dinosaur came to school with you by using a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event.
Assessment