Purpose: To explore and know more about God’s creation of Stegosaurus.
Book(s) read:
Susan Gray’s Stegosaurus.
Elaine Landau’s Stegosaurus.
Other tools:
Paper
Pencil
Crayons
Pictures of dinosaurs
Measuring tape
Learning Objectives:
- Learn general knowledge about Stegosaurus.
- Illustrate what is learned in this lesson about Stegosaurus.
- Learn a spiritual lesson concerning God’s creation of Stegosaurus.
Lessons
1. Learn general knowledge about Stegosaurus.
Tool 1: Read Susan Gray’s Stegosaurus and Elaine Landau’s Stegosaurus.
Tool 2: Questions
Point to pictures that shows a Stegosaurus.
What is your favorite picture from what we read?
Tool 3: Further period of interactive instructions
Stegosaurus means “roofed lizard” (Susan Gray, Stegosaurus, 6).
It is called “roofed lizard” because of its plates on it neck, back and tail.
A Stegosaurus has 17 triangular plates lined up in two rows (Susan Gray, Stegosaurus, 6).
At the end of the tail are pointed spikes and each was as long as 2-3 feet (Elaine Landau, Stegosaurus, 17)!
[Show with a measuring tape what 2-3 feet looks like]
These spikes can be used to protect itself from other dinosaurs.
Stegosaurus are 9 feet tall (Susan Gray, Stegosaurus, 7).
[Show with a measuring tape what 9 feet looks like; have kids lay down next to it for size comparison with the height]
Stegosaurus were about 30 foot long (Elaine Landau, Stegosaurus, 8).
Their back legs were twice as long as their front legs and thus they slope forward from its hip to its head (Elaine Landau, Stegosaurus, 9-10).
The front feet has five toes while the back feet has three toes (Elaine Landau, Stegosaurus, 9-10).
As big as they were they had a small head for its size: 16 inches (Elaine Landau, Stegosaurus, 12).
[Show with a measuring tape what 16 inches looks like]
They also had a small brain and scientist believes its brain were the size of a golf ball (Susan Gray, Stegosaurus, 8).
Stegosaurus has been found in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah (Susan Gray, Stegosaurus, 12).
It was first discovered in 1877 by a scientist name Charles Marsh in Colorado (Elaine Landau, Stegosaurus, 32).
Since then scientist have found two nearly complete skeletons of the Stegosaurus (Elaine Landau, Stegosaurus, 32).
2. Illustrate what is learned in this lesson about Stegosaurus.
Have four blocks to draw in.
First block label and draw a picture of “Stegosaurus.” Make sure it has plates, and spikes.
Second block label and draw a picture of “Foot prints of front feet” (with five claws).
Third block label and draw a picture of “Foot prints of back feet” (with five claws).
Fourth block draw again Stegosaurus but this time in its environment.
Switch paper and see the similarities and differences in one another’s drawings.
3. Learn a spiritual lesson about God’s creation of Stegosaurus.
Read from the Bible Job 40:15-24.
Question to kids: In what ways does this verse sounds like it is describing dinosaurs similar to Stegosaurus?
The verse is teaching us we cannot control these big animals called Behmoths that sounds like dinosaurs; so in the same manner God is stronger than these creatures and we should not try to control God.
Instead we submit to God.
The Domain for Truth 
Let’s move on to bats— I love bats— or I did in the 3rd and 4th grades—
Bats would be a nice lesson! Yikes, I have one more dinosaur lesson to be posted, hope that’s ok! For some reason my little girls really like this dinosaur lessons, more than any other lessons on other creatures we have done! My wife and I are amazed by this, and they want me to make dinosaur lessons…how are you holding up?
I like fossils— so we can study dinosaur fossils 🙂
Kids love dinosaurs and I liked them too before I saw that first Jurassic Park movie— that my son loved and continues to love-throw in Godzilla and I don’t sleep at night!! 😑
Off to keep the kids Friday— searching for a new daycare for them- that necessary evil when a grandmother doesn’t live in the same town! With Brenton’s new job, the lady keeping them now doesn’t take the kids until 7:30 and both Abby and Brenton have to be at work close to 7 so…..a searching we shall go!!!!
That’s awesome your kids like learning about dinosaurs!
I remember seeing a lot of pictures of Stegosaurus and the two you reviewed previously, Triceratops and T Rex, along with Brontosaurus in books about dinosaurs when I was a kid. Those four were definitely the favorites.
Nice! My daughters really like this one, because they have “plates” and the girls kept on saying if we can eat on them lol. Puns and word play, just like their father…how’s your evening going?
RE: daughters and puns
They’re chips off the old block!
My evening is going well, thanks! I’m working on two books simultaneously: Lloyd-Jones’ “Studies on the Sermon on the Mount” and a sensationalist book about Catholicism written in 1967 that was at our library. Jack Chick later published some of the author’s books, which says it all. What’s your evening look like?
A fun lesson!
My husband is LOVING these lessons! Thank you for sharing them!!
You’re welcome! I think men still remember their boyhood days of learning about dinosaurs. What’s your favorite dinosaur or that of your husband?
Nathan says, “Every boy loves the T-Rex and the Raptor, but my favorite is the presumed pterodactyl.” I would say the pterodactyl or the brachiosaurus. Jim, I will confess, dinosaurs and man cohabitating is something I really, really struggle with!
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