Materials

• How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Mark Teague
• How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Mark Teague
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 4 tablespoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• Saucepan
• Spoon
• Food colors or several fruit-flavored gelatin packs (adds an extra sensory element)
• Placemats or plastic table cloth
• Damp cloths or sponges for hand clean-up

(Adjust recipe quantity according to the number of children.)

Time Required
30 minutes, plus drying time overnight

Set up

• Cover the table with a plastic table cloth or provide one old plastic place mat for each child.
• Prepare the dough ahead of time, unless you have the time to prepare the dough with the childrens help, and then read the stories while the dough is cooling.

Directions

• Prepare the dough with the childrens help if time permits, allowing them to measure and mix the first five ingredients together. If you only have 45 minutes, prepare the dough ahead of time.
• Share two stories about dinosaurs illustrated by Mark Teague and written by Jane Yolen: How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? Both display very large pictures of dinosaurs, and each double-page spread has the name of the dinosaur hidden somewhere on the page. Allow time for the children to see the books close up to find the dinosaur names.
• When the dough is cool, have children knead it and divide it into sections and add one food color or tablespoon of colored gelatin to the center of each part of dough, and then knead it to mix that color.
• Let the children sculpt their own dinosaur, prehistoric creature, or dinosaur egg in a nest.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container or a sealed plastic bag. This dough can be reused for at least a year.

Volunteer Involvement
Volunteers may:

• Help make the dough ahead of time or cook and stir the mixture as it thickens.
• Show the children how to knead the dough.
• Divide the dough among the participants and provide scaffolding language (i.e., Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development) as the children work. 
• Comment on the color, shape, mass, texture, and form of the childrens work, rather than saying it is good or that they like it.
• Help with other dinosaur activities from the Manning title listed below under Adaptations.

Family Involvement
Families may:

• Read aloud books on subjects of interest to children. Reading aloud daily can be a fun family activity if the subject matter holds strong interest. Many children love dinosaurs and there is a wealth of dinosaur books to explore.
• Share books or lists (which you supply)I that include pronunciation guides dinosaur names. Children enjoy learning multi-syllabic words, and can be encouraged to clap out the syllables. This leads to phonemic awareness, a valuable skill for proficient reading.
• Make a batch of dough at home and keep it on hand for childrens and parents sculptures inspired by the books they share.

Community Connection

• Take students to a local museum that houses dinosaur bones or fossils, if available.
• If not, visit a local history museum and see how far back in history they have records of life in the area. How long is this after the dinosaur era? Do areas in the community have clay soils?
• Allow the children to contrast natural clays properties with that of the homemade dough.
• Invite a local health worker to discuss how to get and stay well, as in the second Yolen title listed above.

Adaptations

• Consult the book Dinomania: Things to Do with Dinosaurs by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom for ideas on: how to make a dinosaur mobile and dinosaur costumes; how to play dinosaur games; how to excavate your own dinosaur fossils; how to put on a dinosaur play; how to make your own dinosaur video; and even how to make edible dinosaur dung!

For dinosaur dances, consult the musical recordings below and for steps see Picture Books Plus: 100 Extension Activities in Art, Drama, Music, Math and Science. (See below).

Related Resources

Web Sites:

Edible Spiders:
http://pbskids.org/zoom/cafe/ediblespiders.shtml

Spider Bookmarks:
http://www.abcteach.com/Spiders/bookmarks.htm

Science Fun Activities:
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/
games/teacher/spider/

"Itsy Bitsy Spider" Song:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/rhymes/Spider.shtml

Books
Carle, Eric. The Very Busy Spider. Philomel, 1985.

Kirk, David. Miss Spiders Tea Party. Scholastic, 1994. (Or other "Miss Spider" books.)

Trapani, Iza. Itsy Bitsy Spider. Whispering Coyote, 1993.

Recording:
The "Spider on the Floor" song can be found on the recording:

Raffi. Singable Songs for the Very Young. Troubadour Records, 1985.

Puppet:
A spider puppet is available for purchase from Folkmanis Puppets/Act II:
http://www.kidsbooksandpuppets.com/Folkmanis/
newspidersfolkmanispuppets.html

* Some of the above description for this activity is from Picture Books Plus: 100 Extension Activities in Art, Drama, Music, Math and Science, written by Sue McCleaf Nespeca and Joan B. Reeve. 2003 by the American Library Association.