Oh I Want to Be
a Great Big Dinosaur
(Tune :"I Wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener")

Oh I want to be a great big dinosaur,
That is what I really want to be!
For if I were a great big dinosaur,
Everyone would run away from me. . .
Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Additional Verses:
stomp away from me
crawl away from me
slither away from me

Dinosaur Colors

What kind of skin did a dinosaur wear?
Did it have some feathers?Did it have some hair?
What were the colors it wore in those days?
Were they bright reds and pinks?
Or cool blues and grays?
How did it feel to touch dinosaur skin?
Was it bumpy and thick?
Or slick, smooth, and thin?
How do we know what a dinosaur wore?
We imagine and color- that's what crayons are for!

Dino Ditty, Ditty Dum Ditty Do
(Tune: "Do Wah Diddy Diddy")

Here he comes just a stomping
with his feet,(Stomp)
Singing "Dino ditty,
ditty dum ditty do." (Clap)
Searching all around for
something good to eat,
(Hand over brow)
Singing "Dino ditty,
ditty dum ditty do." (Clap)
He's huge. [He's huge.]
He's strong. [He's strong.]
(Stretch out arms; then
bend elbows and make fist)
He's huge, he's strong,
won't be hungry very long.
(Repeat arm motions;
then shake finger "no.")
"Dino ditty, ditty
dum ditty do." (Clap)
"Dino ditty, ditty
dum ditty do." (Clap)

Dinosaur Bones

Let's look for bones,
dig, dig, dig.
Dinosaur bones,
big, big, big.

Back to the lab,
zip, zip, zip.
Clean the bones,
chip, chip, chip.

Put them together,
so, so, so.
We've built a dinosaur,
oh, oh, HO!

Dino Song
(Tune: Twinkle,Twinkle, Little Star)

Apatosaurus walked on land,
Laid her eggs in nests of sand,
Ate the plants and leaves from trees,
A school bus came up to her knees.
Apatosaurus great and grand,
Was the giant of the land. Compsognathus, little one,
Big guys ate him just for fun. Quick as lightning he would race,
So they couldn't get a taste. Then for hiding he would run,
He thought that was lots of fun!

The Dinosaur Song

The tyrannosaurus Rex had great big teeth,
Great big teeth, great big teeth.
The tyrannosaurus Rex had great big teeth,
When the dinosaurs roamed.

Additional verses:
The apatosaurus had a very long tail...
The diplodocus' nostrils were on top of his head...
The saltopus was as small as a cat...  

Do You Know...
(Tune: "Muffin Man")

Oh, do you know the Stegosaurus?
The Stegosaurus, the Stegosaurus?
Oh, do you know the Stegosaurus?
He had plates upon his back.

Additional Verses:
Apatosaurus......he has a very long neck.
Tyrannosaurus Rex......he was very fierce.
Triceratops....he has three big horns.
 

Dinosaurs Ruled
The Earth
(Tune: "Mary Had A Little Lamb")

Dinosaurs once ruled the Earth, Ruled the Earth,
Ruled the Earth.
Dinosaurs once ruled the Earth
Many years ago.

(other verses)
Stegosaurus swished it's tail Brontosaurus was very big
The Brachiosaurus lived in the water
Apatosaurus stomped so hard The Trachodon had 2000
teeth
Triceratops had 3 horns
Tyrannosaurus Rex was the king

Five Enormous Dinosaurs

Five enormous dinosaurs, letting out a roar,
One went away and then there were four.
Four enormous dinosaurs, munching on a tree,
One went away and then there were three.
Three enormous dinosaurs didn't know what to do,
One went away and then there were two.
Two enormous dinosaurs having lots of fun,
One went away and then there was one.
One enormous dinosaur afraid to be a hero,
He (she) went away and then there were zero.

