Dino Sun Power Lesson Plan Dino Sun Power
Teacher Lesson Plan
Grades
1st - 2nd
Learning Objective
Students will understand that plants need sunlight to grow and serve as the starting point of all food chains.
Materials Needed
"Sunlight Web" Activity Sheet
Black crayons (critical for activity)
Colors/Markers
"Solar Source" Anchor Chart
Lesson Sequence
5 MIN
Warm-up: The Breakfast Trace
"What did you eat today?"
Ask students what they had for breakfast or lunch. Work together to trace the ingredients back to plants.
Hamburger: Bun (Wheat) → Cow → Grass
Eggs: Chicken → Corn/Seeds
Apple Juice: Apple Tree
10 MIN
Video Viewing: Dino Detective
Watch What Happened to the Dinosaurs?
Critical Teacher Moment
PAUSE AT 3:05: Discuss the animation of plants withering. Ask: "If the sun is blocked by soot, why do the animals get hungry if they don't eat sunlight?"
20 MIN
Activity: Sunlight Food Web
Hand out the Sunlight Web Activity Sheet.
Students draw a healthy chain: Sun → Plant → Dino.
Instruct students to use a black crayon to scribble over the sun (simulating soot/ash).
In the "Impact" section, students draw the results: wilted plants and hungry/sad dinosaurs.
10 MIN
Closure: Circle Time Discussion
Gather students together and reflect on the "Impact" drawings.
Discussion Prompt:
"Why is the sun so important for everyone, not just plants?"
Key Takeaway: Without sunlight, plants can't make food. Without plants, there is no food for anyone else in the chain!
Support
Provide pre-drawn templates of the food chain for students to color and then "black out" rather than drawing from scratch.
Challenge
Ask students to add one more level to their chain (e.g., Plant → Triceratops → T-Rex) and explain why the T-Rex is affected even though it doesn't eat plants.
Dino Sun Power Presentation Slides Science • Grades 1-2
Dino Sun
Power
Where does our food really come from?
The Breakfast Mystery
🍔
Hamburger
↓
Trace it back!
🐄
Cow
↓
Plants!
"What did you have for breakfast? Can we find a plant in your meal?"
Dino Detective
What Happened to the Dinosaurs?
WATCH & LISTEN
Embedded media
PAUSE AT 3:05
No Sun = No Food?
The video says the sun was blocked by soot and ash.
"If the sun is gone, why do the dinosaurs get hungry? They don't eat sunlight... right?"
The Solar Chain
The Power
The Makers
🦖
The Eaters
Sunlight Food Web
Step 1: The Chain
Draw a happy food chain with the SUN, a PLANT, and a DINO.
Step 2: The Blackout
Use your black crayon to block the sun. Draw what happens next!
The Big Question
"Why is the sun so important for everyone, not just plants?"
Circle Time Reflection
Sunlight Web Activity Sheet Name:
Date:
Sunlight Web
The Power of the Sun!
1
The Sunshine Chain
Draw a healthy food chain! Include the SUN, a PLANT, and a DINOSAUR.
Draw the Sun
Draw a Plant
Draw a Dino
2
The Great Blackout
Use your BLACK CRAYON to scribble all over the sun above. The ash and soot are blocking the light! Now, draw what happens to the rest of the chain below.
Wilted Plants?
What happens to the plants?
Hungry Dinos?
What happens to the dinos?
Thinking Cap:
The dinosaurs didn't eat the sun. Why did they go extinct when the sun went away?
Solar Source Anchor Chart The Solar Source
Everything starts with the Sun!
1. Sunlight
The sun gives Energy to the Earth.
2. Plants
Plants catch the light and make Food.
🦖
3. Animals
Animals eat the plants to get Strong.
The Big Secret:
"No Sun = No Plants. No Plants = No Dinos!"
