Curriculum Guide for Dinosaurs to Dragons: The Lore and Science of Mythical Creatures By Elizabeth Shreeve Illustrated by Violeta Encarnación About the Book Explore ten different mythical creatures, from krakens and dragons to mermaids and unicorns, learning about real-world connections through engaging, beautifully illustrated text that makes scientific research, anthropology, and history come alive. Discussion Questions Use these for individual writing prompts or to guide classroom discussion, showing your students the connections between literacy and the important work that scientists, historians, anthropologists, creative writers, and artists do. 1. An important skill for scientists exploring biological mysteries is being able to see how living things are similar and different. Learn about two different mythical beings by reading two chapters. How are the two creatures similar? How are they different? Take notes in any format you''d like, and be ready to show others the text and/or images where you found the information you''ve used. 2. Scientists, historians, and anthropologists all use evidence to uncover new knowledge.

Choose a mythological creature. (It doesn''t need to be a creature from the book, but it might be easier if you do!) What''s a real-life animal that could have been mistaken for your creature, or may have contributed to legends about your creature? Use evidence from this book (or other trusted library or internet sources) to justify your answer. 3. Imagine you want to write a book, movie, television series, or story-driven (narrative) video game about an adventure for one of the creatures featured in Dinosaurs to Dragons . What three facts about the history and/or biology of this creature would be most interesting or important to understanding your main character and their journey? What would make you want to pick those facts over others to guide your story? Alternatively, as a visual artist, what three aspects of this creature would be most important to portray in the character''s design? 4. Historians and anthropologists often investigate historical and contemporary pieces of art (sculptures, paintings, poems, architecture, clothes/costumes, plays, dances, and songs, for example) to understand ancient and current cultures. Choose a featured creature, and find one representation of it in the book. Write one sentence to describe it, paying attention to adjectives and other descriptive language.

Trade your description with someone else and, after you look up the art for yourself, add to their description. 5. What do superheroes, whose powers and stories are shaped by creative writers and artists, have in common with the mythical beings found in this book? Maybe they have similar legends about them, have features from existing or extinct animals, come from a very specific part of the world, or have similar powers, or perhaps the stories told about them have evolved over the years. Explain the connections that you observe between a specific superhero and one of the creatures from this book. Extension Activities Use the book as a resource to synthesize, create, and share with these engaging, easy-to-differentiate activities. Storyboard a buddy film: Storyboards are common planning tools in visual storytelling (think movies, television shows, theater sets, and even theme park rides). They''re used by writers, directors, and engineers to combine quick sketches of a visual sequence with short summaries or dialogue. - Use the information in this book to bring to life a short story in which two of the mythical creatures are friends who work together to solve a problem or overcome a challenge.

- This activity can be guided by many ELA, social studies, and science standards. Shape student requirements to meet your learners'' needs. - Many of the mythical creatures in this book are ready for combat or high-level trickery, but such powers may not be appropriate for all audiences at all times. Encourage young screenwriters to investigate movie ratings with the goal of keeping their work G- or PG-rated, even if that means thinking creatively about any proposed battle scenes to ensure that everyone in the story ends up safe and well, to make sure their movie would have the widest reach. **Level up this project : Use this storyboard as a starting place for a graphic novel or comic, Claymation, one-act play, studio art, 3D model, or other creative endeavor. Make zines to summarize and extend learning: Zines are do-it-yourself magazines that are shared digitally or through photocopying. They are simply formatted, yet can be a powerful way to share ideas as a low-cost, high-interest public literacy project. - Learners could summarize what they''ve learned about mythological creatures and their origins generally or team up so that small student groups each create a few pages summarizing what they''ve learned about their assigned creature.

Students can also do their own research in the library or using trusted internet sources to learn more about the stories that have been told about these creatures or the places from which the legends originate. - Consider searching online for zine page templates to share with students, or create your own. - Use a booklet design that folds in the middle, or use staples or other fasteners to bind books made of full-size copy paper. **Level up this project: Finished zines may be kept in the classroom to be read by others. For higher impact, share in a pop-up library event in the classroom or school, or donate a curated set of zines--consider an after-school program, retirement home, Little Free Libraries, or your community library''s zine collection. Historian or scientist for a day: Scientists use evidence, either from scientific experiments or nature observations, to draw conclusions about the natural world. Historians use primary and secondary sources as data to draw conclusions about the past. In this activity, have students visit with a real-life scientist or historian, asking them questions about how people in these roles solve real-world mysteries and other problems.

- The first step is to contact a history or science professional. If you have a local college or university, that can be a great place to start. Additionally, you could partner with local scientists from your area''s cooperative extension, parks and recreation department, geological survey, weather station, or STEM industrial partner. Find historians at the local government, historical society, or museum, or inquire at your local library. - It''s worth noting that many community members engage in high-quality STEM and historical work who don''t hold formal titles. For example, many members of garden clubs and cooking enthusiasts have run countless small experiments in their gardens and kitchens. Find ways to leverage this place-based expertise. - Alternatively, seek out projects that connect scientists and historians with classrooms over video calls.

- Before the visit, ask students to come up with a list of questions about how your visitor uses historical or scientific thinking in their work, as well as practice how questions will be asked and answers recorded. - After the visit, ask your learners to draw parallels between the history and science described in the book and the work of your visitor. **Level up this project: Engage your learners in community science (formerly called citizen science), where their data helps scientists better understand patterns in ecology, geology, hydrology, and more. Search online for a project that will meet your learners'' needs. Design a character for a role-playing game : Role-playing games are a collaborative and creative way to put critical reasoning, probability practice, historical thinking, and character design into practice through collaborative storytelling. One participant serves as the game master, or facilitator for the game, while players take on the role of characters working together as they explore new worlds and solve problems. - Ask students to select one of the mythical beings from this book, and use the information provided there as a reference for their character. The more they can weave information from the book on geography, history, and established science into their character, the better! - Start by asking learners to brainstorm to help define their game''s world, or story setting: Will it be in real life or in a fantasy setting? Does it take place in the past, the present, or the future? - Have learners create a character summary sheet, writing answers to prompts such as the following: a.

Name b. Creature type c. Character appearance (Consider drawing a picture) d. Character backstory e. Equipment carried f. Personality traits - Consider inviting a guest speaker from your library''s teen program or the local game shop, or a community member who enjoys role-playing games to help you launch this project by sharing their own experiences with character design in an age-appropriate way. **Level up this project: Invite colleagues, older students, or community volunteers to serve as game masters for a one-shot game where the students play as the characters they''ve created. This guide was created by Dr.

Kirstin Milks, a high school science teacher in Bloomington, Indiana. <.