Exploring Pangea: Where Did the Dinosaurs Live?

Good morning, Year 2! Today we're going on a super exciting journey back in time, millions of years ago, to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. But we're not just looking at dinosaurs; we're going to think about where they lived. Did you know that the Earth didn't always look like it does today? The continents we see on maps now, like Europe, Africa, and Asia, used to be joined together in one giant landmass! We call this supercontinent 'Pangea'.

Imagine all the puzzle pieces of the world fitting together perfectly. That's a bit like Pangea! This meant that dinosaurs could walk from what is now one continent to another without crossing any oceans. Over millions of years, Pangea slowly broke apart, and the pieces drifted to form the continents we know today. This is called 'continental drift'.

Let's think about Pangea and what it might have been like for dinosaurs!

Thought-Provoking Questions:

1. Look at a map of the world today. Can you imagine how all these separate land pieces might have once fitted together like a giant jigsaw puzzle?
2. If all the land was joined in one big supercontinent, Pangea, how might that have helped dinosaurs travel around the world?
3. Do you think the weather and climates would have been the same all over Pangea, or would there still have been different types of environments (like deserts, forests, or swamps)? Why?
4. If dinosaurs lived on Pangea, and then Pangea broke apart, what might have happened to the dinosaur species that were separated on different continents?
5. How do you think scientists know that Pangea existed? What clues might they have found?
6. Can you think of any animals today that live in very different places but look quite similar? Could Pangea help explain why?

Sentence Starters for Less Confident Speakers:

• I think Pangea looked like...
• If Pangea was one big land, dinosaurs could...
• The weather on Pangea might have been...
• Scientists could find clues like...
• I wonder if...

Extension Questions for Deeper Thinkers:

• If the continents are still moving today, what do you think the world might look like in another million years?
• How might the breaking apart of Pangea have led to new types of dinosaurs evolving?
• Could there ever be another supercontinent in the future? What would that mean for life on Earth?

Teacher Guidance Notes:

• Display a modern world map and a simplified map of Pangea for visual reference. You could even print out continents for children to try and 'fit' together.
• Encourage children to use geographical vocabulary such as 'continent', 'ocean', 'landmass', 'climate', 'drift'.
• Emphasise that continental drift happens very slowly, over millions of years, which is hard for us to imagine.
• Accept all reasonable ideas and guide children towards understanding the concept of shared environments and subsequent separation. Focus on the 'why' and 'how' questions to encourage deeper thinking.
• Connect to evidence: e.g., finding the same dinosaur fossils or rock types on continents now separated by oceans.

To help us visualise Pangea, we're going to create our own Pangea puzzles! Each of you will get a cut-out of a modern continent. Your challenge is to work with your classmates to try and fit them all together to form what you think Pangea might have looked like. Remember, it's like a giant jigsaw puzzle!