School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8-This primary source video collection on dinosaurs, originally broadcast by CNN, is an exciting way to use primary source research for the targeted grades and as a springboard to search for additional information. Students in this age group need to develop the skill of extracting information from a variety of sources, including non-print media. These nine short segments, which run from 1:10 to 3:30 minutes, are an excellent way to teach information gathering, interpreting facts, and checking the material for bias and accuracy with many different newspersons. These up-to-date "live" CNN news stories include segments of an introduction to dinosaurs by a paleontologist in Montana; hunting dinosaur and Sauropod eggs in Montana; the diet of the South Dakota T-Rex called Sue; the fastest three-toed dinosaur found in Morocco; the possibility of classifying birds as dinosaurs; using computer technology to scan dinosaur fossils; and new evidence that an asteroid crashing into the Yucatan Peninsula caused the extinction of plant life and subsequently the dinosaur. This collection of real news stories will keep the interest of individuals or classes. The teaching objectives have been met, and the audio and technical aspects are good. This program will be a very good purchase for language arts and science curriculums, and for public libraries with home school and dinosaur non-print collections.-Kathy Dummer, formerly Newcastle Middle School, WY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.