J.P. Guilford tells us that “One of the most important steps a person can take toward increasing his own intellectual powers is to know about (and use) the kinds of abilities he has.” The purpose of this book is to help students develop and use the five specific thinking skills outlined in Dr. Guilford’s Structure of Intellect: Cognition, Memory, Divergent Production, Convergent Production, and Evaluation. These thinking skills are described in the following section.

Dinosaurs—a fascination for children—are used in this book as the vehicle for providing students with experiences in these thinking skills. By combining this fascination with the thinking skills, the children are made aware of the skills and encouraged to use them.

Students will work with nine representative dinosaurs presented in one or two environments. A specific vocabulary of about twenty words which are related to the theme is included. The pages are arranged to follow a continuity through the five thinking skills. Occasionally, a page may be out of order to vary the pace and make the experience even more enjoyable for the children.

Digby Dalrimpole, a paleontologist, is introduced on the first student page. The function of Digby Dalrimpole is to present information and to give some directions.

Download the Table of Contents page here.

Grades 1–3.