#1 Reading and Comprehension: Help Caveman Escape the Dinosaurs! (Ages 6-8)

Caveman is living a happy life with his family in the Paleolithic Age. After a successful day hunting and a delicious dinner of wild boar, nuts and berries, he tucks his family up in their cosy cave house and falls asleep outside, under a blanket of stars with the warmth of a crackling fire. 

At some point in the middle of the night, a star shoots down from the black sky, exploding right above the cave house. Caveman’s family is woken by a thunderous crack that seems to tear the air apart. They rush outside to discover that Caveman has vanished in a puff of smoke. Unbeknownst to them, the star has transported their beloved dad back to another time zone. Two hundred million years before, to be precise. Caveman is trapped in the Mesozoic Era, the age of dinosaurs!

But all is not lost. With your help, we can work together as a team to solve the challenges that will unlock each slide, moving Caveman on to the next challenge and helping him find his way back to the portal that will return him to his correct time.

In this one-time lesson, we’ll use a colorful and interactive slide presentation to learn about early humans from the Paleolithic Period, and three of our favourite dinosaurs from the Mesozoic Era. Each dinosaur will have three slides of focus. The first comprises a fun literacy challenge, which we will solve through teamwork. The second and third slides focus on learning about the dinosaur, including:
which group they belonged to;
the meaning of their name in Latin or Greek;
the period they lived in;
the geographic location of present-day fossil discoveries;
their physical characteristics;
their habitat and temperament;
and their food group (whether they were omnivores, carnivores or herbivores).

We will read through each slide, students will have the opportunity to read along with the teacher and independently if they feel comfortable in doing so. If students do not feel comfortable reading aloud and would prefer just to listen, that is absolutely fine, too. The slides will also have several comprehension questions, which students will take turns to answer.  

As we progress through the slides, learning about the different dinosaurs, we will help Caveman get closer to the portal.

No prior knowledge or experience of dinosaurs is required for this lesson. I aim to make my classes a positive and supportive environment, where we can all have fun through learning. 

I look forward to seeing your child in class and working with them to solve this most important and urgent challenge!