Dr. Donna's Review

Themes & Other Things

“Dinosaurs” is a variety show for children about the ever-popular topic of dinosaurs!  This special, hosted by Elmo, includes segments  featuring puppets, live-action, songs, dances, guest appearances, animations, claymations, and a short dramatic story.  In other words, it has everything!  While its primary appeal will be to the younger set of 3 to 5 year olds, it will also appeal to some older children in the 6 to 8 year range.  Grown-ups will also enjoy this movie!

Several themes are developed throughout the show. They include:

• Size Relationships: Big, Bigger, Biggest
• Building cognitive and early reading skills
• Encouraging the use of imagination
• Encouraging physical activity

Things to Talk About

• Build cognitive and early reading skills by:
  
  Encouraging children to recall segments and tell you what happened. For example: How did Mr. Noodle and the children pretend to be dinosaurs? What happened when Elmo “imagined” the day when a dinosaur came to Sesame Street? What was the wish that Elmo, Telly and Abby asked the Dino Fairy to grant?  When he granted their wish and turned them into dinosaurs, did they like being dinosaurs?

• Build vocabulary by:
  
  Helping children recall such new words as paleontologist. Ask children to talk about what a paleontologist does.  Recall the names of specific dinosaurs.

• Encourage the use of imagination by:
  
  Asking children to make up a story about what happened when a dinosaur visited their street or their school.
  Asking children to imagine what it would be like if they were able to go back to the time of dinosaurs.  Which dinosaur would they be?  Elmo and his friends had dinosaur names, e.g. Elmosaurus, Tellysaurus, and Abbysaurus.  What would the child’s dinosaur name be?

Activity Ideas
Have children draw pictures of their favorite puppet from Dinosaurs. Help them write the names of the puppet on the pictures. Post the pictures where others can see them.

Have children draw pictures of their favorite dinosaur. Help them write the names of the dinosaurs on the pictures.  Post the pictures where others can see them.

Help children write their story about “The Day a Dinosaur Came to My Street.”  Make a book that the child can illustrate.

Make up a “dinosaur dance” and dance it with children.

Learn about specific dinosaurs with the child then each of you pick your favorite and pretend to be the dinosaur.

Book Suggestions
These books are recommended to encourage you to read to and with children about the themes from the movie.

Dinosaurs! The Biggest, Baddest, Strangest, Fastest.  Written by Howard Zimmerman.

Danny and the Dinosaur.  Written and illustrated by Syd Hoff.

The Littlest Dinosaurs. Written and illustrated by Bernard Most

Whatever Happened to Dinosaurs?  Written and illustrated by Bernard Most