Ten Terrible Dinosaurs, by Paul Strickland

What child doesn’t like dinosaurs? This fun book will help children with their number awareness.

Materials

A variety of small dinosaurs
Some rocks, sticks, grass, etc. to make dinosaur habitats/dioramas

Vocabulary

Enormous (really, really big)
Spiky (sharp and pointed)
Elated (to be happy)
Feisty (acting pretty wild)
Weary (tired)
Carnivore (one who eats meat)
Herbivore (one who eats plants)
Canine teeth (the pointed tooth between the incisors and the molars, people have one on each side of their mouth.)

Before Reading the Story

Today the children will be exploring their teeth before reading the story. Make sure that the children have washed their hands appropriately before they come to the group today so that they will not be putting dirty fingers into their mouths. On a piece of paper, draw a large tooth. Ask the children if they know what it is. Talk for a moment about dental care (brushing, dentist visits, minimal sugars, and not using teeth to open things). After you have discussed dental care to your and the children’s satisfaction, point to the tooth you drew and ask the children if all teeth are shaped like this. Draw a pointy canine tooth. Tell them that some teeth are shaped like this and ask them to touch the tooth in their mouth that is pointy like this. Explain that this tooth is called a canine tooth. It is pointy so that it can tear and eat meat. People and animals that eat meat are called carnivores. Ask them to think about other animals that might have pointy teeth. After each, if it is a meat eater say, “Yes, it’s a carnivore”. Have the children go back into their mouths and touch a back molar. Explain that some teeth are flat like these and are called molars. People and animals use them so that they can chew plants like vegetables and fruits. Tell them that people and animals that eat plants are called herbivores. Ask them to think of some animals that might be herbivores. If it is a plant eater say, “Yes, a (rabbit) is an herbivore. If the animal eats both meat and plants tell the children that it is both an herbivore and a carnivore and has a special name called omnivore. Let the children name animals and guess. Make sure the children are repeating back the words to you. (I like meat and veggies so I am an omnivore. My sister only eats veggies so she is an herbivore like a rabbit).

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations. AND Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Reading the Story

Tell the children that your story today is about a creature that is sometimes an herbivore and sometimes a carnivore. Read the title of the book and look at the dinosaurs on the cover. Point to each one and ask, could this one be a carnivore? (Only the ones with visible teeth count) When you get to the pages that say, “so then there were”…pause to see if the children can name the correct number.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates and increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.

After reading the Story

Hold up 10 fingers and state, “10 take away one equals _____. Let down a finger. (take away one equals ____.) Continue down to zero.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine, seperate, and name “how many” concrete objects.

Discovery

Bring in pictures of dinosaurs or books about dinosaurs. Literacy Knowledge and skills; shows interest in shared reading experiences and looking at books independently.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading-related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home; going to the library; and engaging in pretend reading with a peer.

Music and Movement

Say, “Feel that shaking on the floor, must be the dancing of the dinosaurs!” Turn on some lively music and stomp, twist and dance to the music.

Creative Arts/Movement; shows growth in moving in time to different patterns of beat and rhythm in music.

Sing 10 Big Dinosaurs to the tune of 10 little indians.

1 big, 2 big, 3 big dinosaurs,

4 big, 5 big, 6 big dinosaurs,

7 big, 8 big, 9 big dinosaurs,

Ten big dinosaurs!

They all lived a long, long time ago.

.Now they are extinct. (Now they live no more)

Mathematics/Number & Operations;develops increasing ability to count to ten and beyond.

Blocks

Dinosaurs in blocks would be fun. Encourage children to create a habitat. Hang a picture on the wall so the children can see what earth looked like during the dinosaur era.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Curiosity; demonstrates increasing ability to set goals and develop and follow through on plans.

Art

Move the chairs away from your art table and have the children stand around the edges. Tell them that you are going to be dancing, twirling, silly dinosaurs. Put out two primary colors of finger paint directly on the table and some lively music. As the children finger paint the table top, help them be aware that the two colors are mixing into a new one. (This is really fun but make sure to give yourself ample clean-up time as it tends to be messy).

Creative Arts/Movement; shows growth in moving in time to different patterns of beat and rhythm in music. AND Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

Library and Writing

Make a large D on a piece of paper. Tell the children that this is a capital D that begins the word dinosaur. Ask the children to think of as many D words as they can and write them on the paper with the large D.

