Second Grade Activities on Dinosaurs

Matching Games

• Print several pictures of dinosaurs online (print two of each picture). Cut out all the pictures the same size and laminate them to make them durable. Place all the cards face down on a table and have the second graders play a game of memory. If a child finds a match, she can go again. The player with the most dinosaur matches at the end of the game wins a prize. For another matching game, hide the pictures all over the classroom. Tell the students they must find a matching pair. Award a prize to the child who finds the first matching pair.

Dinosaur Egg Activities

• Make "dinosaur eggs" by mixing 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 1/2 cups dirt, 1 cup sand and 1 1/2 cup salt in a bowl. Pour in water slowly until the mix starts sticking together. Form balls of the mixture around plastic toy dinosaurs. Give the rocks four days to dry. Allow the children to help you make these as a classroom activity or make them for the class and create a dinosaur egg hunt on the playground. Help the kids use a hammer or heavy rock to crack the eggs open to get the toy dinosaurs.

Easy Games

• For an easy game, ask your second graders to sit in a circle and hand one student a plush dinosaur. Play the theme song from the movie "Jurassic Park" and tell the children to pass the dinosaur around the circle. When the music stops playing, the student holding the dinosaur is out of the game. Eliminate one player each round and the last player remaining in the game wins the dinosaur. For another easy game, print pictures of dinosaurs on sheets of paper and write a number on each one. Write the same numbers on small pieces of paper and place the numbers in a bowl. Put the dinosaur pictures on the ground and play music. The children must walk around the pictures until the music stops. When it stops, everyone must stand on a dinosaur picture. Draw a number and the student standing on that number wins a small prize.

Guessing Games

• Teach the children about a few types of dinosaurs, such as the stegosaurus, triceratops, apatosaurus and tyrannosaurus rex. Print pictures of each dinosaur and show them to the children. Hold up a picture and show it to the class. The first student to tell you what kind of dinosaur is in the picture earns a small prize. For another version of the activity, divide the players into teams and hold up a picture for each team. Award a point for each correct answer. The team which earns five points first wins the game.