Elaine Eddow
2nd grade students, Jackson Elementary
Using the “Dig it up Dinos” set, Elaine Eddow’s 2nd grade students at Jackson were able to dig up a dinosaur skeleton and put the pieces together like a paleontologist would! It was a fantastic tie in to the story in Unit 7-Investigating the Past (“A Dinosaur Named Sue”). Instead of simply reading about how difficult it is to extract fossils, students were able to get an idea of the difficulty by doing the activity themselves. The students were amazed at the difficulty and the fact that the project/digging couldn’t be completed in an afternoon. They learned how to persevere, which is one of the Character Traits here at Jackson Elementary School and a much-needed trait to be successful in life. The quality of the writing seen from the students was higher since they were so personally invested in their work. The students’ experience “digging up dinosaurs” will be something these students remember long after they leave elementary school!