Dinosaur Lesson Plan for Reading and Art

Prehistoric Thematic Unit for Preschoolers

Dec 28, 2008

Learning about dinosaurs is fun and interactive with these thematic ideas that focus on reading and art.

Embrace phonics and artistic skills with your preschoolers by introducing some of these fun, interactive and educational activities that revolve around a preschoolers favorite prehistoric animal: the dinosaur!

Dinosaur Reading Activities

Nurturing a child’s love of reading has never been as important as it is in this day and age. Introduce or further your preschoolers learning of phonics with these activities that can be added to with your own imagination.

This is a great song for transition times. "We are the Dinosaurs" by the Laurie Berkner Band

Poster Pocket Games are versatile and thrive on imaginative creation. There are several different variations you could try using with this method. For a simple game, use dinosaur patterns with lower case letters on each. Have upper case letters on the pockets and encourage the children to put the matching dinosaur into the pocket. You can go further with this activity by using eggs instead of dinosaurs, and have the pockets be different species of dinosaurs.

The Magnet Fishing Game is another versatile activity that can be used however your imagination sees fit. Using dinosaur patterns with paper clips, pair them by picture and word. For example, “CAT” on one, with a picture of a cat on the other. Depending on the skill level of your preschoolers, you can simplify it by having both pairs be the same color. Then let the children fish out with a magnet fishing pole and match!

Prior to doing this activity make sure to have read a few of the listed books (or others) to the children so they have a visual idea of what the prehistoric days looked like. Have a page from one of the books opened up for reference when doing this activity. Have them fold construction paper in half (or fold it for them) horizontally. Explain the top half is to be the sky, and the bottom half the land and encourage them to create their own prehistoric scene. Provide dinosaur or tree stamps if desired.

Next, have several paper dinosaur cutouts for the children to pick and color. Tell the children to pick 2 or 3 and encourage them to count without your help. After they have colored the paper cutouts, cut out 2 or 3 (depending on how many dinosaurs they picked) rectangles out of the top half of the paper, leaving the top and bottom of the rectangle connected to the paper (a picture follows this article for visual reference). Glue the dinosaur to the rectangle cut out and you now have a home made pop-up book.

Dinosaur Art Activities

Art isn’t just a way for children to express themselves, but it’s a creative outlet that not only encourages creative thinking, but opens their minds up to a knew way of learning things.

Using Craft Clay and dinosaur stencils (made by hand or bought at a store) let the preschoolers mold his or her own fossil. You can also use this idea to have the children mold a dinosaur egg, then paint for a finishing touch.

Prepare this activity ahead of time. Cut out a few different dinosaur patterns found in the Dinosaur Math and Science Lesson Plan and line them with glue from a hot glue gun. Be sure to do the eyes and mouth, and even the toes. Once dried, children can put a sheet of paper over the finished pattern and do crayon rubbings. Further this with a writing activity, for younger preschoolers have them first sound out the first letter in the species of the pattern and then trace the letter below his or her rubbing.

For more great ideas and activities about Dinosaurs, visit PreK Fun and Perpetual Preschool has some great snack ideas to incorporate with your daily activities.

The copyright of the article Dinosaur Lesson Plan for Reading and Art in Kids Educational Activities is owned by ChristaCarol Jones. Permission to republish Dinosaur Lesson Plan for Reading and Art in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.