Stomp, Stomp, Stomp

The first big dinosaur went stomp, stomp, stomp
I said to the first dinosaur, "Stop, stop, stop!"
The second big dinosaur went run, run, run,
I said to the second dinosaur, "Fun, fun, fun!"
The third big dinosaur went thump, thump, thump.
I said to the third dinosaur, "Jump, jump, jump!"
The fourth big dinosaur went whack, whack, whack
I said to the fourth dinosaur, "You stay back!"
The fifth big dinosaur went creep, creep, creep.
I said to the fifth dinosaur, "It's time to sleep!"  

I'm Bringing Home
A Baby Dinosaur

I'm bringing home a baby dinosaur
Won't my mommy fall right through the floor
I'm bringing home a baby dinosaur
Ouch! He squished me!
Flat as a pancake!

I'm bringing home a baby dinosaur
Won't my mommy hide behind the door
I'm bringing home a baby dinosaur
Tromp! Tromp! Tromp! Tromp!

Allosaurus
(Tune:"Alouette")

Allosaurus,
Pachycephalosaurus, Apatosaurus,
Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Stegosaurus,
Trachodon,
Triceratops,
Pteranodon.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs,
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs, oh....
Allosaurus,
Pachycephalosaurus, Apatosaurus,
Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Colorful Dinosaurs

1 red
1 blue
1 green dinosaur
1 orange
1 yellow
1 white dinosaur
1 pink
1 brown
1 black dinosaur
9 dinosaurs in all

1 big, 2 big, 3 big dinosaurs,
4 big, 5 big, 6 big dinosaurs,
7 big, 8 big, 9 big dinosaurs,
10 big dinosaurs!

They all lived a long, long time ago.
They all lived a long, long time ago.
They all lived a long, long time ago.
Now there are no more.

Tyrannosaurus Rex
(Tune: "Mary Had A Little Lamb")

Dinosaurs walked on this earth,
On this earth, on this earth,
Dinosaurs walked on this earth,
A long, long time ago.

Tyrannosaurus Rex was king,
Was the king, was the king,
Tyrannosaurus Rex was king
A long, long time ago.

Tyrannosaurus (child's name) was king,
Was the king, was the king,
Tyrannosaurus (child's name) was king,
A long, long time ago.

The Dinosaur Song

Dinosaurs lived long ago,
Long ago, long ago.
Dinosaurs lived long ago,
And now they are extinct.

Tyronnosaurus was a carnivore,
carnivore, carnivore.
Tyronnosaurus was a carnivore,
And he ate only meat.

Apatosaurus was a herbivore,
Herbivore, herbivore.
Apatosaurus was a herbivore,
And he ate only plants

Dino-Pokey
(Tune: "The Hokey Pokey")

You put your claws in,
You take your claws out,
You put your claws in,
And you scratch 'em all about.
You do the dino pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!

Additional Verses:
feet in
feet out
stomp them all about

teeth in
teeth out
chomp them all about

tail in
tail out
wag it all about

I'm a Mean Old Dinosaur (Tune:"I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a mean old dinosaur,
(Make a mean frown.)
Big and tall.
(Reach wide and high.)
Here is my tail
(Point to imaginary tail.)
And here is my claw.
(Curl fingers on hands.)
When I get all hungry,
(Rub tummy.)
I just growl.
(Growl the word "growl" with hands around mouth.)
Look out kids–
(Reach out arms.)
I'm on the prowl!
(Lunge left and right.)

Shared Reading


Dinosaur Roar!
by Paul and Henrietta Stickland
Scholastic Big Book

Day 1: Using the big book look at each page with the students allowing them to make predictions about the story, sometimes focusing on one word and using the beginning letter and picture clues to guess the word. Read the story following the print. Look for the word dinosaur on each page. After the story is read explain dinosaur begins with Dd and brainstorm together other words that begin with the same sound. Trace the letters and cut out pictures of words that begin with Dd. Pictures already prepared may be sorted by beginning sound or small objects may be sorted into clear tubs labeled with a beginning sound.

Day 2:Re-read Dinosaurs Roar!, still following the print with your finger or a small pointer, this time listening for words that rhyme. The students can clap when they hear two words that rhyme. List the rhyming pair on the board. After the story allow students to add other rhyming words to each pair. Students can come to the board and circle the letters that are the same in each word. Have the students sort picture cards this time by grouping pictures that rhyme together.

