Back to School with Everything Dinosaur
It is the start of the new academic year and Everything Dinosaur team members like lots of teachers and teaching assistants, are busy finalising plans for the upcoming autumn term.
Many primary schools are kicking off their Reception (Foundation Stage Two) and Key Stage One schemes of work with a dinosaur themed term topic. Topic areas such as “Jurassic Forest” and “Dinosaur Planet” can be linked to core elements of the national curriculum such as English to help the pupils develop an understanding of non-chronological reports and non-fiction writing, whereas, in science, the topic area can link to work exploring carnivores, herbivores, omnivores and food webs.
Everything Dinosaur Making Preparations for the Autumn Term
Dinosaur fossils have been found all over the world, studying prehistoric animals can assist with the children learning about the world’s continents and oceans, helping to support geography teaching in schools.
The Art and Design element of the curriculum can be included by challenging the children to use drawings and paintings of prehistoric animals to help them develop their imagination and to share their ideas. Lots of different resources such as pasta shapes, straws, stencils and charcoal can be used in creative art and design projects to help the children learn more about the properties of different materials.
Prehistoric Animals Helping to Support the Art and Design Elements of the Curriculum
Picture Credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Creative Curriculum – History
Learning about events beyond living memory by studying the time of the dinosaurs – the Triassic, Jurassic and the Cretaceous geological periods. The science element can further be supported by incorporating how and why palaeontologists study fossils. Learning about fossils can provide a real sense of discovery at the heart of the term topic.
Historical figures can be introduced, such as learning about the life and contribution to science made by Mary Anning, a fossil collector and amateur palaeontologist from Dorset (southern England).
Studying the Life and Works of Mary Anning Dove-tails into the History Section of the National Curriculum
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Dinosaurs as a term topic provides lots of important “touch points” to the curriculum. Furthermore, such an exciting and challenging topic area can really help young learners to settle down and to make good progress as they start the new school year.
For further information about Everything Dinosaur’s work in schools and outreach work: Email Everything Dinosaur.
Please remember to include the name and postcode of your school, plus, it would be helpful if you could let us know the age of the children.
Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.