Discovering Dinosaurs

Discovering Dinosaurs takes young learners back 230 million years to a world of giants, predators, and extraordinary creatures that ruled the Earth for over 160 million years — longer than any other group of land animals in history. Over four weeks, children explore the science, discoveries, and enduring mysteries of the dinosaur world through rich informational content, engaging activities, and creative projects designed specifically for ages 5–8.

The unit weaves together palaeontology, biology, earth science, reading, and mathematics in a way that feels thrilling and accessible rather than overwhelming. Children discover how fossils form over millions of years, how palaeontologists piece together an entire animal from a handful of bones, how we know dinosaurs had feathers, what the difference is between a carnivore and an herbivore and how we can tell from teeth and claws alone, and what actually caused the mass extinction event 66 million years ago that ended the age of dinosaurs and opened the door to the age of mammals. The science of dinosaurs is a story of detective work, imagination, and constant revision — and this unit brings that excitement to life.

Each week builds on the last — from the foundational question of what makes an animal a dinosaur and how we know what we know, through the most famous species and the scientists who discovered them, to the extraordinary diversity of the dinosaur world across different continents and geological periods, and finally to the legacy dinosaurs have left on modern science, culture, and even the birds singing outside the window right now. Along the way children practise counting, addition, measurement, reading comprehension, vocabulary, sorting, classification, and creative writing — all in the context of one of the most universally beloved topics in all of natural history.

Activities include vocabulary bingo with palaeontology terms, a sorting activity distinguishing carnivores from herbivores from omnivores, a timeline tracing dinosaur evolution from the Triassic through the Jurassic to the Cretaceous period and beyond, a matching game pairing famous dinosaur species with their defining characteristics, a movement math lab inspired by dinosaur locomotion, hunting strategies, and nesting behaviour, and a creative design activity where children design their own dinosaur species complete with habitat, diet, and defensive adaptations. The unit closes with a board game review and a showcase presentation, giving children the chance to share everything they have uncovered about the most magnificent animals that ever walked the Earth.