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DINO TRACESLesson Plan

Skullduggery, Inc. • 624 South B Street • Tustin, CA 92680 • (800) 336-7745 • FAX (714) 832-1215

Page -2- Dino Traces

DINO TRACES

OBJECTIVEDino Traces is a fascinating educational kit that introduces students to the type ofevidence found at a typical dinosaur dig. Much like paleontologists excavatingreal skeletal remains, students will uncover the skeletal parts of a dinosaur byrubbing casts of bone impressions on paper. They will be challenged to identifythe dinosaur to which the skeleton belonged.At the completion of this activity students should be able to (1) identify andclassify certain dinosaurs, (2) use deductive reasoning to create a completedinosaur skeleton from scattered evidence and (3) understand some of thecomplicated techniques used to preserve a paleontological dig site.

MATERIALS PROVIDED• Information about the dinosaur featured in the kit.• Instructions explaining how to use the plaques.• Suggested exercises and topics for class discussion.• Suggested reading list.• 6 plaques containing skeletal parts of a dinosaur.• 6 high quality crayons for optimal tracing results.• Skeletal key with example of correct positioning of bones.• Dinosaur outline guide.

MATERIALS NEEDED• Paper- Most papers are good for this exercise. Thin, pliable paper is the best.

Examples: Kraft paper, brown paper towel, FAX paper and unprintednewspaper. NOTE: The paper size should be a minimum of 8½" X 20". If youare using 8½" X 11" sheets, just tape or paste 2 sheets together.

© Copyright 1996 Skullduggery, Inc.


InstructionsThe students in your class are members of a famous team of paleontologists. Theyhave just excavated a dig site with a remarkable number of interesting lookingbones. It is their job to determine whether this new site is of any scientificimportance. Is it worth further investigation?Dino Traces can be used at three different levels of difficulty. Level One is thesimplest and will be the one most suitable for younger children. Level Twoprovides additional challenges for the more advanced students. And, of course,Level Three will be for the most advanced students.Direct your class to observe one of the three levels of instruction in piecingtogether the mystery of the dinosaur bones. The Dino Traces diagrams can beposted anytime to assist students having difficulty assembling the skeletonsections. Read the information on Finding a Dinosaur Bone and Dinosaurs onDisplay out loud to your class. Then refer to the directions on the level you havechosen for your students.After completing the rubbing, each group should answer the questions listed underDiscussion Questions. Advise them to use the Exercise Sheet if they needassistance with the questions.NOTE: Many of the questions listed are open ended questions and are designed toencourage discussion within groups. They do not necessarily have right or wronganswers.


Finding a Dinosaur BoneImagine you are hiking in the badlands of South Dakota with a group of friendsand you trip over a rock. As you struggle to regain your balance, you notice thatwhat you tripped over was not a rock at all. Upon closer inspection, you realize,with increasing excitement, that this “rock” looks much like the bone of a verylarge animal. Could it be the bone of an ancient dinosaur? What should you do?You want to pick it up and take it home, but should you? What is the harm?Finding a dinosaur bone is indeed an exciting experience. Many people, uponfinding such a unique fossil, would not hesitate to take it home to add it to theircollections. The temptation is very great. But removing the fossil from the spotyou found it would cause a loss of valuable scientific information. Following up afind of even one bone could lead to the unearthing of a whole dinosaur skeleton,and to the discovery of valuable information about what that dinosaur was like andwhat it did when it was alive millions of years ago.Should you be lucky enough to find a fossil bone, it would be best to contact aprofessional paleontologist. He or she will carefully and systematically excavatethe area for more bones and chart the position of each bone found. If necessary,the paleontologist will assemble a team of skilled amateurs and professionalsexperienced in conducting a systematic search of the area. Armed with aknowledge of geology and dinosaur anatomy, they will prospect the area todetermine where the rest of the bones, if any, might be buried.The bones of a single dinosaur skeleton all generally lie at the same level in therock. Should the team find such a skeleton, they might need to bring in heavyequipment to remove tons of overlying rock and sediment “overburden.” Aftermost of the “overburden” is removed with pneumatic drills and explosives, theteam will work carefully with fine tools to expose the bones. Then, as each bone isuncovered, the team will carefully chart and record its location on a map. The sitewill be photographed to back up the map’s information. Such photos and maps areessential to the excavation; they permanently record how the skeleton waspreserved in rock. This information can later be used to determine how the animaldied, whether its skeleton was scavenged, and how it was transported and finallyburied.Each bone will then be carefully jacketed (encased) in plaster for transport to amuseum’s laboratory. Once the bones arrive, delicate work will remove theprotective coating and remaining rock from the specimen. It may take days tocompletely clean just a single bone. The bones will then be laid out and compared


with field sketches, maps, photographs, and descriptions of known dinosaurs tosecurely determine their identities. Finally, it will become the paleontologists’ jobto identify the dinosaur and perhaps to fit its bones back together for publicdisplay.

