Description
What our Dinos A to Z: Utahraptor lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Dinos A to Z: Utahraptor 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 an interesting species of raptor dinosaurs. This lesson is for students in 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade.
DINOS A TO Z: UTAHRAPTOR LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Utahraptor
The Dinos A to Z: Utahraptor lesson plan contains one content page. Can you guess how the Utahraptor (YOU·taw·RAP·ter) got its name? If you said all the fossils of this dinosaur were found in Utah, then you are correct! At least for the first part of the name. The second part, raptor, means plunderer or robber. You may not be familiar with this dinosaur if Utah is not your home state. If you were a dinosaur living in Utah about 139 million years ago, an encounter with one of these would have been terrifying and deadly.
The Utahraptor was about 5 meters (16 feet) long. It was a stocky and muscular dinosaur. It grew to be about 1.5 meters (5 feet) in height. Weighing in at 350 kilograms (771 pounds), this carnivore was quite capable of taking down larger prey. Its large size meant that it wasn’t as fast or agile as other raptors. Don’t let that fool you into thinking this was not a dangerous animal. Scientists believe Utahraptors were ambush hunters. They stealthily waited in tall grass or behind trees for their prey and, when least expected, ambushed them.
Fun Facts
Utahraptors may have been covered with feathers. They walked upright on their back legs. They had two razor-sharp claws on their feet. The claws were sickle-shaped, perfect for slashing and cutting. They were 24 centimeters (nearly 10 inches) long! The dino’s teeth were jagged and pointy, designed for ripping and tearing the flesh off prey. It’s not hard to understand why other dinosaurs would want to avoid running into one of these beasts!
Here is an interesting fact: The Utahraptor is related to our modern birds of prey, such as hawks or eagles. Modern birds of prey are descendants of dinosaurs known as dromaeosaurs (DROH·me·uh·soarz), also referred to as raptors. Another definition of raptor is derived from the Latin word meaning to seize or grab. Dromaeosaurs shared many features with modern birds. Modern birds have hollow bones, feathers, and three fingers. Picture an eagle swooping down to capture its prey in its talons, and you know why the word raptor is a good description of a dromaeosaur.
The Utahraptor is the state dinosaur for Utah. No surprise there! It is a unique species that scientists continually discover new things about.
DINOS A TO Z: UTAHRAPTOR LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Dinos A to Z: Utahraptor 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.
STATE DINOSAUR ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
For this activity, students will research their state and find out if they have a state dinosaur or state fossil. If it doesn’t, they will choose a dinosaur that they believe best represents the state they live in. They will explain their choice and then draw (or paste) a picture of the dinosaur in the box at the bottom of the page.
DINOS A TO Z: UTAHRAPTOR 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.