Day 3:Re-read Dinosaurs Roar! allowing students to supply the rhyming word on each page (cloze procedure). Also, have students take turns pointing to the words as you read on each page. Discuss reading top to bottom, left to right, cover, title, author, and illustrators. Students can make dinosaur masks or paper bag puppets and act out the story.

Day 4:Read the big book again and have students dictate a story modeled on this story premise using a different animal or child. Write it on chart paper and let students help spell by the letters for sounds. Also, have them think of words to rhyme in the new story. As you type the story on the computer and print it out have student groups illustrate a page of the new story.

Day 5:Read the big book chorally as a class (most students know it by heart) again having a student follow the print. Read the new class book you've put together with their illustrations. After typing the words for the big book, copy the text in smaller print and cut up for individual books. Students can print their name on as the illustrator and all the students names are listed as authors. Students read each page together and illustrate. This book is taken home to read to their family.

Little Readers

"BIG!"

The students each get two simple dinosaur blacklines, possibly "long neck"--brachiosaurus.
One blackline must be larger for the 'effect'.Students color both dinosaurs. The larger dino will be cut up by the student in accordance with the text written on the page. The appropriate body part will be glued on the correct page.

The Pages:

1. Big feet. (student glues dino feet)
2. Big tail. (student glues tail)
3. Big neck. (student glues neck)
4. Big head. (student glues head)
5. Big body. (student glues body)
6. Big appetite (child draws or glues a picture of a tree)
7. Little brain. (student glues a dried pea)
8. Big word! (student glues smaller dino picture, and either stamps or cuts the letters out in square blocks to spell and glue d-i-n-o-s-a-u-r)

The Cover:

The cover could be any color. Title: "Big Parts", "Big Things", or just plain "Big!". The title could be run off in sentence strips which the students could glue on. They could decorate with dinosaur stamps or stickers, or making dinosaur tracks. The "marker" is a popsicle stick with a dinosaur sticker glued to one end.

Weighing Dinosaurs
Be sure to put dinos in the same area as your balance or scale. Our kids get a kick out of how many objects it takes to balance one of our larger dinos.

Dino Sorting
 Have pictures of dinosaurs along with plastic ones, let the children match the plastic dinosaurs to the pictures. 

How Big
Was a Dinosaur?

Using a variety of sources, list some dinosaurs and their lengths on the chalkboard. To help students understand how long the different dinosaurs were, measure their exact lengths with a ball of yarn (in which you have previously tied knots every 5 feet). Count by five's as the yarn is unrolled. Use a yard stick to convert these lengths to yards or feet.

Dino Graphs
and Estimation

Students graph their favorite dinosaurs.
Students estimate plastic dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Food.
A wonderful measurement activity!

1/4 cup dirt (cocoa)
1/2 cup swamp water (milk)
2 cups crushed bones (sugar)
1/2 cup fat (butter)
2 cups grass (oatmeal)
1/2 cup squashed bugs (peanut butter)
Heat the first 4 ingredients to a boil in an electric skillet.  Add "grass."  Remove from heat.  Add "bugs."   Drop by spoonfuls on wax paper.  Yum!!

Dino Prints

Make life sized dinosaur foot prints, and see how many children will fit into it.

Dino Grouping

Have a large selection of plastic dinosaurs in a pile. Have the children work out a way to put these dinosaurs into groups. for example: all the long tails or all the ones with spikes, etc. They can come up with great ideas

How Many Dinosaurs
Will Hatch?
Using plastic Easter eggs, put in a number of small dino figures or construction paper cutouts. Use it as an adding game, a number recognition, or a sorting activity.

Writing Center
Draw a carnivorous dinosaur.  What do carnivorous dinosaurs eat?
Draw an herbivorous dinosaur.  What would he be eating?
Draw your favorite dinosaur.
What would it be like if the dinosaurs hadn't become extinct?
What would you do if you found a giant dinosaur egg in your backyard?

