Farrar Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 My boys want to do evolution and extinct animals as their science topic for the fall. I have a good handle on evolution resources I'd like to use, but I don't know a lot of good middle school level dinosaur stuff. There's a Scientists in the Field entry on bird dinosaurs that I guess we'll do. And I'm sure I'll raid the library. But what's out there? Not just on dinosaurs, but on more recent things like mammoths and saber tooth tigers and so forth... and pre-dinosaur stuff like Dimetrodon... Really, anything about long ago animals. And, just to be clear, we believe in evolution. We only want resources that are pro-evolution. No need for debate here. Thanks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underthebridge Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 The American Museum of Natural History's site for kids has a paleontology section http://www.amnh.org/explore/ology Also, the national park service has some interesting lesson plans https://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/nationalfossilday/activities.cfm This collection of lesson plans from the national park service has one on prehistoric mammals http://www.nature.nps.gov/views/System/Teach/Media/Data/BADL_Lessons.pdf 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 My son loves the BBC nature dinosaur videos--there are a lot of them. When I am at my computer I can try to find a link for you, there are some good ones about dinosaur evolution and extinction. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/collections/p00kf6gd http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/prehistoric Have you done the Dino 101 coursera course yet? Ds10 enjoyed that as well: https://www.coursera.org/course/dino101 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/collections/p00kf6gd http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/prehistoric Have you done the Dino 101 coursera course yet? Ds10 enjoyed that as well: https://www.coursera.org/course/dino101 Ooh, I like the idea of doing the Coursera with them though I was originally thinking to wait a year or so before doing a MOOC with them... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Really, Dino 101 on Coursera is such a fantastic introduction to MOOCs that I highly encourage you to go ahead. My accelerated 5yo liked it every bit as much as I did! Have you seen the BBC "Walking With..." series yet? It's a mix of fact and supposition, but engaging and covers a huge variety of animals throughout time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Yeah, we watched the Walking with... stuff. Though, in general, my kids are *not* dinosaur nuts and never have been. This was a surprise request for me. Did you guys register your kids for the Dino 101 or just yourself and have them do it alongside you? Will I have to age lie to get around the 13 yo laws and if so, does that mean I'll have to ditch that registration and reregister them for Coursera in a couple of years? (Ugh, the number of places I've lied to so my kids can use them online makes me nuts... dumbest law ever.) Any book suggestions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I just registered myself and let him do it. I wish there were more courses like that one, he was sad when he finished it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 We have this in a storage box waiting for the tooth fairy to drop it off for the next lost tooth: http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-DK/dp/1465420479/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437272568&sr=1-1&keywords=smithsonian+dk+dinosaur It says ages 8-12 but I think it has a bigger age range than that. I like that it does things by era. The section on the Cenozoic seems to have some non-Dinosaur stuff in it, like woolly mammoths and smilodons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I assume I registered it under me. We tended to watch it together on the iPad when we were at the table for meals, and we just watched the videos and skipped any of the additional work. Maize - How Things Work on Coursera also worked pretty well for us. It's an intro to conceptual physics. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paceofnature Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I have GEMS Life Through Time sitting on the shelf. It looks pretty good and hope to pull it out for a fun unit study next year. Possibly with Voyages Through Time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Most libraries are positively overflowing with books about dinosaurs, but the problem is that - at least, here, ymmw - so many of them are out of date (I studied dinosaurs in about 5th grade and I think every singl thing I learned is now wrong!). I would try to inculcate some basic understanding of the processes behind our knowledge of extinct fauna. So veering away from learning lists of dinosaurs, how big they were and what they ate, and more towards how paleontologists study and interpret the evidence, and how our understanding of prehistoric time periods is changing and progressing over time. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 We have this in a storage box waiting for the tooth fairy to drop it off for the next lost tooth: http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-DK/dp/1465420479/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437272568&sr=1-1&keywords=smithsonian+dk+dinosaur It says ages 8-12 but I think it has a bigger age range than that. I like that it does things by era. The section on the Cenozoic seems to have some non-Dinosaur stuff in it, like woolly mammoths and smilodons. We have that book and it is great! Though we use it more as a picture book :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I think you should go on a fossil hunt! And field trips to the national museum of history. Study weather/geological processes/human activities that cause extinction, recent extinction of animals and theorize why some may go extinct at certain times, modern ways to decrease extinction and what has been successful. Idk if that's too modern. