Living Dinosaurs (3-5) Animal Demonstrations At a glance Students visiting the zoo will be introduced to live animals and understand their connection to a common ancestor, dinosaurs. Time requirement One session of 45 minutes. Group size and grades Group size: 8-30 students Grades: 3-5 Materials Dry Erase Markers & Eraser Venn Diagram Poster Venn Diagram Pieces Pictures of dinosaurs, birds, reptiles Bird/Dinosaur bio fact bin 3 live animals (birds and reptiles) Students will understand that dinosaurs have adaptations and relationships in common with some animals alive today. Objectives 1. Students will recognize relationships between birds/reptiles and dinosaurs 2. Students will define fossil, ectothermic, endothermic, respiratory system 3. Students will be able to give examples of adaptations shared between birds/reptiles and dinosaurs Theme Although dinosaurs are extinct, there are animals related to them that exist today Academic standards National Science Educational Standards Benchmarks for Science Literacy (Project 2061) Ohio Science Academic Content Standards Kentucky Core Content Science Indiana Science Standards National Standard 3-4: Characteristics of organisms, Life cycles of organisms, Organisms and environments National Standard 5-8: Structure and function in living systems, Reproduction and heredity, Regulation and Behavior, Populations and ecosystems, Diversity and adaptations of organisms Fossils can be compared to one another and to living organisms according to their similarities and differences. Some organisms that lived long ago are similar to existing organisms, but some are quite different. 5F/E2 LS: 3: Individuals of the same kind differ in their traits and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing. 4: Fossils can be compared to one another and to present day organisms according to their similarities and differences. Changes in an organism's environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful SC-04.3.5.1 Students will use representations of fossils to draw conclusions about the nature of the organisms and the basic environments that existed at that time; make inferences about the relationships to organisms that are alive today 3.4.5 Give examples of some kinds of organisms that have completely disappeared and explain how these organisms are similar to some today 5.4.8 Observe that and describe how fossils can be compared to one another and to living organisms according to their similarities and differences
Background: The age when dinosaurs inhabited Earth (about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago) is called the Mesozoic age. The Mesozoic age is divided into three periods, from earliest to latest: the Triassic period, the Jurassic period, and the Cretaceous period. The plants and animals on Earth differed during these three periods. Sixty-five million years ago the last of the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. So too did the giant mosasaurs and plesiosaurs in the seas and the pterosaurs in the skies. Plankton, the base of the ocean food chain, took a hard hit. Many families of brachiopods and sea sponges disappeared. The remaining hard-shelled ammonites vanished. Shark diversity shriveled. Most vegetation withered. In all, more than half of the world's species were obliterated. What caused this mass extinction that marks the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the Paleogene? Scientists have yet to find an answer. The one that does must explain why these animals died while most mammals, turtles, crocodiles, salamanders, and frogs survived. Birds escaped. So did snails, bivalves, sea stars (starfish), and sea urchins. Even hardy plants able to weather climate extremes fared OK. While dinosaurs no longer exist, it appears their relatives are with us today! Birds and reptiles share an ancestry, traits and adaptations that dinosaurs once had. Vocabulary Dinosaur Terrible Lizard Endothermic - Able to maintain a constant, warm body temperature, regardless of external conditions Ectothermic Body temperature varies with the environment Respiratory System- the system in the body that allows us to breathe in oxygen and release carbon dioxide Fossil any remains, impressions or trace of a former living thing (skeletons, footprints, etc) Activity Getting ready Set out a table in the front of the room for materials. Set out several chairs in the back or sides of the room for adults. Crate, cover and take animals to classroom. As the group enters the room, have them sit crosslegged in a circle on the floor. Adults are welcome to join or can sit in the chairs off to the side. Doing the activity Introduce yourself and welcome the group to the zoo. Ask if they have ever been to the zoo before; welcome any new-comers. What is their favorite zoo animal? Does anyone have a favorite dinosaur? Ask students, are dinosaurs still alive today? Maybe not T-Rex, but yes, some modern-day dinos are actually relatives and descendants of dinosaurs from the past. Who can guess what some of these living dinos are? Examples of reptiles and birds are good. We are going to learn about the similarities between today s birds/reptiles and yesterday s dinosaurs. We can guess at some of these similarities because of fossils that dinosaurs left behind. (Pass around biofact fossils).
