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Arctic Dinosaurs
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
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Investigate how animals adapt to polar climates. Have the
class identify different animals that live in polar regions
(examples include polar bears, caribou, wolves, lemmings, arctic
hares, whales, penguins, artic terns, snow geese, seals, and
walruses). Ask students to consider how these animals are
adapted to the extreme low temperatures and lack of sunlight
that characterize polar regions. Then organize students into
teams; have each team select an animal and research how it
survives the polar climate, focusing on anatomical,
physiological, and behavioral features and adaptations. Make a
chart on the board with a column for the animal's name and the
three types of adaptations. Fill it in as students share their
results with the rest of the class. What are some of the
different ways animals survive?
(Answers may include such things as migration, hibernation,
extra fat layers, thick coats, larger or smaller size than
similar animals found in other less extreme climates, and
chemicals in the blood that prevent freezing.)
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Determine the location and climate of Alaska and Australia
during the Cretaceous period.
Remind students that the Cretaceous period is the time in
Earth's history that occurred 144-65 million years ago. Obtain
maps showing scientists' best estimate of the location of the
continents during the Cretaceous period, either in reference
books or online at the
Paleomap Project
Web site. Have students locate Alaska and Australia on the
Cretaceous period map (near the Arctic and Antarctic, respectively). Ask students to describe what they think the climate of
those areas might have been like. Then show them the
Paleoclimate Animation
on the Paleomap Project Web site. Start with the modern world
(000) and have students describe where the arid (yellow) and
tropical (dark green) areas are in relation to the cool
temperate (brown) and north and south polar (white) areas. Where
do these areas occur in the modern-day world? Then go back 60
million years to the late Cretaceous period and repeat the
exercise. Finally, go even further back in time to the early
Cretaceous period, 140 million years ago. What are the biggest
differences between today's climate and that of the Cretaceous
period? In what regions did the biggest changes occur?
(There are increased percentages of warm temperate areas,
particularly in the polar regions, during the Cretaceous
period.)
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Explore the definitions of endotherm, ectotherm, and
permafrost.
Ask the class to define the terms endotherm and
ectotherm.
(An endotherm is an animal that can maintain a relatively
constant internal body temperature regardless of the
surrounding temperature. An ectotherm is an animal that has an
internal body temperature that is the same as that of its
surroundings.)
Ask students to think of some examples of each; make a list of
their responses on the board.
(Common examples of endotherms include birds and mammals.
Common examples of ectotherms include fish, amphibians, and
reptiles.)
If students don't suggest dinosaurs on their own, ask them into
which category dinosaurs might fit. Have students explain why
they think dinosaurs fit into the category they suggest. Then
ask students what they think permafrost is and where it occurs.
(Permafrost is permanently frozen subsoil. It occurs
throughout both polar regions and in other locations where
temperatures have dropped below the freezing point for several
years. About 25 percent of Earth's total land area contains
permafrost.)
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Learn more about how dinosaurs might have survived in polar
climates and about what it is like for humans to work in
remote areas.
The program presents evidence for how dinosaurs might have
survived in polar climates. It also shows the challenges
scientists encounter when gathering evidence in very remote
regions. Group the class into five teams. Assign one team each
to take notes on the following four types of evidence as they
watch the program: species of dinosaurs found, tree rings and
leaves, trace fossils, and dinosaur bones. Assign a fifth team
to track the challenges faced by members of the Alaskan
scientific expeditions and the techniques they used to gather
evidence.
After Watching
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Discuss various ideas about how dinosaurs might have survived
in polar climates and about what it is like to work in remote
regions.
After students have watched the program, have each of the four
teams that looked for evidence meet, come to a consensus about
the information they discovered, and present their findings to
the class. Have the team that focused on the expedition meet to
write down the challenges faced and techniques used to collect
evidence. Draw a four-column chart on the board and label each
column with types of evidence students were tracking in the
program. Fill in each column with the information students
obtained. What conclusions did scientists draw? How has this
evidence changed the way scientists think about dinosaurs? Have
the team that tracked the scientific expedition create and share
with the class a blog entry using the perspectives of one of the
scientists at the sites. The entry should include what a day on
site might be like.
