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Furry, Soft, and Warm
Activities -- PreK-2,
Grades 3-5
| Goals
CLASSIFICATION – Identify the characteristics of birds
and mammals
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Pre
Visit
Birds
– Identify the characteristics
of a bird. (feathers, eggs, etc.)
Mammals – Identify the characteristics of a mammal.
(hair, milk, live birth, etc.)
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Activity:
Classify animals into categories based on characteristics
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- Read a story which includes animals from different taxonomic groups.
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Discuss the differences between the animals.
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Have the children place the animals into categories.
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Have the children make a flip-book of the animal of their choice.
a. Cover: Who am I?
b. Bottom of cover: 2 clues about the animal
c. Inside: Drawing of the animal
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Have each child present their book and let the other children guess what
animal the book is about.
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Activity:
Read Stellaluna, by Janell Cannon |
- Read
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Discuss the differences between bats and birds.
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Have the children write a letter to Stellaluna's mom explaining what
Stellaluna did with the birds, keeping in mind what real birds and bats can do.
Post
Visit
Birds
– Reinforce the characteristics
of a bird. (feathers, eggs, etc.)
Mammals – Reinforce the characteristics of a mammal. (hair, milk, live birth, etc.)
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Activity:
Design a bird or mammal |
- Have the children design their bird or mammal.
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When they have finished drawing the animal, have them share their
creation with the class. (Why did they make it the way they did? What would be
the animal’s habitat?)
| Goals CLASSIFICATION – Identify the characteristics of birds and mammals
|
Pre
Visit
Birds
– Identify the characteristics
of a bird. (feathers, eggs, etc.)
Mammals – Identify the characteristics of a mammal. (hair, milk, live birth, etc.)
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Activity:
Classify animals into categories based on characteristics |
- Give the children a number of magazines with animal photographs.
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Have each child cut out 6-10 pictures of different animals.
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Mix up all of the pictures so you have a large variety of animals.
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Split up the class into groups of 3-4 students each with a large piece of
paper or poster board.
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Have each group separate their animals into categories based on their own
criteria, and paste the pictures into a collage.
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Have each group explain to the class how they categorized their animals.
Post
Visit
Birds
– Reinforce the characteristics
of a bird. (feathers, eggs, etc.)
Mammals – Reinforce the characteristics of a mammal. (hair, milk, live birth, etc.)
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Activity:
Play “Animal Jeopardy” |
- Have the children design categories of answers.
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Using what they learned at the SSNSC, have the children make up Jeopardy
questions and answers related to birds and mammals. (This can be an iterative
process where the children put together a number of questions and answers over a
period of a week and play the game the following week.)
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Activity:
Play animal in the round |
- Cut clues into 20 strips and laminate with names of animals on one side
and clues on the other.
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Give each student a strip. All
students must have at least one strip and some may have more than one.
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Assign a student to begin by reading his/her clue. Any student with an
animal that meets that criteria can say what animal they have and read their own
clue.
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Continue around the class until the first student gives his/her clue
again.
(This game can be played using all animal groups or
using only a subset such as birds.)
Example
Animal Clue Strips:
I
have an animal with six legs, who has one with eight legs?
I
have a (spider, tarantula), who has an animal with an exoskeleton and lives in
the ocean?
I
have an (echinoderm, starfish), who has an animal with gills?
I
have a (fish, trout, bluegill), who has an animal with feathers?
I
have a (bird, peacock), who has an animal with webbed feet?
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