LEARNING RESOURCE GUIDE GRADE 4-6

Transcription

1 GRADE 4-6

2 INTRODUCTION In Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, woolly mammoths Manny and Ellie are anxiously awaiting the birth of their baby when their friend, Sid the sloth, stumbles across three abandoned eggs and keeps them to raise as his own. When the eggs hatch, dinosaurs are born and Sid returns to the Lost World of the Dinosaurs to help Mama T-Rex raise her babies. Manny, Ellie, Diego, Crash, and Eddie go after Sid and, along with the help of a wacky weasel named Buck, brave the lost Dinosaur World to try and bring him back to his Ice Age home. TEACHER BACKGROUND What would happen if a woolly mammoth met a Tyrannosaurus Rex? That is the basic premise of Ice Age: Return of the Dinosaurs. While it makes for a fun movie, in reality the Mammoth and the Dinosaurs never shared the planet at the same time the Mammoth came along many millions of years after the Dinosaurs went extinct. Still, the film does help illustrate several important concepts. The Earth Changes The Earth did not always look like it does today. The kinds of animals and plants, the climate, the positions of the continents, and the Earth s path around the Sun have changed. Some changes happened suddenly, others very slowly over millions of years. Scientists often use a timeline to trace the changes of prehistoric life. 500 Million Years Ago (MYA) Early life 250 MYA Dinosaurs arise 65 MYA Dinosaurs die out 2.5 MYA Ice age Today 2

3 The Ice Age Over time, the Earth has had several ice ages followed by warming periods. When people talk about the ice age, they are usually referring to the most recent glacial period which reached its peak about 18,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. Huge sheets of ice covered much of North America. Sea level was about 330 feet lower than today. As more land became exposed, many animals and even humans crossed from continent to continent on land bridges. The Bering Land Bridge connected Asia and North America. The bridge was thousands of miles wide and allowed animals, plants and humans to cross. Adaptations to the Cold The most recent ice age is interesting because it was the last era when really gigantic animals walked the Earth. These animals had many adaptations to thrive in cold temperatures.» Generally had short limbs and small ears relative to body size to help reduce the amount of skin surface exposed to cold» Had dense, shaggy hair with thick fur underneath to keep warm» Had a layer of blubber under skin, similar to whales» Mammoths used large tusks like a snow plow to clear off snow and find grass to eat. As the last Ice Age loosened its grip and the climate warmed, many of these animals faced obstacles, leading to their demise.» Forests replaced grasslands, causing a food shortage.» Hunting by early humans eliminated several animals.» The woolly mammoth was one of the last survivors, becoming extinct 4,000 years ago. 3

4 WORD WALL Here are some vocabulary words related to the film. Write a sentence using each word. Be creative! Adaptation A characteristic or behavior that helps an animal survive and reproduce in its environment. Camouflage The ability of an animal to hide by blending into its environment. Carnivore An animal that eats mostly meat. Climate The average weather for a specific area over a long period of time. Climate is affected by geography, oceans, and large changes to the earth. Extinct When the last one of a particular kind of animal dies. Glacier A large body of ice that forms when more snow falls than melts over many hundreds of years. Glaciers are found in the polar regions and in high mountains. Herbivore An animal that eats plants. Ice Age A period of time when the earth s temperature cools and large sheets of ice form on the planet. There have been at least five major ice ages in the earth s history. Mammals Animals with backbones, breath air with lungs, have hair, and feed milk to their young. Polar Region The regions of the globe surrounding the North and South Poles. Ice caps cover each pole. 4

5 MEET THE CAST OF THE SHOW Drawing the connection between the cartoon characters and the actual animals is important for students to understand. Meet a few of the characters from the movie, and learn about their real-life counterparts including a fun fact. Write a story about your favorite character from the film. What type of adventures will your character experience during the Ice Age? Character Animal Fun Fact Size They ranged from the size of a black bear to that of a large elephant and were covered with short fur. Sid Ground Sloth Long shaggy hair more than three feet long, and a 3-inch layer of fat kept the mammoths warm. Manny Woolly Mammoth 5

