Description
What our Dinos A to Z: Oviraptor lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Dinos A to Z: Oviraptor 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 oviraptors. This lesson is for students in 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade.
DINOS A TO Z: OVIRAPTOR LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Oviraptor
The Dinos A to Z: Oviraptor lesson plan contains one content page. The Oviraptor (OH·vuh·RAP·ter) got its name from the Latin word ovi, or egg, and the Middle-English word raptor, meaning thief. So the name Oviraptor means egg thief! When its fossils were first discovered, they were found with what scientists thought were the eggs from another dinosaur that an Oviraptor had been eating. Later, it was found that the eggs were probably from a mother Oviraptor’s nest. But the unfortunate name “egg thief” stuck!
The Oviraptor was a small but agile dinosaur. It lived 75 to 85 million years ago. Its fossils were first discovered in Mongolia, a country in north-central Asia. The dinosaur was about 2 meters (6.5 feet) long and weighed 20 kilograms (less than 45 pounds). By dinosaur standards, it was minuscule! Don’t let its demure size fool you, though. This omnivore was well equipped to survive among larger predators and other dinosaurs.
Interesting Features
Oviraptors walked upright on two legs. Their hind legs were powerful. Some scientists think the dinosaur could run up to 45 miles per hour. That’s pretty fast for a dinosaur! The dinosaur’s forearms were long and thin but muscular. Three long claws were at the tips of its fingers. The claws were designed for grasping, ripping, and tearing.
Scientists think it was an omnivore, dining on hard-shelled animals, eggs, and other tough, fibrous fruits. Oviraptors did not have teeth, but their jaws were powerful. Their mouths were similar to a beak. In fact, their beaks were parrot-like, able to crush hard objects. Several characteristics of an Oviraptor are similar to those of modern birds.
The discovery of more Oviraptor fossils has uncovered exciting new insights about the dinosaur. The most recent fossil finds are of an Oviraptor lying across a nest. The fossils were found protecting a nest of young Oviraptors during a violent sandstorm. This behavior is similar to what our modern birds do in their nests. As more fossils are found, the relationship to birds becomes clearer.
DINOS A TO Z: OVIRAPTOR LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Dinos A to Z: Oviraptor 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.
OVIRAPTORS AND ROOSTERS ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
For this activity, students will compare and contrast the oviraptor to a rooster. First they will write features that make the two similar. Then they will write what makes the two animals different in the corresponding columns.
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.