Dinosaurs on DisplayBy studying complete dinosaur skeletons, paleontologists know where to placeeach bone. No matter what size, all dinosaurs have many similar features. They allhave thigh bones (femurs), shoulder blades (scapulas) and backbones (vertebrae).Armed with that knowledge, paleontologists at least know where to begin. Butevery so often, mistakes have been made in the reconstruction of a skeleton. Asmore information is learned about a particular dinosaur these mistakes can becorrected.Mounting even a medium-size dinosaur skeleton for display is a very largeundertaking. Once the entire skeleton is laid out and the position of each bone isdetermined, the experts are ready to reconstruct or “mount” the dinosaur. Becausemany dinosaur bones are so heavy, it is very important to create a strong base onwhich to secure the skeleton. Strips and pillars of steel are constructed for support.In some cases strong, transparent wires suspend from the display room ceiling tohold up parts of the skeleton. When the bones are finally in place, the steelsupports and strings will be very hard to see. The dinosaur will look as if it isstanding on its own.This is your chance to be a paleontologist. Using the Dino Traces rubbings, try todetermine which dinosaur has been unearthed and what its skeleton might looklike when assembled.


Level 11. Divide your class into 6 groups.2. Provide each group with a plaque, a crayon and enough paper for each student

in the group. Be certain everyone in the class is working on the same dinosaurduring Level 1.

3. Have each group choose one member to begin the exercise.4. The first student should place paper on the plaque then rub the crayon firmly

and evenly over the paper. The outline of the bones should appear. NOTE:Most plaques have more than one bone, so students should be sure to rubevery bone on each plaque.

5. Every other student in the group may then take hisor her turn to do the same rubbing as the firststudent.

6. The groups should then exchange plaques.7. Repeat these procedures until every group has

taken a rubbing of each bone on every plaque.8. Once the rubbings are completed, instruct the

students to carefully cut out each bone from the paper with scissors.9. Tell them to arrange the pieces on their desks into the correct form of the

chosen dinosaur.10. If your students are having trouble assembling their pieces into a shape

approaching the correct dinosaur, post a copy of the corresponding encloseddiagram to help them along. Note: Allow sufficient time to play with thepieces before posting the diagram.

11. If your students need additional help in placing bones to reconstruct acomplete dinosaur, provide each student with an outline of the dinosaur. Thestudents should paste the bones directly on the outline. NOTE: The providedoutline must be copied on legal size paper with an expansion factor of 25%.

12. You may want to instruct your students to arrange their pieces on a sheet oflight colored construction paper. When they have the pieces correctlypositioned, they can paste them to the construction paper. This will give themsomething to take home .

NOTE: The length of a completed skeleton can be up to 19 inches, so the paperyou use to arrange the cut out pieces on should be at least 20" X 8½". Tapingor gluing two 8½" X 11" sheets of paper together works well.

13. Instruct the students in each group to use their completed dinosaur to answerthe questions and complete the exercises provided. Some of the open- endedquestions do not necessarily have right or wrong answers; they just givestudents a chance to use their imaginations.


Level 21. Follow steps 1 — 3 from level 1.2. Post a copy of the enclosed dinosaur diagram for the corresponding dinosaur

you have chosen to use.3. Instruct group members to find the location of the bone from their plaque on

the dinosaur diagram. Then let them attempt to make their rubbing in the samelocation and position on their paper. The idea is to color the bones directly onthe paper in the correct positions, so that no further manipulation is necessaryafter the final bone has been rubbed. This method will take quite a bit morepatience and dexterity than level 1. If you feel your students are not currentlycapable of this type of exercise, then refer to level 1.

4. Instruct them to completely color the area of the paper immediately above thechosen bone with firm, even strokes of their crayon. (NOTE: They should onlycolor the area directly above the chosen section, being careful not to overlaponto other parts of the paper .

5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 with the remaining bones on the plaque.6. Instruct them to exchange plaques and again repeat steps 3 & 4.7. Continue exchanging plaques until each group has taken a rubbing of each

bone on every plaque.8. After they have finished, have them examine their tracing paper (referred to as

a rubbing). Ask them whether the dinosaur skeleton looks familiar. Are someof the bones out of place? If it does not look right, have them return to step 1and start again. If the rubbing looks fine, have them proceed to step 9.