Literacy/Phonological Awareness; shows growing awareness of beginning and ending sounds of words.

Sand and Water

Add small dinosaurs to the sand table. Dampen the sand so the children can make mountains, craters, and volcanoes. Add rocks and sticks to make a dinosaur diorama.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness.

Dramatic Play

As the children move about the room today, at intervals call out , “Dinosaurs Roar!” and encourage all the children to roar loudly with you. When you are counting down 10 minutes to clean-up you can ask the dinosaurs if they heard you and they can roar, Kerry, it’s time to use the bathroom (have Kerry roar that she heard you). If a child is feeling frustrated ask them to roar and then ask them to raor again louder.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; shows progress in expressing feelings, needs, and opinions in difficult situations and conflicts without harming self, others, or property.

Math and Manipulatives

This would be a good day to put out any puzzles relating to dinosaurs, teeth, or numbers.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors. AND Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Outdoor Play

Choose one child to be the ferocious, meat eating Tyrannosaurus Rex. The rest of the children can be the gentle plant-eating dinosaurs. The T Rex is it and chases the others. If they are caught, they must go stand by a tree and pretend to eat the leaves until the T Rex has caught three children and then a new T Rex is chosen.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly directive or submissive. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Transitions

As the children go to their next activity, ask them to make loud chomping sounds if they are an herbivore plant eater, roar if they are a carnivore meat eater, now stomp on off.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding;understands an increasingly and complex vocabulary.

Resources

Those Icky Sticky Smelly Cavity-Causing but… Invisible Germs, by Judith Anne Rice

This book introduces children to the why’s of brushing your teeth. It talks about the different kinds of germs that can damage teeth and how to care for your teeth. This story is a good introduction to dental care.

Materials

Dental x-rays (Most dentists will give you old x-rays of your teeth if you tell them you want to share them with your children.)
Popsicle sticks (one per child)
Several old toothbrushes
A bottle of school glue
A small, one-inch square, piece of contact paper per child

Vocabulary

Germs (a teeny tiny invisible particle, or piece of something that can make you or your teeth sick)
Sticky (covered with something that is gluey)
Halitosis (a scientific name for the germs that make bad breath)
Invisible (too small to see or unable to see-like the wind)
Cavity (a hole in your tooth caused by germs)
Tartar (a hard build up on your teeth like when dried play dough gets stuck to our play dough tools)
Gums (the part of your mouth that surrounds your teeth and holds them in place)
X-rays (pictures of your teeth or bones)

Introducing the Story

Read the Title of the book to the children. Ask them if they know what sticky means. Give each child a piece of the contact paper and explain that the one side is sticky. Have them stick it to their cheek, their elbow, their foot, etc.. Ask them if they can think of other things that are sticky. Write their “sticky thoughts” onto a piece of large paper. Re-read the title and ask them if they know what invisible means. Explain that germs are SO teeny tiny that you cannot see them with your eyes. Show teeny tiny with your fingers and name some really tiny objects (they’re smaller then a grain of sand, smaller then a dot on a paper). Re-read the title again, ask the children if they know what a cavity is. Ask them if they can guess what the story is about. Show the children the cover of the book and re-read the title again, can they guess what these creatures on the front represent? (Cavities)

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences and comparisons among objects and materials. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Reading the Story

When you get to a page that says, “This!” shutter and shake your head. When you get to the page that says, “Thank goodness Sal knows what all of need to know-how to get rid of the germs in our mouths.” Stop and ask the children if they know what needs to be done (brush your teeth). When you get to the part that says, “The next day, Sal had an appointment for his six-month checkup at the…” slow down here and see if the children say Dentist’s Office.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; shows increased awareness amd beginning understanding of changes in materials and cause-effect relationships. And Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; builds awareness and ability to follow basic health and safety rules.

After Reading the Story

Tape a large piece of paper onto the wall and explain to the children that you are going to make a class germ. Go around the circle asking each child a question in regards to how the germ should look. (What color should are germ be? What shape do you want the germ to be? How many eyes should our germ have? What color eyes should we make?) As they answer, draw the germ onto the piece of paper. When everybody has contributed a part of the germ, do the Toothbrush Chant or your own tooth brushing song.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities. AND Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Music and Movement

Teach the children the toothbrush chant/cadence

Brush your teeth every day,

Up and down it is the right way.

