I love doing unit studies with my twin 7-year-old boys as part of our homeschool routine. Usually, I let them alternate picking themes and this time was Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are always a hit with kids so here’s how I set up our Dinosaur Unit Study!
As always the first thing I do is take a trip around the house rounding up all the things related to our unit study – games, books, toys, etc. I found a few plastic toys, a floor puzzle, and books for this Dinosaur Unit Study! Pro tip – make this a game and have the kids hunt for items related to the theme!
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I like to include a few main things in my unit studies – hands-on activities, books (lots of books), and games. Here’s a list of my items in this particular unit study. I don’t have dinosaur lesson plans for our homeschool but rather just go with the flow and what the kids want to learn or do that day from the selection of items provided. The only two things that I require when we do our unit study are to read at least one chapter from our chapter book and one to two picture books.
I also recommend checking Etsy for craft options! There’s a great selection of dinosaur crafts available on Etsy!
Dinosaur Unit Study
Chapter Books
I always add a few chapter books and we read about 1-2 chapters a day.
Attack of the Tyrannosaurus (Dinosaur Cove, No. 1)
I have this entire series and my boys love them all!
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, No. 1)
Another great series that covers a variety of topics. We have at least half of this series in our house! They are great beginner chapter books to have on hand!
Picture Books
When I first started homeschooling and reading out loud regularly to my kids, I didn't realize how much value picture books had! There is so much to be learned in fun picture books!
How to Catch a Dinosaur
We love the how-to-catch series and include them in almost everyone one of our unit studies and book lists.
Dinosaur Encyclopedia for Kids: The Big Book of Prehistoric Creatures
This is a fun book with lots of pictures and information!
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs
Another good resource book to use as a reference.
Book of Dinosaurs: 10 Record-Breaking Prehistoric Animals
I absolutely love the writing in this book. It is very kid friendly with great information.
Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist
This book was so interesting! I learned so much personally! Don't forget to grab the free unit study as well from Waldock Way included in the printables section here.
Hands-On Activites & Games
I like to have these on hand to keep their hands busy while reading our chapter book or to add a little extra to our unit study.
These are the items I like to add that add richness and depth. Puzzles, games, and fun things to dress up the set-up and get them excited! There is so much to be learned from doing puzzles and playing games!
Paint by Sticker Kids: Dinosaurs: Create 10 Pictures One Sticker at a Time!
These are great for keeping them busy and quiet during read-aloud time.
3D Wooden Dinosaur Puzzle - 6 Piece Set Wood Dinosaur Skeleton Model Puzzle
We have so many 3D wooden puzzles now! They love putting these together and displaying them!
Hapinest 100 Piece Glow-in-The-Dark Dinosaur Jigsaw Puzzle for Kids Boys and Girls Gifts Ages 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Years Old and Up
If you haven't tried a glow-in-the-dark puzzle yet, do it! My kids love them!
Skillmatics Card Game: Guess in 10 Deadly Dinosaurs
Even I struggled with this game as I do not know as much about dinosaurs as I thought. However, I found fun ways to use it - we divided the dinosaurs by carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore, we put together our continent puzzle and put the dinosaurs where they lived! We'll be sorting them in more ways as well.
Dinosaur Mad Libs: World's Greatest Word Game
Add a little language arts to your unit study with Mad Libs!
Printables for My Dinosaur Unit Study
Dinosaur Unit Free Printables
Here are a few extra free printables to add to your dinosaur unit study.
Mary Anning Unit Study
Grab these free mini study to go with the book The Dinosaur Lady
Free Printable Dinosaur Word Search for Kids
Free Dinosaur themed word search puzzles.
Dinosaur Connect the Dots {10 FREE Printables!}
Free Dinosaur Dot to Dot Coloring Pages
I hope you enjoy this list of things to include in your dinosaur unit study! The twins loved this one although it didn’t last as long as I’d liked but that’s okay as it was December. We’ll probably revisit this one again next year!
If you like Unit Studies be sure to check out the rest of our Unit Study posts here! What unit study are you working on?
You can find more unit study ideas on my Unit Study Pinterest Board too!