9. Instruct them to examine their rubbings and answer the questions provided.Some of the open-ended questions do not necessarily have right or wronganswers, they give the students a chance to use their imaginations.

NOTE: The length of a completed skeleton may be up to 19 inches, so the paperused for the rubbings should be at least 20" X 8½". Taping or gluing two 8½"X 11" sheets of paper together works well.

After all the exercises have been satisfactorily completed, have the studentsproceed to the next dino-plaque and start with step 1, using the appropriatemethod.


Level 3This level can be used only if your class has obtained more than one edition of

Dino Traces.1. Mix up all the dino plaques.2. Have students make rubbings of each plaque3. Have them cut out each rubbing.4. They should then attempt to sort the pieces into the correct dinosaur groups.

Correct assembly of the dinosaur skeletons can be checked against thediagrams provided.

5. Answer questions and exercises provided.


TriceratopsThe Triceratops is one of the most easily recognized dinosaurs. Its Greek name,when translated to English, means “three (tri), horn (Keratos), face (ops).” Oddlyenough, the first fossils found of this dinosaur were the remains of two horns,which at first were thought to be the remains of a bison. As you can imagine it isvery difficult to correctly identify a dinosaur from a badly incomplete skeleton.Only when the additional remains were found was it determined to be aTriceratops.Triceratops was enormous. The horns above itseyes were as much as 3 feet long; the frill on theback of its head was up to 7 feet wide! From its noseto the tip of its tail, this awesome creature was at least 25feet long. Some paleontologists speculate that Triceratopsused its horns and frill to defend itself against predators such as Tyrannosaurus. Itmay also have used them for fighting with other Triceratops for territory or to winmates.Triceratops was an herbivore (plant eater). Its sharply pointed teeth did not crushor grind ordinary leafy tissue, seeds or fruit. Instead its powerful jaw musclesworked the teeth like cutting blades. It is thought that Triceratops consumedfibrous plants, such as palm fronds, by slicing them up with their teeth.The Triceratops lived during the very end of the late Cretaceous period (68 to 65million years ago). In the United States, plentiful remains of this fascinatingdinosaur are found in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. InCanada, Triceratops are found in Alberta and Saskatchewan.


VelociraptorThis small, carnivorous (meat-eating) dinosaur was one of the principal charactersin the very popular movie “Jurassic Park”. The size of a wolf, it was very fast andsmart; but in reality, Velociraptor was certainly not as smart as the ones portrayedin the movie.

The name Velociraptor derives from Latinand means, velox “swift (velox) robber

(raptor).” The distinguishing feature of theVelociraptor was the sickle-like claw on itssecond toe of each foot. These small dinosaurs

may have hunted larger prey in packs. They would holdthe victim with their long fingers while slashing with sickle claws on their feet.They had long, narrow mouths and many sharp teeth with which to eat their prey.Velociraptor had relatively large eye sockets, which leads scientist to believe thatthis dinosaur had extremely good eye sight, perhaps even night vision for huntingat dawn or dusk.Velociraptor lived during the middle of the late Cretaceous period (85 to 80million years ago). Skeletons of this rare dinosaur have been found in Mongolia,China and perhaps Russia.


TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus rex is without a doubt the most famous and popular of alldinosaurs. On land it was the most powerful and largest carnivore (meat eater) thatever lived. A large Tyrannosaurus rex would measure more than 40 feet long. Thename Tyrannosaurus comes from Greek, meaning “tyrant ( tyrannos) lizard

(saurus).”The skull of Tyrannosaurus rex was

enormous; large ones measured nearly 5feet long. The jaws were massive and containedhuge, thick teeth. Some teeth were 11 inches long

from root to tip, and were serrated and able to punchthrough meat and bone. Like many of its relatives,Tyrannosaurus rex had a movable joint in the lower

jaw that allowed it to open its massive jaws wide enough to rip off as much as 500lbs of meat in one bite.From studying the skull, scientists think that Tyrannosaurus rex had keen eyesight, good hearing and a strong sense of smell. Tyrannosaurus rex was a skilledhunter. Its massive hind legs were very powerful and allowed it to run as fast as 25miles per hour. It could chase down any prey it might desire, holding the victimwith its claws while devouring it with its large mouth. The arms and hands ofTyrannosaurus rex were about a yard long--small in comparison with the hugebody, but actually very strong!Tyrannosaurus rex lived during the Late Cretaceous period (68 to 65 millionsyears ago). Its remains are found in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico,South Dakota and Western Canada.


