Second graders study and make "dinosaurs"

We have been studying dinosaurs for a few weeks and I thought it would be interesting to give my second grade students a chance to see what it is like to be a paleontologist.

First, they had to pick a dinosaur to work with. Then they would have to tell me something about their dinosaur, such as what it looked like, what it ate, how long ago it lived on Earth and any other interesting or fun facts they found about their dinosaur. Next, they had to form their dinosaur out of Play Doh and put it in its natural habitat inside a small box to form a 3-D type Dinorama.

I wasn’t sure what to expect in the beginning, but when they brought their projects in, I was very surprised and very pleased. Most of the students went above and beyond my expectations using real grass, twigs, moss, leaves, and rocks. They all told me they had a great time with this project. They also told me they now know how scientists must feel when they study dinosaurs and that was my point from the beginning.

Steve Campbell
Second grade teacher

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