Kindergarten Unit: SUPPLEMENTAL ACTIVITIES

Engage: Card Game "Comparisons"

Using the card game set, student pairs receive two random cards and are challenged to discuss similarities and differences between their two animals. They then present their ideas to the class.

Explore: Animal Products

In this activity, students match animal images with products and place these matches in the pocket chart or on a table for an adult to review with them. E. g. they match milk, butter, cheese with cow, yarn and sweater with sheep and eggs with chicken.

MATERIALS NEEDED

AnNames.pdf, TenSpecies.pdf, AnProducts.pdf Print, cut out and laminate the .pdfs in advance.

DESCRIPTION

1. Play a whole class products matching game. Hand out the animal image set (TenSpecies.pdf) to the students, and handout products image set to another group of students (AnProducts.pdf). There are eight species (omit horse and donkey from this game) and fifteen or more product images. See the list below for over twenty products and their associated farm animals. A class of 28 or fewer students will have enough for everyone to have a unique image.

Cow: meat, leather, milk, cream, butter, cheese
Goat: meat, milk, cheese, wool (angora)
Sheep: meat, fleece, wool - yarn, sweaters, socks
Pig: meat (ham, pork chop, sausage, bacon), leather
Chicken: chicken breast, fried chicken, eggs
Horse: nothing
Donkey (ass): nothing
Turkey: turkey meat
Duck: duck meat, eggs
Goose: meat, liver, eggs

2. Students can then do small group matching again at the pocket chart or on their table/desk to show their familiarity with the goods provided by domestic farm animals.

3. (Assessment) Once they have matched the animals and products, ask the students to verbally describe similarities and differences about the products from the animals. (e. g. birds give eggs. Some animal products are available while the animal is alive such as wool, milk and eggs; some can only be harvested after the animals¨ death such as pork or beef or chicken. )

Explain: Show Part 1 of the Slide Show, Read Farm stories.

Expand: Product Comparisons, Breed Comparisons

Students do small group matching again at the pocket chart or on their table/desk to show their familiarity with the goods provided by domestic farm animals.

Ask the students to verbally describe similarities and differences about the products from the animals. (e. g. birds give eggs. Some animal products are available while the animal is alive such as wool, milk and eggs; some can only be harvested after the animals' death such as pork or beef or chicken.

Slideshow part 4 with discussion about rare breeds. For a more intensive unit, with goals beyond that of animal behavior and similarities and differences: Do they know what a breed is? Can they differentiate breeds? Can they discuss the value of rare breeds?

Look at the pictures in The Extraordinary Chicken – a photo-journey through the amazing beauty and array of colors in chickens.

Evaluate: Drama Corner (use AnecdotalNotes.pdf. )

Description: Students act out farm stories in the drama corner, making up little plays based on stories they have had read to them. This can be used anytime during the unit or throughout, both to gain insight into how much students already know (prior knowledge) or are assimilating over the course of the unit.

"Our story of Henny Penny has photos of Pilgrim geese, a Rhode Island Red Hen, and a bronze turkey. When I used this book with my kindergarteners they loved it and we talked about the animals pictured. When I read it a second time they even remembered that the girl goose was gray and the boy gander was white. We acted out the story and I had them wear pictures of their animal characters. Acting out stories that have farm animals as characters is a great way to introduce young children to farm animals. They can create costumes of different breeds for their characters or simply color a picture and hang it around their neck. "

- Colleen Walsh, K Teacher