Be A Paleontologist

Students use toothpicks to "excavate" chocolate chips from Chips Ahoy cookies.  They record the number of chips on a class data chart.

Dino Skeleton

Provide the children with an outline of a dino. They glue on macaroni to resemble the dino skeleton

Find Them
Dino Bones! 

Bury small dinos in the sand table for them to find. You can also find plastic bones for them to hunt, too.

Wordasaurus Box

Using index cards, put words learned during
the unit. These can be used for matching, alphabetizing, etc.

Quia Games

Try this online matching game to brighten up your computer center!
Dinosaur Matching
Online Game

Stuffed Dinosaurs

 For each child cut two dinosaur shapes out of brown paper bags or brown butcher paper.  Have the children hold their shapes together while you staple together around three sides.  Then let them crumple small pieces of newspaper and stuff them into their dinosaur shapes.  When the shapes are full, staple the remaining sides closed.  Let the children decorate their stuffed dinosaurs with paint.  When the dinosaurs shapes are dry, attach loops of yarn to them and hang around the room. Variation: Punch  holes around the edges of the pairs of dinosaurs and let the children lace together with yarn.

Build A
Box-O-Saurus

Is there a dinosaur in your home or classroom? No? Then why not make one-or even two! Use all kinds of empty containers-egg cartons, cereal boxes,toothpaste boxes, etc. Look through some library books about dinosaurs.Then choose a box that looks most like its body.For a head and tail, cut boxes at angles. Glue another piece of the box or heavy paper over the opening. Glue the boxes together in your dinosaur's shape. Egg carton sections are great  for making spikes on a stegosaurus or the horns of a triceratops. When the glue has dried cover the dinosaur with a layer of paste and newspaper or paint it with gesso (found in art supply stores). Paint and add construction paper eyes and other features.

Dino Scene Display

Tape butcher paper to wall. Using a black marking pen, draw large landscape objects, such as palm trees, volcano, rocks, and water pool. Allow small groups of students to take turns coloring or painting the mural. Let them add 3-D fronds to the palm trees. Using available art supplies such as yarn,glitter,tissue paper, cotton, cellophane- ask students to create foliage such as ferns,grass, wet areas, and volcanic smoke. Use this display as the focal point for the Dinosaur theme.

Dinosaur Crowns

Cut sponges into shapes of Tyrannosaurus dinosaur footprints. Fold paper towels in half and place them in shallow containers. Pour a small amount of brown tempera paint on top of each towel. Give the children crowns cut out of construction paper. Let the children cover their crowns with dinosaur footprints by pressing the sponge stamps first into the paint and then onto their papers. When the paint has dried, write "Tyrannosaurus (child's name)" on the front of each crown.

Textured Dinosaurs

When learning about dinosaurs, we discuss the fact that no one really knows what the skin of a dinosaur was like since we only have fossils remaining today. Have the children use their imagination by using textured items to create dinosaur "skins".

Lay buttons, feathers, etc. under a picture of dinosaur and use the flat edge of crayons to rub the top of them. What's left is a textured picture-perfect dinosaur. Cut them out and mount them on construction paper to display in the hallway.

Tyrannosaurs Rex
Necklace

 Give each child a piece of wax paper and playdough about the size of an orange. Have each child make about three to six dinosaur teeth, the thicker the tooth the less chance of breakage. With a pencil the children can poke a hole in the top of each tooth. Place the completed teeth on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 F for 40 minutes. When cool, have the children string them onto a piece of yarn (tooth, knot, tooth..) Make sure the necklace can slip over the child's head and knot the ends together.

BAKERS PLAYDOUGH....2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water. Knead until smooth. Put in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until needed.

