Imagine walking into a classroom that has been taken over by dinosaurs! All 26 uppercase and lowercase letters have gone missing, and it is your students' job to find all the letters and save your school from the dinosaurs. This classroom transformation is one way to keep your students active and engaged in learning, and it is also a great way to celebrate learning all 26 letters. It's time to bring these extinct terrestrial reptiles (dinosaurs) to life in the classroom! Let's grab our paleontologist supplies, and get digging!
Before setting the scene for the dinosaur classroom transformation, it is important to think about how you will introduce your dinosaur invasion. Your students will be hooked when they walk into the classroom and see a jungle-themed setting and two mysterious crates in the front of the classroom. However, the crates are locked! Students must complete a number of dinosaur-themed letter activities in order to find the missing keys to the crates and to save all 26 letters from the dinosaurs!
I used the Prehistoric Dinosaur Backdrop and T-Rex cardboard stand up as the focal point when decorating my classroom. Dino Dig Plastic Streamers blocked off the crates and designated the area as a dinosaur digging site. The plant and flower stand ups gave the room a true jungle feel.
In order to save the letters from the dinosaurs, my students had to complete a series of activities. One of the activities included a dinosaur letter dig. Students dressed up in paleontologist hats and vests. They worked together to dig in a camo cooler full of sand and clay dinosaur letter fossils.
You can't be a true paleontologist without the necessary tools to carefully identify the letters on each clay fossil. My students loved using paintbrushes to brush off each fossil. They then used the magnifying glasses to examine their fossils closely.
Students dug in each cooler until they found both the uppercase and lowercase letter. After identifying the letter, the students colored in the fossil on the corresponding recording sheet. For the free printable recording sheet and more details on the other dinosaur activities, check out these dinosaur-themed letter activities. To create each fossil, I used clay and dinosaur skeletons. Simply roll out small portions of clay, press the dinosaur skeletons into the clay, and set the fossil aside to dry. After 24 to 48 hours of drying, use a Sharpie® marker to write the uppercase and lowercase letters on the clay fossils.
After the students have completed each of the 5 activities, each group will receive a key. However, only two of the keys are the correct keys to the mysterious crates. Students must try all the keys to find out which one opens each crate.
Your students will be amazed at what they find in each of the mysterious crates - paper mache dinosaur eggs! Each dinosaur egg is filled with a variety of dinosaur-themed goodies as a way to reward them for a rex-cellent job well done! Find out how to make these DIY dinosaur paper mache eggs here and check out all the other dinosaur-themed activities and games by clicking here.
