Description
What our Dinos A to Z: Quetzalcoatlus lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Dinos A to Z: Quetzalcoatlus 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: QUETZALCOATLUS LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Quetzalcoatlus
The Dinos A to Z: Quetzalcoatlus lesson plan contains one content page. Here’s a scary thought. You look up into the sky and see a flying reptile nearly as large as a small airplane! You have just seen the ancient Quetzalcoatlus (KET·sall·co·AT·liss). It is a giant species of pterosaur (TARE·uh·soar), a flying reptile. You may be familiar with its smaller cousin, the Pterodactylus. Living around 72 million years ago, these gigantic flying beasts ruled the sky and are believed to be the largest flying animals to have ever existed.
Fossils found in Texas provide a lot of clues about the life of this flying reptile. The Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of nearly 11 meters (36 feet). It was somewhere around 5 meters (16 feet) tall and weighed approximately 250 kilograms (550 pounds). Its bones were hollow, much like those of our modern birds. Still, getting this massive creature off the ground and into the air must have been an enormous feat!
Paleontologists think the Quetzalcoatlus flew in short bursts as vultures do, or possibly launched off tall hills or cliffs to glide. Its beak is like a stork’s. The pterosaur did not have feathers. Instead, its wings were covered with a thin skin stretched over their long fingers. Both front and back limbs were used to walk on the ground. It was a carnivore that fed on smaller dinosaurs and reptiles. Its elongated beak may have been used to burrow or hunt for shallow water crustaceans
Interesting Features
Paleotologists believe that the Quetzalcoatlus was warm-blooded. Though its body looked awkward and out of proportion, it was a muscular creature. They estimate that once it got off the ground, it could fly as far as 16,000 kilometers (9,940 miles). That is nearly the same distance as traveling from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast, and back again!
The Quetzalcoatlus was an amazing creature. It lived among the dinosaurs, was quite capable of hunting on land, and could glide over long distances. The next time you are looking up in the sky and spot what looks like a small plane, could it be this giant pterosaur?
DINOS A TO Z: QUETZALCOATLUS LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Dinos A to Z: Quetzalcoatlus 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.
QUETZALCOATLUS SCENE ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
Students will picture a quetzalcoatlus roaming around the open plains or wetlands. They will color the pterosaur on the page. Then they will cut it out and set it aside. On a separate sheet of paper, they will draw and a scene for their Quetzalcoatlus. They can add dinosaurs and plants to make the picture look realistic. Finally, they will glue or tape the pterosaur into the picture.
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.
