I would say each year approximately half my class is obsessed with dinosaurs! Obviously, a dinosaur unit is always a huge hit!! Here are my favorite dinosaur activities to use in a preschool classroom!
CARPET TIME ACTIVITIES
These activities are great for whole group settings any time throughout the day! I use some of them more than once, and I move several of them into my centers after we have used them so that students can continue to explore these games and songs!
ANCHOR CHART
I like to start my dinosaur unit with this KWL chart asking students what they know and what they want to learn. Because dinosaurs are such a broad concept, it is nice to have some focus in what we want to learn.
DINOSAUR SHAPE HUNT
My students never get tired of hunt style pocket chart games! They absolutely LOVE taking turns saying a shape they want to check behind and seeing if they can find our target letter! I love that we are practicing identifying shapes and letters in one rich activity!
FIVE PLUSHIE DINOSAURS SONG
My students are obsessed with Squishmallows, so counting with these cute little plushie inspired dinosaurs is so much fun! I have a large version of the dinosaurs set out in the middle of the carpet, and students work along on their own 5 or 10 frames. We sing the song
5 plushie dinosaurs stomping all around.
The littlest said, “Hey, what’s that sound?”
From somewhere far away they heard a
BOOM BOOM BOOM
And away ran the littlest
ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM
I call on a student to take away the smallest dinosaur, and students remove a dinosaur from their own 5 or 10 frames as well.
SYLLABLE SORTING
We always break out the rhythm sticks when we are sorting words by syllable. My students rub their sticks together as we sing the song Hickety Pickety Bumble Bee and tap out each dinosaur's name. They are always excited to see what number will "win." We do lots of counting and comparing throughout this activity which also helps us review dinosaur vocabulary. If you only have your preschool students for a few hours a day, it is so important to make every activity impactful, engaging, and full of learning opportunities!
DINOSAUR MEASUREMENT
How big were dinosaurs really? Well... too big to fit into your classroom. For that reason, I like to show my students how tall these dinosaurs heads would have been! I attach a string that is the correct length to each dinosaur card so that they are ready to measure. Using painters tape set out on the floor is also effective. I set up the egg measurement strip on the wall, but you could also use nonstandard units set out on the carpet. I record each dinosaur's head size on an anchor chart, and students always want to add their heights to the chart as well!
MEMORY GAME
My students think memory games like this are so much fun!! I attach the fossil hunt page to a cookie sheet then put 5-6 shapes on it with magnets. I tell students to pay attention to where each shape is on the board. I turn the board backward and call up a student to steal one of the shapes from the board. That student gets to call on a student who can guess what shape is missing. I also included bone letters with this game so you can practice identifying letters as well!
MOVE LIKE A DINOSAUR
This counting game combines a few of the things my students love: movement, dinosaurs, and mystery! I put a dinosaur movement card and a number card into each Easter egg. Students take turns selecting and opening an egg. The class does the dinosaur movement while counting to the target number. You can use any numbers 0-20 that your class needs more practice with!
EGG MATCH
Matching beginning sounds is a pretty challenging phonemic awareness skill, so I am always looking for more ways to practice it! For this game, student try to complete each strip by finding the picture with the same beginning sound. I call up students to take turns selecting the correct answer then ask the class to give them a good egg (with their arms up like an oval) or a cracked egg (with their arms slightly apart) to show if they agree or disagree, and they think this is delightfully fun!
DINOSAUR GRAPH
Time to setting the debate: what dinosaur is the best? Students will give their opinion as they help build a graph showing what dinosaur is their favorite!
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MATH ACTIVITIES
These activities are great for centers, small group, and table time work!
DINOSAUR MEASURING
Introducing nonstandard measurement prepares students for a skill they will encounter in kindergarten but also gives students hands on practice with counting and writing numbers. I put a set of dinosaur cards in the middle of each table, and my students work through measuring each dinosaur with unifix cubes.
PLAY DOUGH MATS
There is nothing more fun than practicing number formation, identification, and counting with play dough! My students trace the number with dry erase markers then roll out the correct number of dinosaur eggs.
ROLL & COVER
For this game, students roll the dice, count the number of dots, and cover that number on their game board. I give each student a board and have them take turns with the dice. I love these big foam dice for preschool because students can easily touch each dot as they count. Foam dice are also nice and quiet!! I have these dinosaur counters which makes this game even more fun! I also love these cute little counters!!
SHAPE HUNT
This is a hands down favorite for my students! I hang shape cards around my classroom. Each child takes a recording sheet and searches the room for shapes drawing or tracing each shape they find. I have a few versions of the recording sheet so that I can give each student more or less support depending on their needs.
LITERACY ACTIVITIES
I also use these as center activities, small group games, and table time activities!
DINO DASH
It always surprises me how many of my students have no concept of how a board game works. For this simple board game, students take turns rolling the dice, moving that many spaces, and naming the letter on the space they land on. You can also have them name the sound the letter makes or something that starts with that letter if they need a challenge!
DINOSAUR WRITING CENTER
In my class, we love writing notes and books for our friends and family! Students can choose from a variety of papers. They can cut out dinosaurs to glue to their work, can copy down dinosaur names, and can add a dinosaur stamp to their letters.
LETTER HUNT
I love using the lids from copy paper as mini sensory bins! I filled these with craft puffs, mixed in letter cards, and told my students to find and trace as many letters as they could before the timer went off. They LOVED it! These letter cards and recording sheets are actually part of my Dino Dig sensory table kit, and I love that I can use them in more than one way!!
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