Dig deep

Role-play ideas based on digging and discovering

1 Going underground

ADULT-LED

Organise an archaeological dig.

Key learning intentions

To work as part of a group, taking turns and sharing fairly To be confident to try new activities, initiate ideas and speak in a familiar group

Resources

Large container filled with sterilised compost, sand or composted bark; interesting objects to bury in it, for example, coins, pebbles, pieces of pottery, keys and, ideally, replica dinosaur fossils (see Resources, page 16); soft brushes (chubby, soft bristled paintbrushes are ideal); notebooks and pencils; clipboards and paper; labels; magnifying glasses; digital camera Preparation

* Find out about the life and work of Mary Anning (1799-1847), who made significant dinosaur discoveries around her home town of Lyme Regis and came to be regarded by some as 'the greatest fossilist the world ever knew'. Useful websites are: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/anning.html and www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/anning.html.

* Decide where to site the dig. Small-scale digs could be organised in the water or sand tray, or similar container; large-scale digs in a rigid-sided paddling pool or outdoor digging area.

Activity content

* Discuss with the children how we know that dinosaurs existed. (Be sure not to enter the discussion with pre-conceived answers that the children are expected to guess!) Some children may have heard the terms 'fossil hunter', 'palaeontologist' or 'archaeologist'. If not, you may wish to introduce and explain these words to them.

* If you feel it is relevant, talk to the children about Mary Anning. Tell them what you have found out almost as if you were telling a story.

* Create an archaeological dig, indoors or outside, by hiding the objects and replica dinosaur fossils.

* Introduce the idea of the dig to the children. Some may have seen Time Team on TV, and will have some prior knowledge of such an activity.

* Initially, work alongside the children as they dig and discover, talking about and exploring what they have found. Listen to their observations and comments. Some children will want to store their finds for later examination, others will want to re-bury them to be dug up repeatedly.

Things to say and do

* Invite the children to relate what they see to their experiences outside the setting. What do their discoveries remind them of? Have they ever seen anything like it before?

* Introduce exciting vocabulary relating to the process of exploration and discovery.

* Avoid closed questions such as 'How many fossils have we found?' Such questions are seldom necessary, as children are likely to want to count their finds anyway!

* Invite the children to ask questions, of yourself and each other. Write them down. Some may be answered immediately, others will take a while, and some may remain unanswered!

Stepping stones

Children with little experience may show an interest in their finds, and have a positive approach to exploring the items that have been discovered.

They are likely to link what they see with experiences that they have had at home.

Children with some experience will show increasing independence in the activities offered, selecting tools to use and taking the initiative in sorting and labelling their finds, for example.

Children with more experience will take turns and share fairly, without the need for adult support. They will act confidently, collaborating with both adults and children.

Extension ideas

* Encourage the children to photograph their finds and print them off to produce a 'catalogue' of the dig. Place the catalogue near the dig while the dig is still active, so the children can refer to it. Subsequently, keep it in the book corner, so that the children can revisit their experiences.

* Encourage the children to sort and record their finds, through drawing, mark-making and writing. Some children may like to write in a notebook as an entry in an archaeologist's diary, others may prefer to use the clipboard and paper. Ensure that all methods of recording are valued.

* Set up a museum where the children can display their finds. (This will mean that you will need items to add to the dig on a regular basis.)

* Where possible, arrange a trip to a museum with dinosaur exhibits.

2 On a hunt

ADULT-LED

Write a story about a fossil hunt.

Key learning intentions

To listen with enjoyment and respond to stories

To enjoy listening to and using spoken written language

To sustain attentive listening, responding to what they have heard by relevant comments, questions or actions

To understand that print carries meaning, and in English is written form left to right

Resources

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury (Walker Books) and any variations that you can obtain, for example We're Going on a Lion Hunt by David Axtell (Macmillan Children's Books); large sheets of paper, flipchart and pens; ideally, photographs of the children working in their archaeological dig

Activity content

* Share the stories with the children in either small or large groups.

Explain to the children that they are going to write their own version of Bear Hunt, based on their experiences in the dig.

* With the children gathered and ready to listen, start the story off orally;

'We're going on a fossil hunt, we're going to find a dinosaur one, What a beautiful day, we're not scared..

'Uh, oh...'

What do the children think they might see on their way to find a fossil?

What might they encounter?

* Use their ideas to construct some more verses.

* Write them down at a pace that is appropriate to the children's interest.

* If you compose one verse a day, you will have enough material for a book at the end of a week!

* Publish the book, with illustrations by the children.

Things to say

Encourage the children to revisit their real experiences when composing the story. How did the sand feel when they touched it? What did the pebbles look like? What kinds of sounds could they hear as they dug?

Make sure that the children know that they are the authors of the story - you are merely their publisher!

Stepping stones

* Children with little experience will begin to join in with repetitive text - for example, 'What a beautiful day, we're not scared'.

* Children with some experience will listen to the stories with an increasing attention span and a greater amount of recall.

* Children with more experience will initiate conversation about the stories, justifying their own opinions and taking into account the opinions of others within the group.

Extension ideas

* Bring the new story to life by acting it out with the children on a grand scale, devising actions for each verse.

* Use percussion instruments to create sound effects for the story and leave them beside a copy of the book, so that the children can re-read their story and accompany it with music.

* Make dinosaur 'fossils'. To make them, start by helping each child roll out a ball of Plasticine and flatten it into a circle, at least 2cm thick.

Let the children choose a toy dinosaur, press it (preferably lying on its side) into the Plasticine, then remove it carefully to reveal the imprint.

Next, fasten a strip of card around the Plasticine (the card needs to be taller than the Plasticine 'fossil'). Then make up some plaster of Paris and help the children to pour it over their 'fossils' and allow to set.

When set firm, peel off the cardboard collar and remove the Plasticine.

There will be a print of the dinosaur in the plaster of Paris.

Add the 'fossils' to the 'dig' if appropriate, or display them in the museum. Display the toy dinosaurs which were used to create the fossils near the plaster casts. Encourage the children to see which dinosaurs left which 'fossil'.