The Good Dinosaur Unit Study

Grab the movie, the book, and The Good Dinosaur unit study for some hands on learning fun. You can find even more unit study ideas to make learning more focused and fun.

The Good Dinosaur Unit Study

Head to theaters and check out the newest film from Disney and Pixar, The Good Dinosaur. This highly anticipated film is an adventurous and humorous story about Arlo, a young Apatosaurus with a big and loving heart.  After a scary turn of events unsettles Arlo’s family, he sets out on an adventure where he befriends a human boy.

Pick up  The Little Golden Book of The Good Dinosaur, and enjoy the magic that is waiting for you in this film. Once you have enjoyed the book or the movie, take a peek below at some of the fun yet educational activities and lessons you can enjoy with the story in this unit study for The Good Dinosaur. They are a wonderful way for children to dive into the story deeper while encouraging some important learning skills.

Lesson One:
Apatosaurus Letter Fun
Supplies needed: Paper, pencil, book, scissors

Directions:
Take a look at the word APATOSAURUS. Now that is a big word! It is made up of a variety of vowels and consonants, making them the perfect mix for creating new words. Give the word APATOSAURUS on a note card to your child. Allow them to cut the word apart letter by letter. Now, have them use the letters to create some new words.

Some examples may be: pat, put, stop, rust, past, rot, sat, tap, and so many more. You will be amazed at how many words you can get out of this assortment while encouraging spelling, problem solving, and literacy skills at the same time. If working with multiple students, you can even see who can compile the largest list of words or even create rhyming words for the list they created.

Lesson Two:
Book Walk
Supplies needed: Book, sticky notes, pencil

Directions:
The Good Dinosaur offers a great deal of ups, downs, and emotions for children. This can lead to a variety of questions or feelings of being able to relate. Take a book walk with your child to talk about these emotions and feelings. Give them three sticky notes, one with a ? mark, one with a *, and one with a ! mark on it. Encourage then to stick the notes on a page they have a question about (?) a page that stood out to them (!) or a page they could relate to (*).

Once the walk is done and pages have been marked, you can go back through the book and begin the discussion based on their sticky note placement. If it seems like your child is willing to discuss the text even further, allow them to place the sticky notes again on pages they find relevant.

Lesson Three: Fact or Fiction
Supplies needed: poster board, markers, book

Directions:
Fact and fiction can often get confusing in children’s stories. While dinosaurs and cavemen did exist, they may not have done all of the things as mentioned in the story. Talk about what FACTS are and what FICTION is. After you read through the book, create a chart to show what parts of the book are factual and COULD happen, and what parts are fiction that COULD NOT happen.

Your chart can be a simple poster board divided into two different colored columns. Write in each column, whether fact or fiction, aspects of the story that fit in each. When done you can display the chart for reference later, or even add elements of other stories you read to the chart.

Lesson Four: The Good Dinosaur Finger Followers
Supplies needed: Colorful craft foam, scissors, glue

You can find the directions here—> The Good Dinosaur Finger Followers

Lesson Five: Arlo Puppet: The Good Dinosaur
Supplies needed: wood craft stick, green craft foam or paper, googly eye, pencil or marker, scissors, glue

You can find the directions here—> Arlo Puppet: The Good Dinosaur

Lesson Six: The Good Dinosaur Lesson Plan Pack

Print these great lesson plans to go along with the book.  The Good Dinosaur Lesson Plan Pack

Pick and choose or do all the lessons but either way enjoy this The Good Dinosaur Unit Study