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Most libraries are positively overflowing with books about dinosaurs, but the problem is that - at least, here, ymmw - so many of them are out of date (I studied dinosaurs in about 5th grade and I think every singl thing I learned is now wrong!). I would try to inculcate some basic understanding of the processes behind our knowledge of extinct fauna. So veering away from learning lists of dinosaurs, how big they were and what they ate, and more towards how paleontologists study and interpret the evidence, and how our understanding of prehistoric time periods is changing and progressing over time. Yeah, and most of the books are geared toward younger kids - like Let's Read and Find Out level. There's a lot of not right for us and a lot of junk to sort through. The big encyclopedia mentioned above looks cool but my kids don't tend to get into those sorts of things. For books, I think I'd rather read something that's more like a case study type thing that's narrative, not blurby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemota Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I have GEMS Life Through Time sitting on the shelf. It looks pretty good and hope to pull it out for a fun unit study next year. Possibly with Voyages Through Time. Seconding the Gems Guide - and it looks like they have a couple used/ good condition on amazon... We used several of the Gems Guides last year for an earth science year and it worked really well. DD12 got a lot more out of them than she did from any text. We haven't used Life Through Time, but I'd love to fit it in somehow this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I'd also suggest looking at more recent extinctions. Especially among amphibians, there are a lot of recently extinct or near extinct animals that are quite cool to study (the gastric brooding frog is one which pops to mind). Another cool one is the Axolotl-which has been deemed extinct in the wild several times only to be rediscovered. I would suggest looking for books published within the last 5 years-there have been a lot of changes quite recently. If you're on Twitter, there are a ton of paleontology grad students who regularly post about their research and discoveries and are fun to follow. Another fun offshoot is cryptozoology-that's things like Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Netflix has a lot of dinosaur and other stuff on there, check it out. And look for eyewitness documentaries at your library. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Yeah, and most of the books are geared toward younger kids - like Let's Read and Find Out level. There's a lot of not right for us and a lot of junk to sort through. The big encyclopedia mentioned above looks cool but my kids don't tend to get into those sorts of things. For books, I think I'd rather read something that's more like a case study type thing that's narrative, not blurby. The "Voyages Through Time" linked up thread is more narrative and less blurby, if that helps. We used it in grammar stage as a read aloud, but I still think it's a great book. Does the Charlie's Playhouse book list have any that might also hit on dinosaurs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 The "Voyages Through Time" linked up thread is more narrative and less blurby, if that helps. We used it in grammar stage as a read aloud, but I still think it's a great book. Does the Charlie's Playhouse book list have any that might also hit on dinosaurs? That's good to know. The Charlie's Playhouse book lists are really good, but they're super focused on Darwin, the theory of evolution, and human evolution - they don't have much listed about animal evolution with an eye toward the past really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 That's good to know. The Charlie's Playhouse book lists are really good, but they're super focused on Darwin, the theory of evolution, and human evolution - they don't have much listed about animal evolution with an eye toward the past really. The only reason why I mentioned it is because I'm fairly certain I read about "Voyages Through Time" from their list. It's been awhile, though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 The only reason why I mentioned it is because I'm fairly certain I read about "Voyages Through Time" from their list. It's been awhile, though. It doesn't seem to be on their Amazon list now. This one, which is part of BYL's evolution unit and is one I may get is on their list though: http://www.amazon.com/Billions-Years-Amazing-Changes-Evolution/dp/1590787234/ref=cm_lmf_tit_27 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 If you didn't do carbon dating as part of chemistry, this would be an obvious tie-in, and one that is often skimmed over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 It might be too location specific or not enough about the animals themselves but just in case they find themselves on a rabbit trail, the Denver Museum has a timeline of the discovery of what ended up being a huge collection of bones of Ice Age animals in Snowmass. There were mammoths, mastodons, sloths, camels, horses There's some things for families, which might skew too young on the site