Real Dinosaurs vs Fiction
Distinguish real dinosaurs from fictional or commonly confused creatures — pterosaurs (flying reptiles) and plesiosaurs (marine reptiles) were not dinosaurs, and movie dinosaurs are not always accurate
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“If your child sees a flying reptile in a dinosaur book, can they tell you it's actually not a dinosaur but a different kind of prehistoric animal?”
Full guide and materials
- Activity. Distinguish real dinosaurs from fictional or commonly confused creatures — pterosaurs (flying reptiles) and plesiosaurs (marine reptiles) were not dinosaurs, and movie dinosaurs are not always accurate
What to notice. State that pterosaurs could fly but were not dinosaurs • State that plesiosaurs lived in the sea but were not dinosaurs • Identify at least one way a movie or cartoon dinosaur differs from the real animal
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If your child sees a flying reptile in a dinosaur book, can they tell you it's actually not a dinosaur but a different kind of prehistoric animal?
Distinguish real dinosaurs from fictional or commonly confused creatures — pterosaurs (flying reptiles) and plesiosaurs (marine reptiles) were not dinosaurs, and movie dinosaurs are not always accurate
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- State that pterosaurs could fly but were not dinosaurs
- State that plesiosaurs lived in the sea but were not dinosaurs
- Identify at least one way a movie or cartoon dinosaur differs from the real animal
“If your child sees a flying reptile in a dinosaur book, can they tell you it's actually not a dinosaur but a different kind of prehistoric animal?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Dinosaurs & Paleontology
- Age range
- Ages 5–7