When the lights went low
Over prehistoric plains
And the music beat
In rhythm with the rains,
All the mud and ooze
Showed the scientists remains
Of a prehistoric party.
This poem, an excerpt from Jane Yolen’s book entitled Dinosaur Dances, sums up January and February in the second grade at Germantown Academy. In a sense, we have been learning about the prehistoric party that lasted for approximately 140 million years. The theme of dinosaurs has been a catalyst for two months of exploration and discovery. Our interdisciplinary study of dinosaurs has filled our school days and has generated much interest and enthusiasm among the children. The children have read books in search of information and each child completed a factual report on a dinosaur. They have become quite proficient at knowing which books are the best sources of information. Dinosaur internet sites also provided useful information. I was pleased with the effort and determination of the children to read and learn as much as they could about their dinosaurs. A trip to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia provided an opportunity to see fossils of dinosaurs as well as to speak with paleontologists.
Our culminating project for the dinosaur unit was to create a podcast for Radio GA. The children drew upon their knowledge of dinosaurs to write entertaining scripts in order to communicate information about dinosaurs. The children worked in small groups. Features included: dinosaur trivia, dinosaur poetry, dinosaur riddles, understanding the meaning of dinosaur names, dinosaur vocabulary, and final features that imparted some general information about dinosaurs. After writing their scripts, the students practiced reading their parts using entertaining voices. Their enthusiasm for the podcasts is easy to hear! We hope you enjoy listening to the three podcasts.
GA Cast #5
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MP3 | 8 minutes 28 seconds | 3.9MB If the show doesn't play automatically, click here.
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This activity designed and implemented by Carol Siwinski, Curricular Technology Specialist for Germantown Academy.
Send comments to Carol Siwinski.
March, 2006