Clifford and the Dinosaurs, Norman Birdwell - Activities

• Book Description
• Clifford carries Emily and her friends to the new museum Dino World. Clifford learns the dinosaurs in the exhibits are not real. Clifford, Emily, and their friends see dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes. A mother loses her little boy. Using his keen sense of smell, Clifford finds the boy among the dinosaur eggs. 
• Clifford the Big Red Dog is a favorite PBS Kids television show and www.PBSKids.org site for preschoolers. He is always helpful and friendly. Scholastic has developed a beginning reading program that capitalizes on Clifford and his friend Emily's adventures
• How to Use this Book in the Early Childhood Classroom
• Clifford is a recognizable and exciting part of most young children's experiences. With PBS's and Scholastic's emphasis on early reading and familiar characters on television, internet sites, and books, they have also become a staple in the early childhood classroom.  Clifford and the Dinosaurs could be used anywhere books, words, and stories are found in centers or in circle-time activities. It is a Scholastic Level 1 book with 266 sight words and words to sound out and simple sentences supported by pictures that aid in contextual reading. The Book is rated 1.1 on the Lexile Framework for Reading Measure. The story is developed in such a way that it can be used to anticipate "what's next" and to discuss feelings as well as museums and dinosaurs. It could be used before or after a field trip experience to compare and contrast the children's experiences with Clifford's.
• A Bakers Dozen of Classroom Activities
• 1. Reading Center or Circle Time: When reading the book with individuals or groups of children, questions such as "What do you think happens next?" "Why did the children ride on Clifford instead of in the car?" "How did Clifford know the dinosaurs in the museum were not real?" "How do you think Clifford or the children felt when they saw the dinosaur that was bigger than Clifford, or had sharp teeth?" Ages 4-7
• 2. Literacy Center: Stick puppets of dinosaurs, Clifford, and with your children's photographed faces to recreate the story and create new scenarios.  Ages 4-7
• 3. Literacy Center: Add sight words and words to sound out on the word wall. Name the dinosaurs Clifford and the children see and add those words as well. Include "big" words such as "paleontologist," "Jurassic," and "fossil" on the word wall. Ages 4-7
• 4. Literacy Center: Put word wall words on 3x5" cards in a basket with pre-made dinosaur or Clifford books and pencils for children to write their own stories. Encourage inventive spelling. Ages 5-7
• 5. Literacy Center: Send a plastic dinosaur and a fact book about dinosaurs (visit your public library) home with each child withtheir journal over the weekend. Let them journal about where their dinosaur goes and what he does. Be sure to give all dinosaurs a scrubby bath outdoors or in the water and sand table when they come back. Treat them to a bleach water rinse and air dry and they will be ready to go back to the Block Center or Dramatic Play Area.  Ages 4-7.
• 6. Manipulatives and Math Area: Put out buckets of small dinosaurs to be sorted by color or kind into muffin tins. Older children can make block or bar charts showing how many they could sort in whatever way they choose using a kitchen timer. Ages 4-7
• 7. Math Area or Circle Time: After identifying dinosaurs by name, create a bar or block chart of each child's favorite dinosaur. Ages 4-5
• 8. Dramatic Play or Block Area: Have the children create their own Dino World as a group project. Include Entrance and Exit signs, tickets, cash register. Ages 4-7
• 9. Creativity Center: Have children use modeling clay and small dowel rod pieces to create dinosaurs for their Dino World exhibits. Ages 6-7
• 10.Creativity or Manipulatives Area: Have children trace and cut out dinosaur shapes from old file folders they have painted with water based tempera paint. Templates can be either cut outs or negative space left from a cut out. Laminate. Let children use hole punches to create shapes to lace with long boot laces. Ages 5-7
• 10. Sand Table: Place small dinosaurs in plastic eggs, provide goggles, scoops and  sieves for paleontological digs. Age 4
• 11. Outdoors or Large Play Space: Play Dino Freeze Tag. Ages 6-7
• 12. Outdoor construction area: Place small dinosaurs into small balloons. Blow up slightly. Papier-mâché with torn newspaper and flour-and-water paste. After drying use goggles and wooden mallets  on heavy boards or tree stumps. Use dry paint brushes to dust off your dinosaurs. Age 4-5
• 13. Outdoor Construction Area: Use plaster-of-Paris mix to cover plastic dinosaurs or leaf fronds. When dry use goggles, ball peen hammers or mallets and large nails to split open the plaster and use paint brushes to clean off fossils. In the Science Center set up a display. (Remember in science what doesn't work can be as instructive as what does.) Ages 6-7
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• In the comment section share some ideas you might have!