Materials
Books with pictures of dinosaur skeletons and human skeletons
Small dog bones or treats
Glue
Construction paper, large and small pieces
Markers or crayons
Outline of a dinosaur on paper
Scissors
Instructions
1. Show the children pictures of dinosaur and human skeletons.
2. The children can use blank paper and refer to a completed example of this activity made by you or construction paper with an outline of a dinosaur on it. Those using the blank paper should lay the dog bones on the paper, forming their own outline of a dinosaur.
3. Glue these bones onto the paper.
4. With markers or crayons the children can add more detail to their pictures. Also, if they want to, the children can add additional pieces of colored construction paper for trees, grass, volcanoes, plants, clouds, etc., to enhance their pictures. They can either tear or cut the construction paper for these pieces.
5. Children use the paper with an outline on it in the same fashion as above, except they place the bones on the outline.More to doMore science: Extend this activity by making fossils. Flatten out a small piece of modeling clay on wax paper. Choose an object such as a rock, a nut, a shell, a leaf, a pine cone, a stick or asmall plastic dinosaur and press it into the modeling clay. Gently remove the object and an imprint should remain in the clay. Place this on a small plate for the children to take home. Modeling clay will not completely harden so the child can repeat this process at home with another object. They may find things of interest outside, near their homes. * Show the children a book of common animal tracks. Seeing animal tracks in the mud or snow can help make clear to a child that dinosaurs also left tracks which may have later turned into fossils when they hardened.
