Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

Three separate, standards-aligned investigations designed to take your middle school students and you on an adventure to research some of the biggest questions paleontologists have asked about this world-renowned dinosaur quarry. Try one or try them all! Either way your students will use 3D scanned images of our fossils, receive expert modeling through scientist-led videos, and analyze field notes to gather evidence, reason with that evidence and construct arguments that do more than just answer their research questions – rather, they provide an evidence-based response to the question at-hand.

Target Audience: 6th-8th Grades

Standards Alignment:

Utah SEED standards 7.2.2, 7.2.6, 7.5.2, and 7.5.3 and NGSS MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS4-1, and LS4-2, as well as, DOK levels 1-4 and ELA Common Core Standards.
Download Full Curriculum Alignment

Dinosaur Investigations:

What dinosaur did these bones come from?

Total Estimated Time: 90-120 mins

Students will compare their Mystery Fossils to 3D models of fossils already classified by type and species from Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. The data they collect will serve as the basis for their answer to the central question of this investigation,“What dinosaur did these bones come from?”

SECTION 1
What types of bones are these?

(20 minutes)

SECTION 2
What species of dinosaur do these bones come from?

(25 minutes)

SECTION 3
What evidence have we found?

(30 minutes)

SECTION 4
What can we learn from communicating our arguments?

(15-45 minutes)

What happened at Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry?

Estimated Time: 90-120 minutes

Students will examine an interactive quarry map of Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, use scientific field notes (primary source material), and consider modern analogs to figure out what happened at this mass death site millions of years ago.

SECTION 1
What can we learn from the fossil record?

(15 minutes)

SECTION 2
How can disruptions to an ecosystem lead to shifts in a population?

(30 minutes)

SECTION 3
How can evaluating evidence help us construct an argument?

(30 minutes)

SECTION 4
What can we learn from communicating our arguments?

(15-45 minutes)

What physical features helped a dinosaur survive?

Estimated Time: 50 minutes

In pairs, students will use the Dino Lab simulator to build a unique dinosaur model to survive four different challenges. Students will be prompted along the way to think critically about the relationship between the physical structure and functions of their models and investigate which combinations of features are optimal for success in the game.

SECTION 1
Plan and carry out an investigation

(20 minutes)

SECTION 2
Testing explanations

(15 minutes)

SECTION 3
Discuss and reflect

(15 minutes)

Why Register?

It’s free!

Full access to all investigations and their activities.

Instructional Guides, Research Assistant Notebooks, and more for each investigation.

Assessment rubrics for student learning

Create Account