OBJECTIVES:
Students will know that fossils are useful evidences that some plant and animal life existed on earth many years ago even though they are not here today.
Students will study some conditions that may cause a species to become extinct.
Students will also know that fossils are evidences that dinossaurs used to exist on our planet, earth.
NOTE: EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON THE 1ST OBJECTIVE IN GENERAL AND 2ND OBJECTIVE IN PARTICULAR.
MATERIALS :
Computers with internet access.
Science magazines.
Measuring tape or a 50-foot string.
Adequate space {outside in yard or in the hallway.}
5 empty food bags .
10 White and 10 red head-bands .
1 whistle.
A spacious environment.
MOTIVATIONAL QUESTIONS:
1. Have you seen a dinosaur before? Where?
2. Ask students how many dinosaurs are in existence today?
3. How did we come to know about dinosaurs?
4. What are your suggestions of some factors that are probably responsible for the disappearance of these reptiles.
PROCEDURE I
EXPLORATION OF IDEAS { How big is a dinosaur?}
1. Students make their guess on the size of a dinosaur.
4. Compare the chain to your height.
5. Students will estimate how much food {in calories} a dinosaur may consume daily consideringthe comparison of their height to that of a dinosaur.
PROCEDURE II
SIMULATION OF PREY/PREDATOR RELATIONSHIP {leading to extinction.} .
1. Pick 10 students with red head bands to represent a snake population.
2. Pick 10 students with white head bands to represent a frog population.
3. Pick 5 students with empty food bags to represent a grasshopper population.
4.. Ask students that have food bags (their stomach) to go out and spread out into the field (outdoor) or into the gym floor space (indoor).
5. The students white head bands will follow next spreading out as much as they can.
6. Finally the studnts with the red headbands will carry out the same instruction.
7. At the blow of a whistle, the grashoppers will start to run away from the frogs who will try to snatch their foodbags. As soon as their foodbags are snatched, they die.
8. At the blow of the whistle, all grasshoppers and frogs with no foodbags die and they are out of the game.
9. The whistle is blown again and all snakes will start to hunt for the living frogs.
10. At the blow of the final whistle, all snakes and frogs with no foodbags die leaving only 5snakes remaining from a total population of 25 animals.
11. Ask students to discuss what they think will ahpen to the 5 living snakes after a while and use this to explain what might have been the cause for the disappearance of the Dinosaurs.
PA. DEPT. OF EDUC. ACADEMIC STANDARDS{page 17}:
Have students identify species that became extinct through natural causes and how it all happened.
ASSESSMENT:
1. Students will will be observed as they participate in the activity.
2. Students will each have an individual work forlder or journal which could be checked at any point in time.
3. Students will explain in their own words how dinosaurs disappeared using the knowledge they acquired from the lesson.
THIS PAGE WAS CREATED BY TUNDE ORONTI ON AUGUST 1ST, 2002. DEDICATED TO TINUOLUWA OREDERU.