Key Ideas
Level 1

• Birds are living dinosaurs.
• Crocodiles are related to dinosaurs but are not dinosaurs.
• Animals can look very different and still be related.
• Birds and reptiles survived by living in different ways.

• Birds evolved from small theropod dinosaurs and share many traits with them.
• Crocodilians are part of the archosaur group and survived by adapting as ambush predators.
• After the mass extinction, birds and reptiles filled new ecological niches.
• Evolution can change body shape and behavior while preserving shared ancestry.

• eyedropper
• chopsticks, 
• nutcracker or blunt-nose pliers
• a small strainer, a letter-sized envelope
• long tongs
• a hammer and nail
• tweezers or forceps
• plastic knife and fork

1. How are birds connected to dinosaurs?
   Sample answer: Birds came from dinosaurs and are still living today.
2. Do birds and crocodiles look the same? Why or why not
   Sample answer: No, they look different because they live in different ways.
3. What is one way birds survive today?
   Sample answer: They can fly, find food, and build nests.
4. What does it mean to be related?
   Sample answer: It means animals come from the same family long ago.

1. What evidence shows that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs?
   Sample answer: Fossils show feathers, similar bones, and shared traits like hollow bones and three-toed feet.
2. Why were crocodilians able to survive the dinosaur extinction?
   Sample answer: They lived in water, used little energy, and hunted as ambush predators.
3. How can animals with a common ancestor look very different today?
   Sample answer: Natural selection changes traits over time as animals adapt to different environments.
4. Why is it important to understand shared ancestry when studying evolution?
   Sample answer: It helps explain how life changes and how modern animals are connected to the past.