Digging into the Past: Unearthing the World of Dinosaurs
Our Year 3 students have been curious, adventurous and full of excitement this semester as they explore the fascinating world of dinosaurs through Project-Based Learning.
Through hands-on activities, exciting investigations and plenty of teamwork, students are discovering how scientists uncover clues from millions of years ago to learn about Earth's prehistoric past.
Throughout the unit, students are investigating the driving question, "What's under our feet?" as they explore fossils, dinosaurs and the hidden history beneath the ground. They are tackling big questions such as: “What came first, the dinosaur or the egg?”, “Can we dig up the past?”, “How is a fossil like a time machine?” and “What happened to the dinosaurs?” Every new discovery sparks more curiosity as students begin to piece together the incredible story of life on Earth millions of years ago.
Students are also learning about the differences between living and non-living things, discovering how dinosaurs grew and changed throughout their life cycles, and exploring how fossils were formed over millions of years. They are uncovering how rocks preserve clues from the past and learning why some animals became extinct. As they investigate these ancient mysteries, students are asking questions, making discoveries and piecing together evidence just like real palaeontologists.
One of the highlights of the semester has been an unforgettable dinosaur incursion that brought learning to life. Students met a life-sized Raptor, a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex and even a friendly Pterodactyl. They examined dinosaur eggs, learned about different species and experienced what it might have been like to come face-to-face with these incredible creatures. There were plenty of smiles, laughter and wide-eyed excitement as the dinosaurs roamed among them.
Later this semester, students will put their learning into action through an exciting Design Thinking challenge. Working in teams, they will design and create a prototype inspired by everything they have discovered about dinosaurs, fossils and the prehistoric world. Their finished creations will be proudly showcased at Exhibition Evening, where families will celebrate their creativity, teamwork and learning.
Our students loved sharing their learning:
We are learning to work out ‘what's under our feet’. That's the big question we are tackling in PBL. So far we have looked at fossils, different types of dinosaurs and the qualities of living and non-living things. We are learning about life cycles and soon we will learn more about rock formations.
— Micah
I love learning about dinosaurs. We even had dinosaurs come and visit us at school. We met Velociraptors and a mini t-rex and played lots of fun games. It really got us excited about our learning in PBL.
— Phoenix
I enjoy learning about all the different types of dinosaurs, like carnivores that eat meat. We are learning how to classify things into different groups.
— Emmie
In PBL we are learning about how fossils are formed and become like rocks. We are also learning about life cycles. I loved our incursion because we got to see what baby dinosaurs look like in eggs and how they change and grow.
— Skye
I like PBL because we are learning a lot about living and non-living things and how they interact with each other. My favourite part so far was when we met a Pterodactyl at school and it gave me a hug.
— Ava
I enjoy learning about dinosaurs and how we find fossils from so long ago. We are learning about how fossils are made and about things that are now extinct. PBL is so fun! We had a life-sized Velociraptor come to school and it made us so excited.
— Hugo
I love learning about fossils and what dinosaurs do in their life cycles. It's cool to learn about things that were around millions and millions of years ago. The dinosaur incursion was really funny too.
— Vince
It has been wonderful watching students grow in confidence as they ask questions, explore new ideas and work together to solve problems. Their excitement for discovering the prehistoric world has been contagious, and we look forward to seeing their creativity shine as they continue their dinosaur adventure throughout the rest of the semester.
Bianca Ravi
Learning Leader