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The Life and Death of Dinosaurs
A Web Quest for 4th Grade
Designed by
Reid Welker, Sean Hanson, Nicole Kosbab, and Megan Owings
welk0024@d.umn.edu, hans0283@d.umn.edu,
kosb0003@d.umn.edu, owin0004@d.umn.edu
Tyrannosaurus or T-Rex
http://www.yahooligans.com/content/science/dinosaurs/t.html
Introduction:
What would it have been like to live with the dinosaurs? Dinosaurs lived
65 million years ago when the world was a different place. Your mission
is to go back into time as a dinosaur and try to understand how they lived
and come up with your own theory on how they could have survived. Imagine
you are a dinosaur walking through the forest trying to find your next meal
and and passing all the other dinosaurs. So dinosaurs, lets begin our exploration:
Task:
- How did the you survive 65 million years ago and what are the theories to explain your extinction?
- Research facts on yourself ( type of dinosaur)
- Look at the many theories explaining the extinction of the dinosaurs
- Choose the theory that is the most believable
- Use the facts about yourself to figure out a way you could have survived
Process:
1. After being placed in groups of four, you will be assigned to be one of the four dinosaurs.
2. Individually find facts about your dinosaur by using the links given and books from the media center. Once you have found the facts, write an informative paragraph about yourself. Make sure to write from the dinosaurs perspective.
- When did you live?
- What did you eat?
- What other dinosaurs lived at the same time?
- What kind of environment did you live in?
- What was your form of protection?
Here are some resources that will help you in finding your fascinating facts:
Write an informative paragraph about what your life is like as a dinosaur. You must imagine that you are the dinosaur, so be creative when explaining your life as an amazing dinosaur. You must include the information you found in answering the questions from above and other interesting facts that you found during your research. You will use this paragraph when you meet with the other dinosaurs of your type to come up with a short fascinating fact presentation for the kindergarten.
3. Individually research the theories of dinosaur extinction and record at least four theories. Once you have done the research, write a paragraph that explains what theory you believe to be true and why.
Here are resources you can use to find theories on how the dinosaurs became extinct.
Once you have researched at least four theories, decide what theory you believe is true. Write a paragraph describing the theory you believe is true and give your personal reasons why you chose this theory.
4. Meet with all the dinosaurs of your type; for example, all the Tyrannosaurus will meet together, and discuss all the fascinating facts you found about your dinosaur. Plan a presentation on your dinosaur for the kindergarten class. Each group must turn in one copy of the facts that are going to be presented to the kindergartners.
Presentation needs to include:
- Introduction of your dinosaur
- Each student stating a fact on the dinosaur
- A giant picture of the your dinosaur that you will create in your group. Decide on a name for your dinosaur that the kindergartners. will enjoy. Paper, crayons, and markers will be provided.
- Presentations will only be 3-5 minutes
5. Meet with your classmates that agreed on the same theory of extinction that you did and plan a presentation on the theory that you will be presenting to your fourth grade class. Each group must turn in one copy of the information that will be presented.
Presentation needs to include:
- Introduction of the theory
- Each student must say at least one key point of the theory
- Presentations will only be 3-5 minutes
6. Present all the amazing information to the kindergartners. and your fourth grade class.
Evaluation:
Rubric based upon individual effort
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
Score |
|
| Informative
Paragraph on Assigned Dinosaur |
-Very limited details -shows little effort -shows limited understanding of dinosaur |
-limited details -more effort apparent -displays more understanding of assigned dinosaur |
-detailed facts -shows effort in writing -shows extensive knowledge of dinosaur |
/3 |
| Paragraph on Personal Extinction
Theory |
-Very limited details -shows little effort -shows limited understanding of theories |
-limited details -more effort apparent -displays more understanding of theory |
-detailed facts -shows effort in writing -shows extensive knowledge of theory |
/3 |
| Participation in Group
Time |
-no involvement in group discussion -withdrawn -no input in drawing |
-little involvement in group discussions -very little input in drawing |
-some factual input -added some input into drawing |
/3 |
| Group Presentations |
-did not present information with much emphasis -presentation not factual -not very interested in presenting |
-showed little emotion in presentation -little fact in presentation |
-showed some emotion in presentation -some fact in presentation |
(x*2) /6 |
| Total |
/15 |
Conclusion:
Your exploration as a dinosaur has only begun. We might never know why the dinosaurs became extinct, but you as a dinosaur should keep researching and modify your extinction theory as any new evidence is discovered. Maybe all that you have learned will lead you into a career further researching these fascinating dinosaurs.
Resources and Credits:
See links above for documentation.