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Dino Diner
(part of Discovering Dinosaurs Unit)

child figures out what kind of dinosaur eats meat

At the Dino Diner your child can match plastic dinosaurs with assorted foods that carnivores, herbivores and omnivores would eat. Don't be afraid to use the scientific terms, children love learning that stuff.


Dinosaur Facts


Omnivore
(both)
Carnivore
(meat eater)
Herbivore
(plant eater)
Pachycephalosaurus Carnotaurus Anchiceratops
  Compsognathus Ankylosaurus
  Plesiosaurus Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus
  Tyrannosaurus Rex Brachiosaurus
  Velociraptor Duckbill (Hadrosaurus)
    Parasaurolophus
    Stegosaurus
    Triceratops

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Set-up Dino Diner


Materials:
assorted food: meat, fruit and vegetables
plastic dinosaurs
pictures of the three types of dinosaurs PDF
red, green and yellow paper
carnivores sheet PDF
herbivores sheet PDF
omnivores sheet PDF
replicas of Tyrannosaurus Rex or Apatosaurus teeth
baby tooth, if available
  1. Cut the food into bite size pieces.
  2. If you have them, gather plastic dinosaurs that are carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.  If not, print the pictures of the three types of dinosaurs and cut them out. 
  3. Have your child sort the dinosaurs by which ones eats meat (carnivore), which ones eat plants (herbivores) and which ones eat meat and plants (omnivores), by putting the correct type of dinosaur next to the plate of food.
  • Your child may not need these sheets, but they are handy if your child is just learning which dinosaurs eat what or it may be handy for you to check if your child is correct. Print the carnivores on red paper (for meat), herbivores on green paper (for plants) and omnivores on yellow paper. These sheets will help the child identify which dinosaurs eat which kinds of food. 
  • If you want to have a replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex or Apatosaurus tooth handy for comparison make the dinosaur teeth at least two days ahead of time.
  • If you happen to have a baby tooth that the tooth fairy left behind, have it next to the dinosaur teeth that you made. This will help make the comparison between human teeth and dinosaur teeth easier to imagine. The size difference won't seem real so it's important to emphasis that this was really the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex not just something you made up.
  • You may also want to have available for fun: dinosaur chicken nuggets, dinosaur shaped toast (toast cut into dinosaur shapes with a cookie cutter) or dinosaur macaroni and cheese for your child's lunch.

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Re-enforcement Activities

Fun Activity Sheet PDF (also in Field Guide PDF).

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Think About It!

Ask your child to explain his reasoning to you. 

  1. Why do you think the teeth are different?
  2. Why would it be important for a carnivore to have serrated teeth rather than a peg one?
  3. Which dinosaurs are carnivores? Why do you think that?
  4. Which ones are herbivores? What are the clues you used to figure that out?

September 12, 2008

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