Discussion QuestionsThe following questions may be answered in group discussion or individually.

Make copies of this sheet, the corresponding dinosaur information sheet, thetime line and the exercise sheet and hand them out to each group or individual.Ask them to read the relevant dinosaur information and then answer thefollowing questions:

A. General questions about the rubbing.1. What kind of dinosaur have you uncovered? How can you tell?2. How long do you think it has been here? (Hint: look on your timeline)3. In what time period(s) did it exist?4. Why do you think it ended up here?

B. Let the students (or group) make up their own story.5 In what part of the world do you think this dinosaur was uncovered? What

makes you think so?6. What could this picture tell scientists about our planet?7. What do you think the scientists will do with this new discovery?

C. Specific questions about the rubbing.1. How many different parts of the dinosaur can you label? What are they?2. How many claws can you see?3. How many teeth can you count?4. How many ribs can you count?5. How many legs did this dinosaur have?6. Do you think this dinosaur was fast or slow? How can you tell?7. Can you tell what the diet of this dinosaur might have been from the

information provided?8. Was this dinosaur a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore?9. If dinosaurs and people were living at the same time, do you think this

dinosaur would have been friendly to people? Explain.10. Name 5 other animals that were living at the time of dinosaurs. (Hint: look

on your timeline)11. Name 5 plants that were living at the time of dinosaurs.12. Are there any dinosaurs alive today? What do you think happened to

them?13. Draw a picture of what you think the dinosaur looked like when it was

alive.

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Other reading materialFor the young readerAliki. Digging Up Dinosaurs. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.Aliki. Fossils Tell of Long Ago. New York: Crowell, 1972.Arnold, Caroline. Trapped-In-Tar: Fossils from the Ice Age. New York: Clarion Books-Houghton Mifflin Co., 1987.Berenstain, Michael. The Biggest Dinosaur. New York: Western Publishing Co., 1989.Carrick, C. Patrick's Dinosaur. New York: Clarion Books, 1983.Horner, R. John & James Gorman. Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up. Bozeman: Museum Of The Rockies, 1985.Horner, John R. & Don Lessem. Digging Up Tyrannosaurus Rex. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1992.Lauber, P. The News About Dinosaurs. Bradbury Press, 1989.Lauber, P. Dinosaurs Walked Here. New York: Macmillan. 1992.Most, Bernard. If the Dinosaurs Came Back. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978.O'Neill, Mary. Where Are All the Dinosaurs? Mahwah, New Jersey: Troll Associates, 1989.Ranger Rick's Dinosaur Book. Washington D.C.: National Wildlife Foundation, 1984.Sattler, Helen Roney. Baby Dinosaurs. New York: Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard Books, 1984.Giants from the Past. National Geographic Society, 1983.For the general readerBenton, Michael. On the Trail of the Dinosaurs. London: Grisewood & Dempsey, 1989.Chicago's Dinosaurs at The Field Museum. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1994.Horner, John R. & James Gorman. Digging Dinosaurs. New York: Workman Publishing, 1988.Horner, John R. & Don Lessem. The Complete T. rex. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.Kricher, John C. Dinosaurs: Peterson First Guide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.Lambert, David. A Field Guide to Prehistoric Life. Facts on File, 1985.Lambert, David. A Field Guide to Early Man. Facts on File, 1987.Lambert, David. The Dinosaur Data Book. Avon Books, 1990.Norman, David. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. New York: Crescent Books, 1985.Norman, David & Angela Milner. Eyewitness Books: Dinosaur. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989.Sattler, Helen Roney. Dinosaurs of North America. New York: Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard Books, 1985.Wilford, John Noble. The Riddle of the Dinosaur. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.For the teacherRanger Rick's NatureScope: Digging Into Dinosaurs. Washington, D.C.: National Wildlife Federation, 1984.Resource Guide to Discovering Dinosaurs. Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Science, 1985.Schatz, Dennis. Dinosaurs: A Journey Through Time: A Children's Activity Book with Adult Teaching Guide.

Seattle: Pacific Science Center, 1987.VanCleave, Janice. Janice VanCleave's Dinosaurs for Every Kid: Easy Activities that Make Learning Science Fun.

New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1994.West, Linda. Dinosaurs and Dinosaur National Monument: A Resource Packet for Students and Teachers. Jensen,

Utah: Dinosaur Nature Association, 1985.

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