6 MEET THE CAST OF THE SHOW Scientists believe the saber-toothed cat hunted by ambushing its prey. Its jaw opened very wide, allowing use of its 7-inch teeth to sever the arteries and windpipe of its victim. Diego Saber-toothed Cat The legs of a T-Rex were huge, but the arms were so short they couldn t reach its mouth. No one knows how T-Rex used those tiny arms. Momma T-Rex Baryonyx is one of the few known fish-eating dinosaurs. It had a long, narrow mouth with tiny serrated teeth. Curved sharp claws helped it catch slippery fish. Rudy Baryonyx 6

7 EDUCATION STANDARDS Common Core Standards Reading Informational Text Understand key ideas and details Integrate knowledge and ideas Reading Foundational Skills Phonics and Word Recognition Language Vocabulary acquisition and use Next Generation Science Standards Life Science Core Ideas Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics Biological evolution: Unity and diversity Earth Science Core Ideas Earth s systems 7

8 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY #1: Earth Timeline Name: Date: Directions to Teachers In this activity, students will read a very brief description of earth s history. Students will then read the description of five events that took place in earth s history. Students will place each event in the correct sequence, beginning with the first (oldest) to last (newest). When placed in the correct order the letters spell a word. Directions to Students The earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Scientists believe life began in the ocean about 3.6 billion years ago. Primitive bacteria were probably the first life forms. About 490 million years ago, the first small plants and invertebrates appeared on land. Then beginning about 200 million years ago many types of dinosaurs are found throughout the earth. Then about 65 million years ago the dinosaurs suddenly went extinct. After the dinosaurs disappeared, mammals and birds expanded on the earth. About 5 million years ago humans began to develop. The last ice age ends about 10,000 years ago. After this time humans spread across the world and modern human society begins. Below are descriptions of five events in the history of the earth. Put each event in the correct sequence beginning with the first (oldest) to last (newest). Write the letter for each event below. When placed in the correct order the letters spell a word. A. E. H. R. T. The first plants and animals appear on land. Primitive life began in the ocean. This life was most likely small bacteria. The last ice age ends. Humans spread across the world. Many types of dinosaurs are found throughout the world. Dinosaurs become extinct. Mammals and birds expand on earth. Oldest event Most recent event 8

9 ACTIVITY #2: Ice Age Food Web Directions to Teachers In this activity, students will create an ice age food web. Before the activity, discuss with students that all living things need food to survive. Ask students to list some common animals (for example, birds, raccoon, etc.) and ask what they eat in the wild. Explain that there were similar animals in the ice age as there are today. These animals ate similar things as today s animals. Pass out the worksheets to the students. After this activity, ask students to create a modern food web they might have in their area. Directions to Students The last great ice age began 2.5 million years ago during the Pleistocene epoch. During this time, glaciers covered a large portion of the earth. Many animals and plants found then were similar to the ones existing today. Some of the earlier animals were giants; much larger than their modern relatives. Create a Pleistocene food web on the following page by drawing lines between the animals and what they eat. 9

10 ACTIVITY #2: Ice Age Food Web Name: Date: Woolly Rhinoceros These animals were thought to live in Northern Europe. They grew to be over 10 feet tall. They were herbivores. Short Faced Bear Lived in prehistoric North America. They would get to be 1,800 pounds. These bears were most likely carnivorous and ate large mammals. Sun Provides sunlight that plants turn into energy for growth. Ancient Bison These were larger than modern bison. They were herbivores and grazed in open areas. Ground Squirrel Small squirrel that lived during the ice age. They were herbivores. Walnuts Walnut-like trees existed during the ice age in North America. Colombian Mammoth Mammoths grew to be almost 15 feet tall. They ate grasses and some trees as well as large fruit. They were found all over North America. Sycamore Sycamore trees like this one existed in the ice age and are still found today. Smilodon A saber-toothed cat lived in North and South America. They were carnivores that ate larger mammals. Grass Grew during the Pleistocene. 10

