Earth Through Time

Dinosaur and Fossil Unit

The concept map shows a web of ideas that can be used to extend the unit to ten days.

Unit Objective

By completing this unit, students will be able to describe characteristics of different dinosaurs. Students will also be able to explain how fossil imprints and fossil remains provide clues about the earth’s history.

Lesson 1: Characteristics of Dinosaurs

Lesson 2: Sizes of Dinosaurs

Lesson 3: Kinds of Fossils

Lesson 4: Fossil Imprints

Unit Rationale

When I created this unit, I was able to show proficiency in several areas. First, I was able to show that I understood the content I was teaching. I had to understand the concepts thoroughly in order to effectively and correctly teach those concepts to the students. This correlates to INTASC Principle #1. I also showed proficiency in INTASC Principle #2 because I had to understand how students learn and develop in order to provide opportunities that support each student’s developmental level. This also goes along with INTASC Principle #3. Not only did I have to mold the unit to the students’ developmental levels, I also had to understand that each student learns differently. In this lesson, I created lessons that had a variety of activities in order to create opportunities for diverse learners. In this unit, I also showed competency in INTASC Principle #5 by creating a learning environment that encourages and motivates the students. I designed lessons that were motivating and meaningful for the students by making them hands-on and interactive. This unit also showed my understanding of INTASC Principle #8 by using both formal assessments (working in dinosaur journals) and informal assessments (observing students throughout lessons and activities).

Unit Resources

I used the following resources when planning my unit:

Aliki (1990). Fossils tell of long ago. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Badders, W., Bethel, L., Fu, V., Peck, D., Sumners, C., & Valentino, C. (1999). Science discovery works: Complete level 2. Parsippany, NJ: Silver Burdett Ginn.

Cohen, M.R., Cooney, T.M., Hawthorne, C.M., McCormack, A.J., Pasachoff, J.M., Pasachoff, N., Rhines, K.L., & Slesnick, I.L. (1993). Discover Science. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company.

Col, J. (2004). Zoom dinosaurs. Retrieved October 14, 2004. Web site: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/

Farlow, J.O., & Brett-Surman, M.K. (1999). The complete dinosaur. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Most, B. (1995). How big were the dinosaurs? Orlando, FL: Voyager Books.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The strengths of my unit were:

I used many hands-on, interactive activities.

I included children’s literature that engaged and motivated the students.

Models of dinosaurs and fossils really helped students see and understand the concept.

The weaknesses of my unit were:

I overestimated some students’ abilities to fully understand the differences between fossil imprints and remains in the third lesson.

My rubrics could have been more detailed.

Students needed more time to be able to fully grasp the concept.