Back and forth and circles too

That’s just what you’ve got to do.

Brush your teeth every day,

Up and down it is the right way.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; shows growing independence in hygiene, nutrition, and personal care when eating, dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth, and toileting.

Teach your children Brush Your Teeth by Raffi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dup3IArSNs

When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to one and you want to have a little fun, You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch…. When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to two and you want to find something to do, You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch…. When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to three and your mind starts humming a tweedle dee dee, You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch…. When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to four and you think you hear a knock at the door, You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch…. When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to five and you just can’t wait to come alive, You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch….

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Discovery

Hang the dental x-rays in the window. Show the children how the tooth goes into the gum. Can you see a cavity or a filling on the x-ray? Talk to the children about your own dental experiences.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

Blocks

Explain to the children that by the time they are three years old they have around 20 teeth in their mouth. Challenge the children to count out 20 blocks. Can they make two rows of ten? Can they make a pattern with the two rows of blocks (square, rectangle, square, rectangle)?

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects. AND Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Art

Cut out yellow tooth shapes and put them on the easel. Give the children white paint and an old toothbrush. Challenge them to brush the plaque away by covering all the yellow with white paint.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and aart tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Sand and Water

Put items in the water table that can float today. Challenge the children to make the water whirl and swirl the objects.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Library and Writing

Ask the children to draw their own version of a cavity onto a half a piece of drawing paper. Ask them to tell you one way that you can keep your teeth healthy and write their answer onto a small piece of paper. Have them glue both pieces of paper onto a larger piece. Remind them that in the story the author said children should just use a dot of toothpaste. As they put the glue on the back of their picture and your words have them repeat,”Not a lot, just a drop”. You can put all the children’s germ pictures into book form and make your own class Icky Sticky Smelly Cavity-Causing Invisible Germ book.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; grows in eagerness to learn about and discuss a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Dramatic Play

As the children use the kitchen today, ask them to sort and name for you which plastic food items you have that are healthy for teeth and which one’s might not be as healthy for teeth? Ask the children if any of the foods are sticky?

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary. AND Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to march, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as shape and size.

Math and Manipulatives

Let the children put on rubber gloves today and give them small mirrors to look in their mouth and count their teeth. Can they see the different shapes if the teeth? Can they see any food or tartar on their teeth? Does anyone have a cavity?

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and respect for their bodies and the environment.

Outdoor Play

Look at the toys on the playground. Do any of them have sand or dirt build up in the crevices? Explain to the children that this is like tartar that builds up over time on your teeth. Give the children popsicle sticks to try to dig out the dirt and sand. Talk about how the dentist has special tools to scrape away the tartar on your teeth.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them.

Transitions

Remind the children that in the story Sal brushed away halitosis germs that give us bad breath. As the children go to the next activity ask them if they can think of something that is stinky and might cause a halitosis germ. It does not have to be something that they eat; the concept is to think of something that is stinky and smelly.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Resources

Dear Parent-

We have been talking about germs that cause tooth decay today. Ask your child to tell you about tartar and halitosis. (Tartar-the build up that occurs on your teeth, like dirt on toys. Halitosis- the germ that causes stinky smelly breath). Ask them, what the best way to prevent cavities is. Practice brushing your teeth together in the morning and after meals or snacks.

Clarabella’s Teeth, by An Vrombaut

Clarabella Crocodile and her friends all take good care of their teeth. The problem is that Clarabella has so many teeth!

Materials

Several small purse size mirrors
Camera
Masking Tape
Paper plates

Vocabulary

Scooter (a thing you ride on while pushing with your foot to make it go)
Hygiene (all the ways we keep our bodies clean)
Cavities (holes, cracks, or openings that get in our teeth)
Dentists (the doctor who helps keep your teeth clean and healthy)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they know what the word hygiene means. If they do not, explain that hygiene means all the ways that we keep our bodies clean. Let the children share with you some of the things that they do or do not to keep their bodies clean and healthy. ( I take a bath at night, My Mom tells me to put socks on when I wear my gym shoes, Daddy brushes my hair after my bath). After they have shared, tell them that you want to think especially about ways that we keep our teeth clean. Again, let the children discuss the topic. (I brush my teeth, I use my red toothbrush and go up and down).