Spread out pictures of dinosaurs, reptiles and birds on the floor for the group to pass around and observe. Explain that as a group, they will create a Venn diagram or a picture that helps us find what something has in common with something else. Bring out the Venn diagram poster. Ask the class if they understand how Venn diagrams work? Each circle represents a category in this case there is 1 for birds, 1 for reptiles, and 1 for dinosaurs. Place a matching photo in each circle. Dinosaurs Birds Reptiles Explain that where the circles overlap is where we put characteristics that are found in both categories. Give each 2-3 students a card with one fact on it. Each group of 2-3 students will have to decide where that fact will go on the Venn diagram. Does it apply to dinosaurs and birds? How about reptiles and dinosaurs? Maybe all three? Let the students look at the pictures and use your prompting for guidance. *Other modifications for this activity is to give every student in the classroom a card and come up individually to place it on the Venn diagram. **If the group is too rowdy, do not divide into groups. Simply have the class help you decide where to place each card. When the diagram is done, the facts should line up like this: Birds and Dinosaurs: o Endothermic o Similar respiratory systems o Feathers o Fly o Exact same bone structure. Dinosaurs and Reptiles: o Ectothermic o Dry o Scaly skin o Teeth Dinosaurs, Birds, Reptiles: o Lay eggs o Carnivores o Omnivores o Herbivores. Birds and Reptiles: o Alive today Tell the students they are about to meet a few living ancestors of dinosaurs! Before introducing the first animal, talk about how students should behave: stay seated, watch and listen, talk softly, gentle touching. They don t have to touch animals if they don t want to, just say no thank you. Make sure to reiterate the facts from the Venn diagram during the animal presentation and provide more detail for each fact. Birds (Biofacts bird egg, feathers) Birds and dinosaurs both lay eggs Some dinosaurs hypothesized to be endothermic just like birds Based on fossils, birds and dinosaurs may have shared similar respiratory systems A few fossils indicate some dinosaurs developed feathers (not to fly, but more likely to keep warm) Special group of ancient reptiles, pterosaurs (actually not dinosaurs!) could fly like most birds can today
Dinosaurs and birds share almost exact bone structure Reptiles (Biofacts snake shed, lizard shed, snake eggs) Theory is that reptiles are more like cousins to dinosaurs while birds are direct descendants. Crocodilians (alligators, crocodiles, caimans, gharials) are closest relative to birds and dinosaurs Reptiles and dinosaurs lay eggs Reptiles ectothermic and some dinosaurs hypothesized to be ectothermic as well Most dinosaurs had dry, scaly skin like current reptiles Share other interesting facts about the specific species you are demoing. Wrap-up Let s review. What are some shared traits we discussed about birds and dinosaurs? (Clean up the Venn diagram so they repeat them from memory) What about reptiles and dinosaurs? What do the words fossil, endothermic, ectothermic, and respiratory system mean? We learned that even while dinosaurs are gone, their relatives still live on through birds and reptiles! Assessment Unsatisfactory unable to make any comparison Satisfactory able to make one comparison Excellent able to make multiple comparisons
Venn Diagram Characteristic Handouts (already available in classrooms) ECTOTHERMIC (cold blooded) ENDOTHERMIC (warm blooded) SIMILAR RESPRATORY SYSTEMS (breathing) EXACT SAME BONE STRUCTURE DRY, SCALEY SKIN FEATHERS FLY TEETH LAY EGGS CARNIVORES HERBIVORES OMNIVORES ALIVE TODAY