Toddler – Entry Point: Dinosaur Detectives
The adventure began as students were invited to become jungle explorers. Teachers asked the students to compare their own footprints with the giant dinosaur tracks they discovered. Together, they followed the footprints to the playground, where a mysterious egg was waiting to be found. With great excitement, the toddlers carried the egg back to the classroom, opened it carefully, and discovered a Tyrannosaurus rex inside. The teachers then introduced other dinosaurs such as Brontosaurus and Pteranodon, helping the children identify, repeat, and connect new vocabulary like “dinosaur,” “egg,” “bones,” and “claws.”
Building on this, the young explorers showcased their creativity by colouring dinosaur pictures and pasting them onto a cave background. This activity allowed them to strengthen their fine motor skills while applying newly learned words in context. They practiced recognizing images. and connecting vocabulary to their artwork. In doing so, students engaged in both guided practice and independent application, showing that they could use their new knowledge in meaningful and creative ways.
To extend the learning, teachers introduced specific parts of a dinosaur, such as the head, body, and tail, using realia that students could explore. Finally, they completed a hands-on puzzle where missing dinosaur body parts were added one by one. This activity encouraged comparison, deeper understanding, and collaboration as toddler students built connections between humans and dinosaurs. ***
