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Short Summary
Description
The Dinosaur Discovery Park is a Project-Based Learning Activity for Grades 4-7 that incorporates science, design and entrepreneurship.
Objective: Students learn about dinosaurs, the Jurassic period, and the Mesozoic era as well as learn design, math, critical thinking, and project management skills. Students learn about dinosaurs, the Jurassic period, and the Mesozoic era as well as learn design, math, critical thinking, and project management skills.
Motivating question: What would a Dinosaur Discovery Park look like and how can we make it fun, educational, and interactive?
Learning outcomes: This is a PBL project designed to integrate science, ELA, writing, design and planning, art, geometry, critical thinking, growth mindset and entrepreneurship.
Project Activity pages:
- Planning and Design - Brainstorming
- Need to Know - Questions
- Choose your Activities
- Scavenger Hunt
- Dino Selection and Habitat
- About my Dinosaur
- Mesozoic Era Timeline
- Activities Descriptions
- Sketching it Out - activity drawings
- Add Your Own - innovative activity
- Map Design Checklist
- Key to your Map
- Park Design
- Park Map
- Business Profile
- Dino Park Brochure
- How's Business?
- Making a Profit
- Oh no! What will I do? Facing Challenges
- Reflections
- Final Projects
There are 25 project pages and 20 activities which can be printed and organized into a binder or stapled together. Several of the activities can be kept, modified or excluded depending on class time and focus. Students can use the internet, textbooks, maps, and their peers as resources to complete the project.
Each student will complete a unique project which they can present so that others can learn from their discoveries. Colored pencils, markers, crayons are great resources for decorating each sheet!
Student decision-making: Students choose which activities to include, which dinosaur exhibits, and design their own park.
Student Inquiry: Students research facts about dinosaurs and the time period, habitats, adaptations, food chains.
Feedback/revisions: students will offer suggestions on the project, what went well, what was difficult, what was most interesting, and what else they still want to learn.
Students will have an opportunity for self-guided inquiry to research anything else about dinosaurs they didn’t learn in the first round.
Published product: Students will have the choice to produce an infographic about either the Jurassic period, dinosaur food chains, adaptations or write a short story featuring dinosaur characters.
Any or all of the pages in the pdf file can be printed and used for students across a wide range of ages/skills, or collaboratively with kids of different ages. For example, younger kids may focus more on the design and exploration of the Jurassic period while older kids may also include the business plan and profit margin aspects of the project.
Depending on your student’s needs, there are several pages of scaffolding information, including vocabulary, facts, reading list, weblinks. Scaffolding can be done at any stage throughout the project as needed.
Total Pages: 44 pages
Answer Key: N/A
Project Duration: approximately 3 Weeks
