Teacher's Guide for ODYSSEY^TM What is a Dinosaur?

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      Summary
      Skills

"Not Everything Big and Dead Is a Dinosaur!", pg. 6

• Paleontologists draw clear distinctions between dinosaurs and reptiles. Dinosaurs descended from archosaurs, and cladistics reveals the unique characteristics that related groups share. A sidebar (pg. 8) reviews the eras of geological history. Another sidebar (pg. 9) shows how to construct a cladogram.
• Vocabulary, Classification and Categorization

• If crocodiles are cold-blooded and birds are warm-blooded, what were the dinosaurs? It's a question for scientists and students alike. Evidence and argument support more than two plausible answers.
• Interpretation of Evidence, Logical Analysis

• Are dinosaurs extinct, or do they visit backyard bird feeders today? Although most experts are convinced that birds evolved from dinosaurs, some disagree. This article reviews some of the arguments on both sides. A sidebar (pg. 16) details unanswered questions about dinosaurs.
• Processes of Science, Inductive Reasoning

• If you have ever been tempted to play with your food, here's your chance! Create pudding-and-cookie "fossil digs" for friends and observe their success as high-calorie paleontologists.
• Following Directions, Data Recording and Interpretation

• Modern movies use technology to create believable images of dinosaurs, but technology can do much more than special effects. Computerized tomography (CT) scans, computer modeling, and the Global Positioning System help scientists learn how dinosaurs moved, hunted, and lived.
• Applications, Deductive Reasoning

• Fossil finds reveal details of the Earth's geologic history. Discoveries in Madagascar support theories of plate tectonics and the movements of continents. A sidebar (pp. 28-29) tells how scientists have tried to "give something back" to the people of northwest Madagascar.
• Inductive Reasoning, Ethics and Values

• Paleontologist Paul Sereno tells why and how he organizes dinosaur-hunting expeditions around the globe. He discusses his ideas about dinosaur evolution and the fossil record. A sidebar (pp. 32-33) describes Sereno's 1997 expedition to Niger.
• Processes of Science, Systematic Problem-Solving

• Although rare, fossilized eggs and embryos provide information that fossils from adult animals cannot. One find gave scientists an idea of what dinosaur skin looked like.
• Inductive Reasoning, Web Research

• When paleontologists construct dinosaur models from skeletal evidence, they must make assumptions. Assumptions sometimes lead to errors. It's part of the scientific process.
• Inductive Reasoning, Hypothesis Testing

• Shureice Kornegay describes her adventures while fossil hunting with Paul Sereno. (See "People to Discover," pg. 30.) Learn more about Sereno's Project Exploration on the Web site.
• Processes of Discovery, Science as a Human Enterprise

• September gives us the Harvest Moon and the autumnal equinox. The moonless skies near the end of the month allow sunset views of Venus and Mercury, late-night sightings of Jupiter and Saturn, and an early morning look at Mars.
• Following Directions, Observation

1. What is it about dinosaurs that stirs the imagination? What's fact, what's theory, and what's pure fiction? Make lists of ideas to check while reading the magazine.
2. Ask students to share their knowledge of fossils and fossil hunting. If any students have ever visited a site or participated in a hunt, ask them to relate their experiences.

Pg. 24 - "Silent Messengers of Gondwana"

• Talk It Over:
  1. How can a fossil reveal the location of continents 70 million years ago? State the paleontologist's line of inductive reasoning - i.e., use specific information to draw general conclusions.
  2. How would the evolution of a species be different if all its members remained geographically together - as opposed to the separation of two or more subgroups that occurs when continental plates move apart?
• Connections:
  1. Creative Arts: Divide a poster into six parts and draw maps of the world during six eras of geologic history. (See sidebar, pg. 8.) Use up-to-date books on geology and earth science or the Web sites of reliable sources for research.
  2. Creative Writing: Turn the story of the Madagascar expedition into a journal written by one of the team members. Or, if you prefer, write from the point of view of a villager observing the scientists at work.
  3. History / Geology: Study maps of Earth's geologic history. (See #1.) Find out when animals and plants lived together in areas that are distant today. Identify times and places where continents separated and organisms evolved along different lines.
• Student Assessment:
  1. In two or three paragraphs, explain how the scientists working in Madagascar connected paleontology with geology. Define both terms in your essay.
  2. Most scientific expeditions are supported by grants from private foundations or public agencies. Let the class play the role of a grant review board. Make a speech to the board requesting funds to help the people living near your research site. Make your request specific and your arguments clear and convincing.

pg. 14 - "Soar With the 'Saurs"

• Talk It Over:
  1. A great deal is known about both dinosaurs and birds, yet scientists continue to disagree about their evolutionary relationship. How does that happen? Is it "good science"? Why or why not?
  2. As many as 90 percent of the dinosaurs that once roamed planet Earth remain undiscovered and unnamed today. In your opinion, what - if anything - might future fossil finds add to present knowledge? What evidence do you think would end the dinosaur-bird debate?
• Connections:
  1. Graphic Arts: Visit the Web sites mentioned in the article. Draw side-by-side sketches of an extinct theropod and a modern bird. Label the structures in each that suggest a relationship and a shared evolutionary history.
  2. History: Construct a time line from the 1800s to today, showing significant events in the bird-theropod debate. Use the Web and other reference materials to add details to your timeline.
  3. Spoken Arts: Prepare arguments and conduct a debate on the premise that birds descended from dinosaurs. Organize teams - pro and con - and vote to decide which presents the most persuasive argument.
• Student Assessment:
  1. What might modern birds reveal about their dinosaur ancestors? Present a two-minute speech to the class that begins, "If birds descended from dinosaurs, then dinosaurs might have . . . "

"That dinos and birds could flock"

Small-Group, Whole-Class Project: If the Olympics were held during the age of dinosaurs, which species would compete as the fastest? The biggest? The most efficient predator? Working in teams of two or three students, research candidate dinosaur species and select an entrant for each event. Accompany drawings of each species you nominate with an "Up Close and Personal" biography. Collect pictures and essays for a "Dinosaur Olympics" bulletin board.

"Is enough to give me mind-lock."

Individual or Small-Group Activity: Ask students - working alone or in groups - to compare recent books about dinosaurs with similar volumes that are more than 10 years old. Compile lists of new fossil finds and shifts in expert opinion. For a special twist on this activity, rent a dinosaur movie from the 1950s and compare it to a more recent effort such as "Jurassic Park" or "Dinosaur." Report your findings to the class.

"But that seagulls and starlings could be dinosaur darlings"

Whole-Class Project: Review the articles in the issue as well as other research sources to create a history of dinosaur debates. Find information on past disagreements among experts. Detail opposing views in charts or posters. Create a bulletin board titled "When Dino Diggers Disagree."

"Would never have shocked Alfred Hitchcock."

Community Connection: Contact a natural history or science museum. Arrange a visit to the museum, invite a speaker to class, or schedule a teleconference. Ask a museum representative to explain the behind-the-scenes work that readies fossils for public view. Discuss the research that precedes the construction of an exhibit.

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Updated: 9/7/08 06:39 pm
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