Scaly, Cold, and Slimy Activities -- PreK-2

Goals CLASSIFICATION – Identify the characteristics of reptiles and amphibians

Pre Visit

Amphibians – Identify the characteristics of an amphibian.  (life cycle, slimy skin, etc.)

Reptiles – Identify the characteristics of a reptile.  (life cycle, scaly skin, claws, etc.)

Activity: Classify animals into categories based on characteristics

1. Read a story which includes animals from different taxonomic groups.
2. Discuss the differences between the animals.
3. Have the children place the animals into categories.
4. 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
5. Have each child present their book and let the other children guess what animal the book is about.

Activity: Write about a day in the life of a frog

1. Read a story of Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. 
2. Discuss the differences between frogs and toads (frogs usually live in water, toads have bumpy skin, etc.). 
3. Have the children write a letter to Toad from Frog explaining what they did that day, keeping in mind what real frogs and toads can do.

Post Visit

Amphibians – Reinforce the characteristics of an amphibian.  (life cycle, slimy skin, etc.)

Reptiles – Reinforce the characteristics of a reptile.  (life cycle, scaly skin, claws, etc.)

	Activity: Draw a poster of the life cycle of an amphibian
	Activity: Design a reptile or amphibian

1. Have the children design their own reptile or amphibian.
2. 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?)

Scaly, Cold, and Slimy Activities -- Grades 3-5

Goals CLASSIFICATION – Identify the characteristics of reptiles and amphibians

Pre Visit

Amphibians – Identify the characteristics of an amphibian.  (life cycle, slimy skin, etc.)

Reptiles – Identify the characteristics of a reptile.  (life cycle, scaly skin, claws, etc.)

Activity: Classify animals into categories based on characteristics

1. Give the children a number of magazines with animal photographs. 
2. Have each child cut out 6-10 pictures of different animals. 
3. Mix up all of the pictures so you have a large variety of animals. 
4. Split up the class into groups of 3-4 students each with a large piece of paper or poster board.
5. Have each group separate their animals into categories based on their own criteria, and paste the pictures into a collage. 
6. Have each group explain to the class how they categorized their animals.

Post Visit

Amphibians – Reinforce the characteristics of an amphibian.  (life cycle, slimy skin, etc.)

Reptiles – Reinforce the characteristics of a reptile.  (life cycle, scaly skin, claws, etc.)

Activity: Play “Animal Jeopardy”

1. Have the children design categories of answers. 
2. Using what they learned at the SSNSC, have the children make up Jeopardy questions and answers related to reptiles and amphibians. (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.)

Activity: Play animal in the round

1. Cut clues into 20 strips and laminate with names of animals on one side and clues on the other.
2. Give each student a strip.  All students must have at least one strip and some may have more than one.
3. 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.
4. 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 reptiles.)

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?  

Activity: Create a classroom Scaly, Cold, and Slimy book

1. Allow each student to choose a native species on which to report.
2. Collect reference materials to be used in the classroom.
3. Each report should contain factual information about the animal. (You can give the students a list of topics to cover: habitat, food, shelter, life cycle, etc.)
4. Have each student draw a picture of their animal.
5. Collect all of the drawings and reports into a book and bind it.  Have each child sign their page.
6. If possible, photocopy the book and give each child a copy.