Description
What our Dinos A to Z: Iguanodon lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Dinos A to Z: Iguanodon is a high-interest reading comprehension lesson plan. As such, students will practice various close reading and comprehension skills. In addition, they will learn some basic information about these interesting prehistoric animals. This lesson is for students in 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade.
DINOS A TO Z: IGUANODON LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Iguanodon
The Dinos A to Z: Iguanodon lesson plan contains one content page. The Iguanodon (ih·GWAW·nuh·DAWN) lived almost everywhere on the planet more than 110 million years ago. Its name means “iguana tooth.” Its fossils are some of the most common ones paleontologists have found. Scientists named the dinosaur Iguanodon because they thought its large teeth resembled the teeth of an iguana. But that is where the similarity ends!
Iguanodons are not related to iguanas at all. They were much larger than iguanas are, probably weighing around 9,000 pounds. The dinosaur was around 32 feet in length from its head to the end of its tail. It walked upright on two legs and ran on all four legs. It had a beak-shaped nose that was useful for gathering vegetation to eat.
Unusual Features
One of this dino’s unusual features is the shape of its hand, which consisted of five fingers. The middle fingers formed a hoof shaped claw. A hard spike on the dinosaur’s thumb helped fend off predators. When the fossil remains of the Iguanodon were first discovered, scientists mistakenly thought the thumb spike was a horn like a rhinoceros. Many years later, after finding more fossils, they realized the spike was part of the hand.
The other unusual feature is that the Iguanodon had an unusually long tongue! The structure of the jaw bone and size of the interior of the dinosaur’s mouth indicated that the length of its tongue was larger than that of most dinosaurs. Scientists don’t know why the Iguanodon’s tongue was so long. They speculate that it helped the dinosaur gather the ground vegetation it fed on. Iguanodons were herbivores after all.
Iguanodons probably lived in herds. They roamed as they fed on low-growing ferns and grasses. Scientists know what dinosaurs ate by studying the fossilized remains of their teeth. For example, Iguanodons had ridged and sloping teeth, perfect for grinding and chewing! Carnivores, like the T-Rex, have serrated slashing teeth. As more fossils are discovered, we learn more about the early years of Earth and the dinosaurs that lived here.
DINOS A TO Z: IGUANODON LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Dinos A to Z: Iguanodon lesson plan includes two worksheets: an activity worksheet and a practice worksheet. Each one will help students solidify their grasp of the material they learned throughout the lesson.
COLORING ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
For the activity, students will complete a coloring page, but they will first draw and color an iguanodon to paste into the coloring page.
REVIEW PRACTICE WORKSHEET
The practice worksheet requires students to answer a series of 5 questions. These questions all relate to the content pages, so students will need to refer to them for the answers.
