Description
What our Dinos A to Z: Riojasaurus lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Dinos A to Z: Riojasaurus 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: RIOJASAURUS LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Riojasaurus
The Dinos A to Z: Riojasaurus lesson plan contains one content page. The Riojasaurus (re·OH·huh·SOAR·russ) was a dinosaur that lived about 228 million years ago. Sometimes, when paleontologists find fossils, they name their findings after the location where they were discovered. The Riojasaurus’s name means “Rioja Lizard” or “Lizard from La Rioja.” Fossils of this dinosaur were found in the La Rioja Province of Argentina.
Paleontologists have not many fossils of this dinosaur. The ones they have discovered have provided insight into what other related dinosaurs may have been like. The Riojasaurus is believed to be an early version of much larger sauropods. Sauropods are a class of dinosaurs distinguished by their enormous size. You may be familiar with the Brontosaurus. It was a sauropod!
Riojasauruses were around 10 meters (about 32 feet) long. They had a long neck to munch on the leaves in the lower canopy of trees. Like later sauropods, Riojasauruses had a bulky frame and stout legs that resembled the pillars of a building. They would have needed strong legs to carry their heavy body weight of more than 3 tons (6000 pounds). This dino could stand up on its back legs to reach up into trees for food. Most of the time, it walked on all fours. It is considered one of the larger species of dinosaurs that lived during its time.
Interesting Facts
The dinosaur is believed to have been an herbivore based on the size and shape of its teeth. With the scant fossil evidence, it’s challenging to know for sure. Most of what we know comes from comparing the Riojasaurus with other dinosaurs that lived at the same time, and we have numerous fossils of those to study. Scientists also have fossils of different dinosaurs that came after the Riojasaurus, which are related to it.
Riojasauruses were probably slow-moving, grazing dinosaurs. They were docile, living in herds for protection. Predators would have found their large, bulky size intimidating. Scientists continue to search for more fossils to learn about the life of the Riojasaurus and to understand how dinosaurs lived so long ago.
DINOS A TO Z: RIOJASAURUS LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Dinos A to Z: Riojasaurus 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.
DINO DISCOVERY ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
Paleontologists named the Riojasaurus after the La Rioja Province of Argentina. That is where they found its fossils. For this activity, students will imagine they have just discovered the fossil of a new dinosaur and want to name it after the city or state where they live. They will write the name of their discovery and then draw a picture of what the dinosaur looks like in the box on the worksheet 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.
