LESSON PLANS

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Understanding Dino Names

A rose by any other name…
Understanding the Meanings of Dinosaur Names

Have you ever wondered how dinosaurs got their names? Scientists name organisms, living and extinct, according to a set of rules that were established long ago. Scientific names are based largely on classical Greek and Latin languages. That’s why they look so strange to you. These names are meant to be descriptive, suggesting an organism’s body type, appearance or other species it might be related too.

The Latin and Greek words used to name dinosaurs and other ancient reptiles usually describe the creature, or indicate where it was discovered or who discovered it. Often, two words are combined into one name. Many names combine a descriptive word with saur or saurus, which means “lizard”. For example, Ichthyosaur means “fish lizard”, from the Greek words ichthys (“fish”) and saur; an ichthyosaur was a huge reptile that lived in the sea and looked like a fish. Once you know and understand that the names have a descriptive meaning and know a few of the Greek and Latin terms, you too can decipher the meaning of many dinosaur names.

LEVEL: Grade 2 and up.

OBJECTIVE: Students will learn that much information can be determined about a dinosaur simply by understanding the meaning of its name.

APPLICATIONS OF SCIENCE:
It is expected that students will:
· Draw conclusions from information.
· Construct simple definitions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
It is expected that students will:
· Demonstrate a simple understanding of the meaning and use of scientific terms and words.
· Construct simple definitions of terms and words used in science.

EXERCIES:

Use these lists below to decipher the meaning of some of the following dinosaur names:

Prefixes

Suffixes