Tyrannosaurus Rex
Snouts

You'll need:
Scissors
Tape
Plastic foam or paper cup with bottom removed
Four 2 1/2 inch pieces of rick rack or zig zag pieces of material or construction paper
Two 24 inch pieces of yarn

1) Starting at the bottom of the cup cut 1 wedge out of the cup. This is 1 side of the mouth. Cut another wedge out of the cup on the side opposite the first wedge.
2) For the teeth tape rick rack to the outer edges of the mouth. Decorate the snout anyway you like.
3) Tie a piece of yarn to each corner of the mouth. Put the snout up to your nose and tie the yarn around your head.

Pasta Fossils
You need:

Potting Soil
White Glue
Misc. Macaroni
Zip-Lock Bag
Paper or Plastic Plate
Foam Brush

Instructions:

Put macaroni into a zip-lock bag and close. Break up macaroni by stepping on the bag. With hands, mix several tablespoons of glue into 1½ cups of potting soil. Continue adding glue until dirt holds together. Mold into a ball.

Press out soil ball on plate to 1/2" thick. Arrange macaroni pieces on soil to look like a dinosaur skeleton. Press pieces in. Brush a coat of white glue over entire surface. Let dry overnight. Remove from plate.

Dinosaur Poetry

Use this poem to help the children write their own dinosaur poems.
If I were a dinosaur,
A Donaldsaur I'd be.
I'd have a thick hide, a humongous tail
, And lots of flat brown teeth.
I would chase the Compsognathus,
And rip the leaves from the trees.
But since I'm not a dinosaur,
I'm happy to be me!

If I were a dinosaur, A child's name + -saur I'd be.
I'd have _____________and ____________,
And ________________________ teeth.
I would ________________________,
And ______________________trees.
But since I'm not a dinosaur, I'm happy to be me!  

Edible Dinos

Half the fun of this project is in the eating! With very little fuss on your part, you can involve the children in a creative project that will bring on the giggles and will taste delicious! Before doing this activity, assemble the goodies-marshmallows,thin pretzels, raisins, cheese snacks, small candy, and any other edibles that would be suitable for this activity. Place some in a paper bowl for each child. Along with these items include plastic mixer straws (short, narrow ones used to stir coffee). Have each child create a dinosaur by sticking marshmallows together with straws and pretzel sticks. When done they could make up a name for their dinosaur creations. Then they can eat and enjoy

Fossil Dough

The highlight of our dinosaur unit for my kids is making their own fossils. I mix up a huge batch of "fossil dough" for this project using the following recipe:

2 1/2 c. flour
2 1/2 c. used coffee grounds
1 1/2 c. salt
1 c. sand
up to 1 c. water

How to make it:
Mix coffee grounds, salt, and sand. Gradually stir in water until mixture holds together. Use as little water as possible to speed drying process. The more water you use, the longer it takes to dry. This recipe is good because when dry, the fossil looks like a rock.

I place a heaping spoonful on a paper plate and let the kids flatten it into a hamburger patty type shape. I let them pull a plastic dinosaur out of a bag (so it is a surprise) and place it gently on top of the fossil patty. Then I instruct them to press down on it so that it imprints into the dough.

The fossils take 4-5 days to completely dry. I let the dinos sit in the dough while they dry so that the imprint doesn't collapse. The result? Dino-riffic fossils!

Carnivores
and Herbivores

Read and pronounce each dinosaur name, discussing its' physical characteristics.   Sort plastic models or picture cards into two groups:  meat eating and plant eating.  Introduce the "scientific names" for meat eaters (carnivores) and plant eaters (herbivores).  Students then complete a book titled:

My Dinosaur Book
Pages 1:& 2.
A  ________ (name a carnivore) eats _________.
Pages 3.& 4.
A _________ (name an herbivore) eats  _________.


Students fill in the blanks and draw an appropriate dinosaur.  They  may copy the dinosaur names from classroom resources.

Dino Eggs

You need enough hard boiled eggs for everyone in your class. Have children bang hard-boiled eggs on table the making cracks in them, but not removing the shell at all. Put them in a cup of water and choice of food coloring. Let sit for the day. For snack, open up the egg shell and you can see neat designs from the cracks and food coloring. Exciting and Yummy!!

Zoom Dinosaurs

Dino Russ' Lair