Resources for prehistory (inc. evolution) for early elementary

[JoLuRu]

I'm putting together a secular 8 week prehistory and evolution unit for my kids (almost 4 and 7), who are fascinated by dinosaurs, geology, and "cavemen." I'm using Usborne's Internet Linked World History as a spine.

 

I've found quite a few really good resources, and I'd love to hear yours!

 

Awakening Wonders has coloring/notebook pages at different levels.

 

I found prehistory units at the blogs Classical Charlotte, Dottie's Universe, Teaching Stars, and Satori Smiles.

 

I like this Montessori teacher's approach to explaining the Big Bang.

 

The Toilet Paper Timeline seems like a clever way to visualize geologic time.

 

A good critical thinking, math, science, and literature unit based on dinosaurs can be found in the kindergarten tab at Paso Partners.

 

Little City Kids has units on Dinosaurs, the Ice age, Stone age and origins of agriculture. This lapbook on the book Magic School Bus Sunset for the Sabertooth might come in handy for this period as well.

 

Want to make snacks to go along with your units? Check out the Geologic and Paleontologic Cookbook. We'll be having a few ammonites in a blanket and trilobite cookies! They have other activities, too.

 

Fossil Facts and Finds has good information on pre-dinosaur periods, and teaching resources for older than early elementary.

 

And of course, there is Charlie's Playmat (or poster, since the playmat seems to be out of stock.) They have a great list of books about evolution for kids, too.

 

We'll be watching the "Walking With..." series - Walking With Prehistoric Beasts, Walking With Dinosaurs, Walking With Cavemen. We'll be doing a few crafts and activities like the classic baking soda and vinegar volcano, making fossils, egg carton alligator for early reptiles, and playdough Cambrian creatures. And there are a few field trips on our list, to the US Geological Society, zoo, planetarium, and natural history museum. We went to Colorado last summer and there are so many great field trips there! Wish that was on our list this time around! :)

 

Are there other resources I'm missing?

[redsquirrel]

I think for kids that young, you have pretty much covered all the resources I could think of and a couple more.

 

I am assuming on that those resources you have linked to have given you some nice picture books to read? I am having to reach a ways back, but when I did this with my (then) little ones they really enjoyed the picture books we could get from our library.

 

books like "Our Family Tree" and "Life on Earth" were a big hit.

[EmmaNadine]

These may be a little old, especially for the four year old, but they are good resources kids will go back to repeatedly.

 

This series by National Geographic: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1426300786/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=A2E8L0E8G9VTFN

 

This is book two in a three book series: http://www.amazon.com/From-Lava-Life-Universe-Children/dp/1584690429/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Book one is on the big bang, and book three is on human evolution. They are gorgeously illustrated and the text is poetic.

 

And then there is this series of graphic novels that your kids would probably love. http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Earth-The-Cartoon-History/dp/1553370716/

[Alte Veste Academy]

I am assuming on that those resources you have linked to have given you some nice picture books to read? I am having to reach a ways back, but when I did this with my (then) little ones they really enjoyed the picture books we could get from our library.

 

books like "Our Family Tree" and "Life on Earth" were a big hit.

 

:iagree: Also, Life Story. I do like having loads of picture book options laying around because you never know which one a kid is going to latch onto as a favorite.

 

My kids loved...

 

The Fossil Factory, Bones Rock, DK Fossils (We used the last book to identify fossils we collected when went on hunts. We found incredible things from when our area used to be under the ocean. Because we lived on a high hill at the time, it really made an impression on the kids!) If attention span permits, Every Bone Tells a Story was a favorite here as well.

 

Billions of Years, Amazing Changes: The Story of Evolution is a newer book that I just bought. It's wonderful! Sort of a Magic of Reality for the younger set.

 

We also enjoyed the Let's Read and Find Out books. There are several for this subject/period.

 

I second Born with a Bang and the other two books in this series. They are very artsy but were enjoyed. In reading these books years ago, it occurred to me that a discussion of the Big Bang is the perfect time to introduce the Periodic Table of Elements to children, as the raw materials that have produced everything on earth are a product of that event. I am a big believer in having the periodic table up on the wall next to the alphabet and number charts. There is a great Periodic Table Coloring Book although my kids loved The Elements so much that it has worked out better for us to use the info from the book to create our own life-size table, using sort of a combination of this idea and this idea.

 

By far, for the formation of the Earth, their favorite thing was making an edible earth. I have to admit it was yummy. :D

 

We also read creation stories from around the world. We used In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World but some of the stories are too mature. There is a newer book that looks beautiful that I would probably try if I were doing it over.

 

I can't believe I almost forgot DS6's favorite books of all-time. :tongue_smilie: They are National Geographic Prehistoric Mammals, Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep, and National Geographic Dinosaurs. His copies need new bindings now and I'm pretty sure I should just go ahead and buy new copies for my grandkids at this point. :lol:

[duckens]

OP: You are awesome!

 

Your kids are so lucky!

[JoLuRu]

Yes, picture books, of course! I didn't list those, but we have a well stocked library and will be using them for lots of fun story books. I have 2-3 each week on our list. :) Thank you for all the great suggestions!

 

Oh, and I *love* the edible earth idea! I'll definitely add that to our list.

[JoLuRu]

Grandma found a box of fossils in the basement! Yay for real life, hands on experiences!

 

Would you use the Charlie's Timeline or have the kids make their own? Charlie's playmat isn't available, unfortunately.

[~Amanda~]

Nice! bookmarking this, you have a lot of great resources here! I hope to do this this coming up year or starting in January with my LO!

[kalanamak]

Maroo of the Winter Caves is a very good read aloud. We did it as he neared 6 years old and it was a page-turner. Don't forget You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mammoth Hunter.

[EmmaNadine]

Playmobil has a stone age playset, complete with cave art paintings and a mammoth skin tent.

[JoLuRu]

Thanks for the additional resources! We're starting next week and I have a great stack of books from the library ready to go. We decided to make our own timeline.

 

I'll be sure to post more of our ideas as we do them.

[RoundAbout]

We just started our prehistory study. DS is already a fan of the "Walking with..." series so we're just going to revisit everything in order along with new books and some big bang information. My goal is that DS is able to tell a complete story from the beginning of the universe to the evolution of man using 20 or facts that he finds interesting. That is, I don't care so much that he memorizes the different time periods but that he knows dinosaurs came before large mammals, etc.

 

Don't forget that Dover has some great coloring books like Prehistoric Mammals and Before the Dinosaurs. We also have this Ice Age toob set and have this Prof. Noggins game on the way.