Dinosaurs Are Back!

Can You Believe It?

Dino World Park is trying to gather enough information about dinosaurs so they can bring them back to life in the present day. The problem is that the park can only afford to bring one dinosaur back to life. There were two main forms of dinosaurs, plant-eaters called herbivores and meat-eaters called carnivores. For convenience and public safety, the Dino World Park decided to bring back a plant-eating dinosaur. Your mission is to be one of the scientists who will be sent back to the past to learn more about dinosaurs. Your team of scientists must gather information about a dinosaur and put together a small presentation to convince the Dino World Park Board that your dinosaur would be the best choice.

The Task

Working in groups of four, divide up the task of investigating the dinosaurs. You will be given a few minutes to decide who will do which parts. You will work for one hour, then you'll meet with your group members to share your information and begin work on your presentation. The presentation will be given during your next class. In this presentation you are going to try to convince the Dino World Park Board that your plant-eating dinosaur should be the one they bring back to life.

The Process

Here is what you need to do:

1. Each group should choose one dinosaur to research from the list provided.

2. You will need to write down the answers to the following questions on a sheet of paper. You must use at least two of the sites to answer the questions:

• What does the dinosaur's name mean?
• What type of plant material does the dinosaur eat?
• When did the dinosaur live?
• What does the dinosaur look like?
• Where can the dinosaur be found?
• Does the dinosaur walk on two or four legs?
• Find a picture of the dinosaur.
• Share two new terms that you have learned during your journey. Be sure to include the definitions.

Resources

Here are a list of Websites that you will find useful when searching for information on your plant-eating dinosaur. After each Website listed, you will find a brief description of what you will expect to find in that site.

Dinosaur Printouts - Research Information, Pictures, Diagrams

Dinosaur Fact Files - Research Information, Pictures

Dinosaur Dictionary - Dinosaur Terms Defined

Dinosaur Art - Great Dinosaur Images

Dinosaur Museums - Displays Listed by State

What is a Dinosaur? - General Information

Evaluation

All tasks were accomplished and content is clear--4 points

Appearance of text is readable--2 points

Presentations show creativity--2 points

Each member of the group participated equally--2 points

Conclusion

You did a great job as scientists! I am proud of your hard work when researching your plant-eating dinosaur. I am sure your presentation will be very interesting. I hope you can convince the Dino World Park Board that your dinosaur is worth their hundred million dollar investment.

WebQuest created by Amy McKay-Sluis