Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me Teacher's Resource: Sample Activities

Create a picture book to go with the song.
Divide the song into short phrases.
Put each phrase on its own sheet of paper.
Have each student choose a page to illustrate. (The hardest part is figuring out how to     draw an invisible dragon!)
Listen to the performance track to see if the music gives you any ideas that help you with     the creation of your artwork.
Listen to the instrumental accompaniment track as you do your artwork.
Discuss strategies for the artwork layout: full page, spot pictures, two-page artwork, art     to the edge of the page, artwork with a frame or border.
Assemble the finished pages in a book format.
Read the book to the class.
Follow the book as you listen to the CD performance track.
Read the book to a reading buddy.
Prepare an audio recording of the book with each page being read by the student who     created the artwork for that page.
Follow along in the book as you listen to your recorded version of the story.
Lend your book and recording to another class.
Do this activity with other songs.

Preparation / supplies:    CD performance track #1
                                              CD instrumental accompaniment track #13
                                              Lyrics – one phrase per page
                                              Art supplies
                                              Recording equipment

Song: The Most Important Person

Play the performance track or sing with the instrumental accompaniment track as you     dramatize the song using the following suggestions.
Choose one person for each of the characters mentioned in the song.
Give them a costume or a prop to use to represent their character.
The crew should be assembled in a line.
As each job is mentioned, that person steps to the front to strut and look important.
The Captain always salutes, and should receive the appropriate return salute from the others.
As the list grows, each person pushes in front of the previous person, jockeying for the     prominent front position as their job is mentioned.
All return to form a straight line at the conclusion of the verse.
For the final verse, as the crew seemingly argues as to which person is the most     important, the final "nod" is given by all to the captain of the ship.
The song ends with a final salute on the last words: "Don't forget."
Suggested costumes:
        Captain - a jacket and /or Captain's hat
        Cookie - an apron, mixing bowl, and a wooden spoon
        Sailor - a square white pinny with navy blue tie and/or a hat
        Fisherman - a net, a fish on a string and /or a sou'wester hat
        Owner - a bag of money

Alternate dramatization:
One person assumes all the parts, putting on the clothes of each character as he or she is     introduced, removing all items at the conclusion of each verse and adding the clothing     items again as they are mentioned in each subsequent verse.

Preparation / supplies:   Costumes or props
                                             CD performance track #2
                                             CD instrumental accompaniment track #14

Play the game Ships Ahoy (a game I learned in Brownies).
One person (the teacher) is the caller.
Each person must follow the directions called out.
Quick calling will require students to exercise good listening skills and quick reflexes.
Up periscope – lie on your back with one leg in the air
Man overboard – search with your hand above your eyes
Man the lifeboats – sit down and pretend to row
Captain on deck – stand straight and tall, and salute
At ease – stand still, but with feet slightly apart and hands behind your back
Hoist the sails – pretend to pull the ropes to haul a sail to the top of the mast
Starboard – run to a designated spot to the right
Port – run to a designated spot to the left
Stern – run to a designated area to the “back”
Bow – run to a designated area to the “front”
Shark – freeze and don’t move and try not to get eaten!

Have some fun with math using the birth dates of the students.
Have each student put the date (just the number) of his or her birthday on an index card.
Use the index cards to do quick math questions.
Each student can identify which number represents his or her birth date as the cards are used.
Some math question suggestions are:

From the index cards, choose any two-digit number and add the two digits together.
Choose any two cards and add the numbers together.
Choose two cards and subtract the smallest number from the largest number.
Put the cards in order from smallest to largest.
Create a number line.

Make the numbers darker that correspond with birth dates from your class.
Put an x on any numbers that do not represent anyone in the class.
Circle the numbers that represent more than one person.
What is the highest possible number you will have on your number line?
What is the lowest possible number?

Which numbers are even?
Which numbers are odd?
Which numbers are multiples of 2…3…4…5…etc.?
Which numbers are prime numbers?
Write math equations to represent all the math you did with the class birth dates.

Preparation / supplies:    Birth dates of each class member
                                              Index cards
                                              Supplies for creating a number line

Listen to the CD performance track for Bedtime Tango.
As you listen to the song do actions to show what is being described by the singer(s).
Yawn and pretend to get ready to sleep during the slow parts.
Dance a tango or however the music makes you feel like moving during the faster parts.
Listen carefully for the change back to the slower “sleeping” part of the music.
Stop, sit down and pretend to sleep.
You may listen for the “mom” in the song saying, “Stop dancing, it’s bedtime. It’s     bedtime, stop dancing.” This is the cue to sit down.
What are the other things this person does when she is supposed to be sleeping?
    reading a story and playing with her toys
Think of actions you can do for these two activities.
After the third verse of the song it sounds like the child might be getting tired, but there     is one last attempt at a bit of a tango.
The mom has the last word and says, “Stop dancing!”
It is finally time to stop and go to sleep.
At the end of the song there are a series of “goodnights”.
This is the time to slowly curl up and go to sleep.
Decide on a cue for students to wake up and get back to their spots.
Try doing the dance using only the instrumental accompaniment track.
You must listen for the musical cues to change activities rather than relying on the words.

Preparation / supplies: CD performance track #9
CD instrumental accompaniment track #21

Song: Just Passing By

Activity #10 (Language Arts, Social Studies, Fine Arts: Visual Art)

Take a walk down memory lane

Interview your grandparent(s).
If you are unable to interview your grandparents choose another family member.
Use a recording device or write down their answers.
Use a video recorder and make a video of the interview.
Ask the person you are interviewing if they graduated from high school, community     college, vocational training, trade school, or university.
              Ask them to tell you about their graduation ceremony.
              Did they win any awards?
              Were they excited? …happy? …relieved? …sad? …scared?
              Do they have any pictures of the event?
Do they have a yearbook they can show you?
Ask your grandparents to tell you a story they know about each of your parents.
Do your grandparents see in you any physical attributes, mannerisms, or personality traits     that remind them of your parents?
Ask your interview subject, questions about their childhood.
Some suggestions include:
     What were they like as a child?
     What kind of sense of humour did they have?
     Were they afraid of anything as a child that they are no longer afraid of?
     Who was their best friend?
     Is there anything used today that did not exist when they were children?
Ask your interview subject if you may share the interview answers with your classmates.
Using index cards, write down the following answers to share with the class:
     One thing you did not know about your parents / grandparents before the
          interview.
     The funniest story they told you.
     With whom do you share characteristics? What is similar?
     Something that was invented in their lifetime.
With permission from the interviewee, show the video of the interview you conducted.
Find pictures of your grandparents.
Collect other memorabilia to add to your presentation.
Scan the photos and any other items you gathered and create a powerpoint         presentation.
Write a thank you card to the person you interviewed for sharing their memories.
Have the class write thank you notes and send them to all the people who were     interviewed and who gave permission to have their stories shared with the class.
Refer to Activity #4 for instructions for creating special cards.

Preparation / supplies:     Interview questions
                                            Tape recorder or writing supplies
                                             Photographs and/or memorabilia
                                             Index cards
                                            Thank you cards (use cards from Activity #4)
                                             Video camera
                                             Computer for powerpoint presentation

Teacher's Resource

Sample Activities

Song: Ed the Invisible Dragon

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