11 POST-SHOW ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY #1: Who s Who (PART A) Name: Date: Directions to Students Below are pictures and descriptions of six animals. Some of these animals live on earth today. Some of these animals lived during the ice age. On the line below each description write Ice age if you think it is an ice age animal, and Today if you believe the animal lives on earth today. Jefferson s Ground Sloth Can grow to 8-10 feet tall. Stands on the ground and lifts itself on its hind legs to eat leaves from trees. Lives east of the Rocky Mountains. Hoffmann s Two Toed Sloth Grow to be 28 inches tall. Live in tree and eat leaves. They are found in Central and South America. Asiatic Lion Found in northwestern India. These animals grow over 9 feet long. They are hunters. They normally eat wild boar and deer. American Mastodon They were over ten feet tall. They were herbivores that liked to graze. African Elephant Grow to a little over 10 feet tall. They can be found in eastern, southern, and western Africa. Often eat the leaves off trees. Cave Lion These animals lived in Europe. They grew to be 7 feet long. They lived in forests and grasslands. They preyed upon large animals like deer and bison. 11

12 ACTIVITY #1: Who s Who (PART B) Name: Date: Pick one ice age animal and it s modern counterpart. Compare and contrast these animals. Include information about where they lived and any special adaptations.you may use other sources when comparing animals. MODERN ANIMAL ICE AGE ANIMAL DIFFERENCES SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES 12

13 ACTIVITY #2: Cool Advice Directions to Students While there are still large glaciers at the North and South poles, these glaciers are melting due to increasing global temperatures. This is referred to as global warming. Although global warming may be a natural phenomenon, human actions are having an effect. There are many simple actions that everyone can do to help. PART A: In this activity, you will identify actions as cool or uncool. Cool activities are ones that would help the polar ice caps. Uncool ones hurt the polar ice caps. Begin listing questions here instead of the blue filler picture. PART B: Do your parents know Cool from Uncool? Have them complete the quiz above to find out. Then, as a family, write three more Cool actions you can take to help save the polar ice caps! 13

14 ACTIVITY #2: Cool Advice (PART A) Name: Date: 1. Put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat during winter. 2. Warm up the car on frosty mornings. 3. Always use cold water when washing dirty laundry. 4. Use packaged juices and milk cartons in your school lunch. 5. Buy wrapping paper at the store for holiday gift-giving. 6. Use energy-saving light bulbs to light your home in the dark winter nights. 7. Turn off your computer and other electronic devices when you are not using them. 8. Plant trees and bushes in your yard. ACTIVITY #2: Cool Advice (PART B) Select one of your cool or uncool activities. Write a paragraph defending your position. 14

15 ANSWER SHEET RESOURCES PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES BOOKS ACTIVITY #1: Earth Timeline E A R T Oldest event H Most recent event ICE AGE: Meet early humans and amazing animals sharing a frozen planet. Barron s Educational Series. ISBN-10: Dinosaur. DK Publishing. ISBN ACTIVITY #2: Ice Age Food Web WEB Frozen Planet. Climate Change. U.S. EPA., climatechange/ Woolly Mammoth. Woolly_mammoth/ Elephant Odyssey. WHERE TO VISIT POST-SHOW ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY #1: Who s Who Jefferson s Ground Sloth Hoffmann s Two Toed sloth American Mastodon African Elephant Asiatic Lion Cave Lion Ice Age Today Ice Age Today Today Ice Age La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, California, The Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, South Dakota, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, ACTIVITY #2: Cool Advice Cool Uncool Cool Uncool Uncool Cool Cool Cool 15

16 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs & 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.