Kindergarten Unit: EXPLORE

Explore: FAMILY STORIES, BIG BOOK, ANIMAL FAMILIES GAME; ANIMAL MATCHING CARDS (NAMES AND IMAGES), AND STORY TIME.

KEY CONCEPTS

• The characteristics of organisms
• Similarities and differences of animals
• Structures and functions of growth and movement
• Animal identification

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• vocabulary
• observation
• oral communication

SUMMARY

In this activity, students share stories from home in circle time. The teacher reads the Big Book to help them confirm and correct their ideas about animal names, build their vocabulary and add to their list of familiar species. Students then play a game where they find each other by sound. This is followed by a matching activity with the pocket chart to review and drill vocabulary. During story or literacy time, the teacher reads "Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm" (or other choice from the Resources list).

 

MATERIALS NEEDED

BigBook.pdf, 3 ring binder, plastic sleeves, velcro tabs, BigBookNames.pdf, AnNames.pdf, TenSpecies.pdf, card set, story book such as Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm.

 

IN ADVANCE

1. Print, cut out and laminate the .pdfs in advance. Animal Names (AnNames.pdf) gives the names of the family members with singular, plural, male, female, offspring and group. The names are color coded for grouping by type (e. g. : females are red, males are blue, babies are green, group type is orange etc. ). Names are lowercase for emerging readers. There is also a .pdf with just the names of the ten species (TenSpNames.pdf) , in black print, for the animal matching game, and these are in both all capitals and lowercase letters.

2. Choose a story for storytime.

3. Create the Big Book using a 3-ring binder, plastic sleeves for longevity and Velcro tabs for the words to be attached to the blank lines (e. g. I went to the farm and what did I see? I saw a __________ looking at me")

Color print the pages and slide these into plastic sleeves.

Prepare each species name with the hook half of the Velcro tab on the back of the word and the loop half on the pages in the Big Book binder. Then, as you read, you (and later, students working in small groups/pairs) will attach ("Velcro") the word, such as "horse", to the page with that image.

DIRECTIONS

FAMILY STORIES

1. Students begin in a circle on the floor for a sharing time. You might choose to use a talking stone for the person sharing. Students share stories about their parents' experiences on a farm. Pass the stone across the circle to the next volunteer, or, for a small group, pass to the person beside you. Share stories around the circle as attention spans allow.

BIG BOOK

1. In the circle, the teacher introduces the Big Book (a 3-ring binder with pages in plastic sleeves, with Velcro tabs onto which can be attached the appropriate vocabulary words.

ANIMAL FAMILIES GAME

1. The teacher hands out the names of animal families. Group the animals into families (mother, father, offspring) in advance from (AnNames.pdf), then hand out randomly. This way you will be sure to have families. Ask students to make the sound of their animal and find their family. (Beware volume – set guidelines in advance. ) Once they are in families they can introduce themselves. You may choose to include plural and singular but this can be more confusing. Ten species with three members each will cover 30 students.

2. Students can then try to create their own chart as a team using the word set (AnNames.pdf), or fill in a worksheet. (AnFamilies.pdf) If small groups are working in a center, only one set of words is needed.

3. For a whole-class activity, divide the class into five groups with a word set for each group. (This requires more preparation and laminating for long-lasting word sets.

4. Students assemble the animal names by species (e. g. cattle) and then by role in the family or number (mother, father, baby, singular, plural). AnFamilies.pdf gives the teacher an overview of the animals' names in each species. Students match the animal name with the image.

ANIMAL MATCHING GAME

Play the animal image/name matching game. Students match animal names with their images and place these matches in the pocket chart or on a table for an adult to review with them. Hand out the animal image set (TenSpecies.pdf) to one group of students, and handout the set of TenSpNames.pdf (with capitals and lowercase letters options) to another group of students.

 

RESOURCES

All About Farm Animals by Ann Winterbotham (Doubleday and Company, Inc. , 1988). 45 pages, with color illustrations. This beautiful book gives a vivid picture of farm activity. It includes clear explanations of feeding animals, milking cows and processing the milk, shearing sheep, and other ways people take care of animals. Many other interesting facts about farm animals are given. The easy text and expressive illustrations make this book enjoyable for a wide range of ages.

A Micro-Chip on My Shoulder: A True Story of a Little Poult by Christina Allen. This is a delightful true story of one baby turkey poult and his journey to adulthood. Heritage turkeys are endangered livestock. These varieties of turkeys are wonderful parents. Mothers often share raising all the babies together. Even the dads will nurture the young poults by keeping them safe and warm. They love people and make all their human visitors laugh with their antics. Color. Illustrated.