Preschoolers will celebrate Dinosaur Day and will make an experiment with measuring, which will show them the huge sizes of dinosaurs. They will take part in other math activities – they will practice classifying by a specific feature, sorting by size, recounting and comparing the number of collections. They will make a dinosaur out of paper and cartons.

Materials:

a song entitled ‘Hello Song For Children’, meter, string, scissors, picture cards with dinosaurs compared to various things, a movie with dinosaurs from the smallest to the largest compared to human, drum, rattle, picture cards with dinosaurs in various sizes, a song entitled ‘Doin’ Dinosaur Moves’, worksheets entitled ‘From the smallest to the largest’, crayons, blue napkins, grey paper, cartons, tape, double sided tape, watercolors, brushes, tissue-paper, colorful papers, straws, a song entitled ‘Dinosaur Hokey-Pokey’.

Activity description:

1. ‘Hello Song For Children’ – greeting with children – children stand with their teacher in a circle and try to sing a song entitled ‘The greetings song’. They imitate gestures that are shown by their teacher.

Hello everybody, how are you today? (teacher waves to children)
It’s time to move your body and learn and play (everybody dances)
Hello to my teacher, how are you today? (children wave to the teacher)
I am going to listen to what you say (they show their ears)
Hello to my friends, how are you today? (everybody waves to each other)
I am going to share my toys with you today (show your hands)
Shake your head ‘yes’ (shake head to down and up)
Shake your head ‘no’ x2 (shake head from side to side)
Shake your head ‘yes’ (shake head to down and up)
Shake your head ‘no’ x2 (shake head from side to side)
Lift your arms up (lift your arms ups)
Put your arms down (put your arms down)
Lift your arms up and shake it all about (lift your arms up and shake it)
Again, up
Put your arms down (put your arms down)
Lift your arms up and shake it all about (lift your arms up and shake it)
Bend to the left, bend to the right (bend to the left and right)
Bend to the left, bend to the right (bend to the left and right)
Hello everybody, how are you today? (teacher waves to children)
It’s time to move your body and learn and play (everybody dances)
Hello to my teacher, how are you today? (children wave to a teacher)
I am going to listen to what you say (they show their ears)
Hello to my friends, how are you today? (everybody waves to each other)
I am going to share my toys with you today (show your hands)
I hope everybody will have a good day (show your thumbs up)

2. ‘How big were dinosaurs?’ – math activity – teacher asks children: ‘How big were tyrannosaurus/triceratops/ stegosaurus?’, ‘Do you imagine what have the same size as dinosaurs?’ Next, teacher shows them picture cards with dinosaurs compared to various things. He/she places a meter and informs the group that they will measure the length of dinosaurs from the smallest like velociraptor/mononykus to the largest like brontosaurus/diplodocus. Next, teacher invites them one by one and they measure the length by string, next they cut it and spread it in two directions until the string is stretched – the places of children are ‘the beginning’ and ‘the end’ of a dinosaur. If you can’t stretch the string longer, you can measure the string, write a name of a dinosaur and do it outside e.g. on a walk/playground/ in the park.

*  If we can, we present the movie with dinosaurs from the smallest to the largest compared to human.

3. ‘Small and big dinosaurs’ – movement activity – children move in the preschool room like big dinosaurs (walk slowly with heavy steps) when teacher plays a drum. They walk like small dinosaurs – small steps, on tiptoes – when teacher plays on a rattle. Repeat this activity 6 times.

4. ‘Big, bigger, the biggest’ – math activity – teacher places on the carpet the picture cards with dinosaurs in various sizes. Next, teacher asks children to group them and place in each group from the smallest to the largest. Remind children about using the words: small, smaller, the smallest, big, bigger, the biggest, etc. They count and compare the groups of dinosaurs.

5. ‘Dinoland’ – didactic and movement activity – teacher gives away the picture cards with dinosaurs from the activity before. Children move in the preschool room to a song entitled ‘Doin’ Dinosaur Moves’. During a break in the music, they form groups as instructed by their teacher e.g. with the one type of a dinosaur in each group, with each dinosaur of a different kind in each group or that children line up from the smallest to the largest dinosaur of the same kind. Repeat this activity 5-6 times.

6. ‘From the smallest to the largest’ – worksheet – teacher talks over how to make a worksheet (match dinosaurs with a line from the smallest to the largest and color them). Next, teacher asks children to go to the tables and gives away the worksheets. During the work, teacher walks between tables, helps children if they need it. Finally, children sit in a circle and name the dinosaurs.

7. ‘Ichthyosaurs’ – breathing and movement activity – teacher gives away to children blue napkins. Children – ‘ichthyosaurs’ – take a lot of air through the nose when they rise above the water – reveal the napkin. Then, they blow it out with their mouth underwater – cover their face with the napkin – and blow it enough to make it float. Continue it for about 1.5 minutes.

8. ‘Big dinosaur’ – artwork – teacher talks over the artwork (determine what dinosaur you want to create, construct the skeleton from cartons, form on the skeleton grey paper – construct the individual parts of the dinosaur, paint it with watercolors, create claws with twisted tissue-paper, cut teeth, eyes and nostrils with colorful papers and stick them to the dinosaur). Next, teacher invites children to the place, where are art supplies for this artwork. After the work, children clean up, sit in the circle on the carpet and discuss their workgroup – what they liked, what they are dissatisfied with, what they would like to change, etc.

* It is good to do dinosaurs by other groups – we would like to do ‘Dinoland’ for example in the dressing room.

9. ‘Pterosaurs’ – movement and breathing activity – teacher gives away straws – ‘pterosaurs beaks’. Children walk in the preschool room with straws in their mouths. When they breathe in, they lift their hands up. When they breathe out, they put their hands down. Continue it for about 1.5 minutes.

10. ‘Dinosaur Hokey-Pokey’ – singing the song – teacher during the song makes the correct gestures. Children imitate them and try to sing the song.

Attachments:

Picture cards with dinosaurs in various sizes for the ‘Big, bigger, the biggest’ and ‘Dinoland’ activities

Worksheet entitled ‘From the smallest to the largest’

Pages used:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqDEwPi7vxg&ab – a song entitled ‘Hello Song For Children’
2. https://www.businessinsider.com/dinosaur-size-comparison-chart-2015-6?IR=T – picture cards with dinosaurs compared to human
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRiecAmGWHU – a movie with dinosaurs from the smallest to the largest compared to human
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pkTz1X67wA&ab – a song entitled ‘Doin’ Dinosaur Moves’ to the activity ‘Dinoland’
5. https://mojedziecikreatywnie.pl/2016/03/dinozaury-z-papieru/ – an idea for the ‘Big dinosaur’ artwork
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26LGKmtnwQw – show the gesture and the similar song entitled ‘Dinosaur Hokey-Pokey’