as well. http://www.dmns.org/science/the-snowmastodon-project/ The two lead scientists also wrote a book about the discovery, dig, and the science of it all. http://www.amazon.com/Digging-Snowmastodon-Discovering-Colorado-Rockies/dp/193690506X 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Bumping for the Monday crowd. I'd especially love to get more book ideas along the lines/ level of the Scientists in the Field series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Oh well, no new things? I am looking at these two about dinosaurs - the first one is on the NSTA lists and both are Nat Geo books, which I've often found are some of the best out there in terms of narrative nonfiction for the middle grades (or, um, sometimes it feels like they're the only people publishing quality nonfiction for this demographic...): How Dinosaurs Took Flight Bizarre Dinosaurs And I was looking at this one about mammoths, but there's no look inside. Drat: Mammoths and Mastodons 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Whenever I go on book hunts like this I start getting book ideas. Like, why has almost no one written a book about the moas? You'd think that would make a cool children's nonfiction book. Giant killer birds. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebbyribs Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Here are a few I've come across with my 5-yo dinosaur nut that I think would work well for older kids: Giganotosaurus: The Giant Southern Lizard This is a comic book. A Field Guide to Dinosaurs All Yesterdays - this one has a page with speculative dinosaur mating. It's an awesome book for exploring trends in dinosaur illustration and questioning how much we really know about an animal based on just its bones. There are some great pictures of reconstructions of modern animals based on partial skeletons. Planet Dinosaur We really liked How Dinosaurs Took Flight Also, I'd highly recommend Chased by Dinosaurs with Nigel Marvin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Do your kids enjoy the Usborne See Inside books? They don't have a ton of content, but they do have a couple of spreads with a number of animals besides dinosaurs, and the information is interesting (um, and FLAPS!). I was just looking through it with one of my kids last night http://www.amazon.com/Inside-World-Dinosaurs-Alex-Frith/dp/0794514367/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 (although the one we have has a blue cover). Someone else just posted a link to Utah's free online science curriculum and I see in the 8th grade book there is a section on fossil formation (starts on page 106, but the rock stuff beforehand leads up to it well). There may be other stuff in other grades too. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/558215-updated-free-secular-science-resource/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Have you seen the Dougal Dixon Prehistoric World books? It's a series and each one covers a different time, such as The Age of Mammals or Cretaceous Life. The books survey the different animals found in each time period. They are probably a little younger than you are looking for, but they are the only book I found like it, and it might make a handy overview if your boys are interested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I found this site... http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/books.htm# The suggestions might be for adults but you might be able to work with them. Lists a moa book! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I don't remember the reference but I loved making "fossils" of different kinds at that age! So hands-on and memorable! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 For your own edification, you might want to read "The Sixth Extinction" by Elizabeth Kolbert. It won the Pulitzer for non-fiction this year. Because of the prize it is possible your library will have it. I borrowed it as an ebook and there was a big waiting list for it. http://smile.amazon.com/Sixth-Extinction-Unnatural-History/dp/1250062187/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437531418&sr=8-1&keywords=The+sixth+extinction I found it very educational, in terms of teaching how biology has approached the idea of extinction (at one time it was thought an impossible thing etc). It isn't a book I would have my middle schooler read, but there are things in I will def be incorporating into our next foray into life science and evolution. I think I will want to be covering the idea that there have been 5 big extinctions, that we know of, in earth's fossil record. There is the big one, the dinosaur one, that everyone knows about (and that gets it's own chapter), but there have been others. Each has left the world totally different than it was before. Plus, it was a really good book, lol. I also think there is an episode of the new Cosmos that deals with evolution and it talks about the halls of extinction. That might be worth checking out 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebbyribs Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 We read another dinosaur book today that seems like it would be appropriate for middle school: Global Warming and the Dinosaurs Despite the title, the book doesn't really have much about global warming. It focuses on dinosaur fossils recently found near the poles and what they can tell us about the dinosaurs that lived in those environments. We don't usually think about dinosaurs being nocturnal, hibernating, or living in cold weather, but there's evidence for all of those ways of life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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