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Research dinosaurs that lived in polar regions. The
program mentions several types of dinosaurs that lived in polar
regions during the Cretaceous period. Group the class into small
teams. Using the following list of dinosaurs, assign one
dinosaur per two or three teams: Pachyrhinosaurus,
therapods, Troodon, Dromaseosaurus,
Pachycephalosaurus, and Edmontosaurus (hadrosaur).
Ask teams to research the particular dinosaur they are assigned.
(Each dinosaur should be studied by at least two teams.)
Students' research should include a description of the dinosaur,
the regions in which it lived, what it ate, and possible
adaptations that allowed it to live in polar regions. Students
should also describe ways in which the polar dinosaur compared
with dinosaurs of the same species living in non-polar regions.
After students have finished their research, have teams
collaborate in developing a Wikipedia page for their dinosaur.
Assign the members of one team to write the original entry for
their dinosaur; members of other teams that researched the same
dinosaur should take turns adding to, deleting, or editing
information in the original post based on what they learned.
Then have the first team read the final product.
Because many students rely on Wikipedia for information but do
not understand how Wikipedia information is generated, after
teams have finished discuss with the class how Wikipedia entries
are produced. How much information did each team add? What was
deleted and why? What was changed and why? Did the first team
think the final entry was accurate? Why or why not? What happens
to a Wikipedia entry if two authors disagree on the information
contained in it? Who oversees Wikipedia entries?
(Wikipedia has
written policies
stating its guidelines regarding the type and quality of
material that is acceptable in Wikipedia articles. The number
of entries on Wikipedia make it prohibitive for the Wikimedia
Foundation [which operates several wiki projects] to
personally oversee them—Wikimedia mostly relies on the
Wikipedia editors, those who change the entries, to resolve
content conflicts through Wikipedia's principles of
collaboration and concensus-building. Mediation and
arbitration committees are available to resolve debates when
the wiki process of collaboration has broken down.)
Links
The Age of Reptiles: Polar Region
Presents information on Cretaceous period Australian dinosaurs,
including descriptions of the climate, dinosaurs, other animals
living at the time, and plant life.
Alaska Dinosaurs!?
Includes a brief description of current research on Alaskan
dinosaurs, a downloadable eight-page pamphlet that contains
information on different dinosaurs and fossils found in Alaska,
links to additional articles, a coloring page, and educational
activities.
The Strange Lives of Polar Dinosaurs
Features the findings of Tom Rich and Tony Fiorillo and examines how
dinosaurs might have endured months of cold temperatures and
darkness.
University of California Museum of Paleontology
Features the Paleontology Portal, which focuses on the fossil record
of North America, including state-by-state U.S. paleontology, fossil
photo galleries, interviews with paleontologists, maps, and
classroom resources.
Books
Dinosaurs of Darkness
by Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich.
Indiana University Press, 2000.
Describes the discovery of the polar dinosaurs and the world in
which they lived.
Dinosaurs: The Science Behind the Stories
by Judith Scotchmoor, et al.
American Geological Institute, 2002.
Features leading paleontologists, including Tony Fiorillo, who use
dinosaurs to illustrate the nature and methods of science and relate
how we know what we know. Explores multiple lines of evidence that
have led to new hypotheses, discoveries, and understandings of the
history of life on Earth.
Dinosaurus: The Complete Guide to Dinosaurs
by Steve Parker.
Firefly Books, 2003.
Describes 500 dinosaurs, including illustrations and information
about each dinosaur's discovery and characteristics. Each entry also
includes a "Dino Factfile" containing data on the dinosaur's
scientific name, location, size, diet, and time period.
Time Traveler: In Search of Dinosaurs and Other Fossils from
Montana to Mongolia
by Michael Novacek.
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003.
Provides descriptions of paleontologist Michael Novacek's numerous
expeditions and life in the field. Includes accounts of what life is
like for a paleontologist.
Viewing Ideas Author
Margy Kuntz has written and edited educational materials for more
than 24 years. She has authored numerous educational supplements,
basal text materials, and trade books on science, math, and
computers.
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