Herbivore and Carnivore Dinosaurs – Sorting Activity

Sort twelve named prehistoric animals by diet into carnivores and herbivores

Recall or research what a named species ate rather than judging by size or fame

Use the terms carnivore and herbivore correctly as diet categories

The sheet gives no facts of its own, so pair it with a reference source or a completed unit - the sorting is the assessment, not the teaching

Twelve is a lot for one sitting with unfamiliar names; Gallimimus, Ankylosaurus and Apatosaurus are worth pre-teaching if the class has only met the famous three

Two of the twelve are not dinosaurs in the strict sense - Plesiosaurus was a marine reptile and Archaeopteryx sits at the bird end of the family tree - which makes a useful discussion once the diets are settled

Cutting and gluing is the whole prep: print both pages, one set per student or per pair, and have scissors and glue ready

Classification by diet - students place each of twelve named animals under carnivore or herbivore on a single sorting sheet.

Species recall - the list runs past the familiar T-Rex and Triceratops to Gallimimus, Ankylosaurus and Gigantosaurus, so it tests what a unit actually covered.

Cutting and gluing - the one printed instruction is to cut out all twelve and glue them in the right place, making the task manipulative rather than written.

Science vocabulary - carnivore and herbivore are used as working categories rather than defined in isolation.