Learning with Dinosaurs

Do any of you know a child who doesn’t love dinosaurs? In fact, most three and four year olds are certified dinosaur "buffs" and can recognize any dinosaur. These children can "read" the names of all the dinosaurs and love dinosaur books. Interestingly enough, they prefer non-fiction because these are filled with facts. Adults are continually amazed that youngsters can recognize such long names but have trouble with those little words like "and," "the," and "but." In the case of dinosaur names, not only are they meaningful to children; and concrete, but the very length and shape make them stand out as unusual and memorable. In addition to knowing the sounds that letters make, children use other clues to help them figure out words:

  • Using Tyrannosaurus as an example, here’s an example of how children use problem solving to "read" its name:

    • Clue #1 - It’s a really long word.
    • Clue #2 - It begins with a big letter.
    • Clue #3 - It has “us” at the end like all dinosaur names do.
    • Clue #4 - It doesn’t have a curly shape (S) or big round circles like my friend Bryan’s name does.
    • Conclusion – Maybe its Tyrannosaurus?
      It starts with a big, tall letter and one that has a kind of tail. That’s how I’ll remember which one it is...

  • The point is that children learn best when it’s something worth knowing. Really great preschool teachers understand this…but how do you do it? Well, you can start by observing the children. Listen to their conversations and watch to see what games they are playing and what tools they are using. Then, add materials, props, books and toys to their environment that will promote a greater understanding of their current passion. Next, be ready to assist. Imagine yourself as a facilitator – as an extension of the classroom, not the center of it. Finally, plan and keep in mind that their interest may fizzle out in a couple of days or last for two weeks. Here’s an example of how a lesson plan could work:

    Let’s say one day I read the book, “To Market, To Market” by Anne Miranda and Janet Stevens. Stories are a great way of sparking a child’s interest in new ideas and concepts. The children really like the book, so I have done a lesson plan based on food and nutrition. Remember, my plan needs to be flexible and REFLECT THE CHILDREN’S INTEREST. So what I am going to do next is to promote conversation about this book.
    Our dialogue could include any of the following discussions, or maybe something totally different.

    • Food likes and dislikes.
    • Growing vegetables.
    • Planting a garden.
    • Food for energy.
    • Cooking.
  • Depending on the children’s interest, I’ll need to add some materials to promote further learning. Some possible suggestions are:
    • Grocery store
    • Cash registers with money, plastic bins, REAL and plastic fruits and vegetables, signs identifying foods, price tags, scales for weighing.
    • Gardening
    • Growing plants outside and inside, using water or soil, and from seeds or other plants.
    • Cooking
    • Creating a cookbook, trying recipes.
    • Animals
    • Pig, Fish, Sheep – plastic in the block area.

    You get the idea! You can begin to see the learning that is taking place in all areas of development through this type of lesson planning. As the children’s interests change, so does my response.

    There are several really great resources available to you if you’d like to learn more about this type of lesson planning:

      The Whole Child Video Training Series addresses the idea of facilitating children’s learning. This series is available through the Resource Lending Library at Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC).

      I’d also suggest these two books also from the CCCC Resource Lending Library: “First Steps Toward Teaching the Reggio Way” by Joanne Hendrick and “Scaffolding Children’s Learning: Vygotsky’s Theory of Socio Cultural Learning” published by NAEYC.

      Finally, I highly recommend a course at Bakersfield College called "Developmentally Appropriate Practice." This course is available in an on-line format or taught in the classroom. The course number CHDV 36 and further information is available at the Bakersfield College web site.

    Thank you to Lisa Albert from the EPTSS Division for this month's activity!

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