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; shows growing independence in hygiene, nutrition, and personal care when eating, dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth, and toileting.

Reading the Story

When you get to the page where everyone is getting ready for bed and Clarabella sighs a long sigh, stop and ask the children if they might know what Ruby’s idea is.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress inabilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

After Reading the Story

Explain to the children that we brush our teeth to keep the plaque germs away that can make our teeth sick and get holes, these holes are called cavities. Brushing teeth is very important to keeping our teeth strong and white. Show the children how to properly brush their teeth. If you brush teeth at school, take time to watch as each child brushes today to make sure they are following the proper steps.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; shows growing independence in hygiene, nutrition, and personal care when eating, dressing, washing hands, brushing teeth, and toileting.

Discovery

Give a child a small mirror and ask them to try to count how many teeth they have in their mouth. While they are looking, help them become aware of the various shapes of teeth in their mouths. Talk about how the thick molar teeth are for chewing and the pointy incisors are for ripping and tearing food.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increasing ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects and materials. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Take a close-up picture of each child’s smile and make it into a guessing game book, Who’s Smiling Here?

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Music and Movement

Do the Toothbrush Chant.

Brush your teeth everyday

Up and down it is the right way

Back and forth and sideways too

We know exactly what to do.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multi-step directions.

Do the Smile Talk and Chew Rap

Smile talk and chew

These are the things that I can do

With my mouth, with my mouth

Smile talk and chew.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Blocks

Put a mirror into the center and ask the children to count the number of teeth that they see in their mouth. Ask them to represent their teeth with blocks. Encourage them to line the blocks up in a row use one block to represent each tooth and to perhaps also make a pattern of tall-short-tall-short.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means of solving problems and determining quantity.

Art

Give each child a piece of newsprint cut out into a simple crocodile shape. Have the children crumple the paper into a ball and then un-crumple. Make slightly watery brown paint and let the children paint the crocodile shape. When it has dried, add small white triangle shaped teeth. The crumpling of the paper makes the paint take on sort of a crocodile skin texture.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression sands representation.

Make several crocodile heads on cardboard or thicker paper and let the children use play dough to make teeth by rolling the dough into small balls and placing it in the crocodile’s mouth. As they work, ask them how many teeth they have or show me four teeth, three teeth.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means of solving problems and determining quantity.

Library and Writing

Play ABC River Crossing. On the floor mark off a large “river” area with 2 pieces of masking tape. On the paper plates write letters of the alphabet. Use only a few if your children are just learning about letters and more if they have had some practice identifying letters. Have the children stand on one side of the river and hold up a letter card and name the letter and the letter sound. The child must jump to the corresponding paper plate/rock. Once the child is across, another child tries to get across the river.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; shows progress in associating the names of letters with their shapes and sounds. And; identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially those in their own name.

Sand and Water

Fill the table with damp sand today and dig holes. Remind the children that cavities are holes in our teeth caused by germs called plaque. Tell the children that they are going to be the dentist. Pretend the sand is a tooth and let’s dig a cavity. Then use sand toys or Popsicle sticks to fill the cavity/hole back in.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Dramatic Play

As the children play in the kitchen area today, ask them to identify which foods are crunchy and which are soft to chew.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in a series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes.

Math and Manipulatives

Make a graph that represents toothbrush colors. Let the children mark the color toothbrush that they have (at school or at home).

Literacy/Print Awareness & Concepts; develops growing understanding of different functions of forms of print such as signs, letters, newspapers, lists, messages, and menus. AND Mathematics/Numbers & Operations[ begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, and equal to.

Outdoor Play

In the story Clarabella’s friends rolled over, leaped, bounced up and down, and spin round and round. Can you do these things on the playground? What other cool movements can you do?

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions;

Explain to the children that teeth are very important to help them to be able to say words correctly. Ask the children to try to wrap their lips around their teeth and then tell you their name, first and last. (My children find this funny to try to say their names with no teeth.) Science/Scientific Methods & Skills; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Dear Parent, Today we read a story about brushing teeth. Spend a moment tonight and brush your teeth along with your child and guide them through proper tooth brushing. Also take a moment to check their toothbrush for wear and tear; it might be time for a new replacement. Happy brushing!

Accompanying book; A Day in the Life of a Dentist by Heather Adamson