Alt. 4 (K-3)
| Field of Experience: | Animals |
| Topic to be developed: | Habitats: Dinosaurs |
| Experiential Goal: | To prepare a diorama depicting the type of habitat that existed during the age of dinosaurs. |
| Suggested Steps: | |
| 1. | Read the story, Bruno le Brontosaure. |
| 2. | Using puppets (patterns for a brontosaurus and a tyrannosaurus can be found in Dimoitou 2, Volume 1) introduce the terms "brontosaure" and "tyrannosaure". Have the students point out the differences between the two dinosaurs (their teeth in particular - "des dents plattes et des dents pointues"). Ask if they know why there is a difference and lead them toward the type of food each eats. (les plantes et la viande). |
| 3. | Introduce the terms, "herbivore" and "carnivore". Have them give examples of present day animals which fit both groups (eg. une vache/un lion). |
| 4. | Have the students classify each dinosaur according to herbivore/carnivore. |
| 5. | Discuss other characteristics of the different dinosaurs (eg. un long cou, des plaques, des ailes, une voile, deux/quatre pattes). |
| 6. | Have the students classify the dinosaurs according to "deux/quatre pattes" and then have them compare this to their previous lists for herbivore/carnivore. Ask them what they see. (Most herbivores are four footed.) |
| 7. | Students illustrate a dinosaur of their choice and these are displayed on the bulletin board under Herbivore or Carnivore. (An alternative is to use Deux ou Quatre Pattes). |
| 8. | Students in Grade 3 (or parents) can paint a background of lush trees, rivers, mountains, volcanoes, etc. |
| 9. | Ask the students "Pourquoi est-ce que les dinosaures n'existent plus?" Brainstorm ideas such as "le froid, pas de nourriture, un grand météore, etc." Have them illustrate what they think happened and display their pictures on a bulletin board entitled "Les Dinosaures - Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?" |
Post- Activity
Teaching Notes
| Ÿ | If the Grade 3 class has taken French before and is at the stage where the students wish to do some writing, they may complete the booklet that is included. C38-C44 |
| Ÿ | This unit is integrated with an optional unit from the Science Curriculum for Grade 2 and is also tied in with the core unit on habitats for the same grade. In addition, this theme is usually covered at the kindergarten level as well. Because of this integration, the teacher of Core French not only provides the students with a communicative/experiential unit on a topic that interests most students at the primary level but also provides reinforcement of the background knowledge that the student has already acquired (or will acquire) from their study of dinosaurs in English. |
| Ÿ | This goal is the same for all three grades as each one will contribute to the diorama. If the teacher is only teaching one grade then not all activities will necessarily be used. |
Resources |
Lexicon |
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Bruno le Brontosaure, Grumpy Bear Books Les Dinosaures (Je sais LIRE series) from Heritage Jeunesse Daniel et ses dinosaures, Mary Carmine Fun with Dinosaur Stencils, A. G. Smith Kits Bonjour les dinosaures (See Hear Now) Songs "Le rock des dinosaures", Matt Maxwell, Le loup du nord "La danse des dinosaures", Dimoitou 2, Centre Jaune, leçon 3 |
les dinosaures Ÿ tyrannosaure Ÿ brontosaure Ÿ tricératops Ÿ stégosaure Ÿ dimétrodon Ÿ mégalosaure Ÿ albertosaure Ÿ allosaure Ÿ ptéranodon herbivore carnivore plates - les plaques |