caribou

giant tortise

The students will use the PowerPoint program located at http://www.l156.org/earlychildhood /earlychildhood.htm to identify different animal sounds.  The program works in conjunction with the Bill Martin and Eric Carle book, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear?  The students will work in pairs to identify the animals after listening to the animal's call.  The students can repeat as necessary.  Program takes about five minutes each time.

Using the television as a computer monitor, the students will use KidPix Deluxe 3 to create classify and sort different zoo animals.  The students will work as a group to sort animals into categories of their own creations.  Some categories may include: animals that live in the water, animals that live on land, animals that fly, animals that swim, animals that walk, animals with four legs, animals with two legs, animals with zero legs, etc.  The children will determine two or three categories, and the teacher will use the drawing tools featured on the program to create spaces.  The teacher will then scroll through the program's sticker albums to find pictures of animals.  The children will then tell the teacher which area to place the animals.  Assessment will occur by individually asking each child to correctly place an animal.  In place of the television monitor, a projector can be used.

With assistance from a fifth grade volunteer, pairs of students will complete the activity located at http://www.oocities.org/cbingham313/activity.htm  using Internet Explorer or some other web browser.  The volunteer will read the animal questions to the students and let the younger children answer.  Incorrect answers will redirect the students back to the questions.  At the end of each animal's section, the students will have the opportunity to view that particular animal on a live web cam.  The teacher can assess this activity by repeating the activity with the entire class, using the television screen as the computer monitor to display the screen.  If no volunteer is available, the teacher or an aide may assist the students in completing the lesson.  In place of the television monitor, a projector can be used.

The students will view a teacher created slide show on KidPix Deluxe 3.  An available slide show is located at hhttp://www.l156.org/earlychildhood /earlychildhood.htm.  The slide show introduces children to basic AB style patterns.  After viewing the slide show, students will use manipulatives to create their own patterns.  (I would recommend animal counters.)  The students can create their patterns based on colors or the particular animal.  Students who easily grasp the concept then could help those who are not grasping it as readily.  Assessment occurs by visually checking the students' patterns and assisting them when necessary.  Students can work in small groups, or as a large group with the use of the television monitor or a projector.

Read Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle.  After reading it, walk through the book showing the animals once again, maybe telling a little bit about the different endangered animals.  If you want you may point out that all of the animals in this book are endangered and speak a little about what this means.  You may also have the children act out the different actions of the animals in the book (the bald eagle soaring, the water buffalo charging, etc.).  Use Excel over the television monitor to create a spreadsheet recording each child's favorite animal.  After creating the spreadsheet create a bar graph so the children can analyze the data.  Discuss the data with the students.  Which animal is the favorite of the class, which is the least favorite?  Are any of them the same?  In place of the television monitor, a projector can be used.

For this activity, you will need to write a few animal names onto a sheet of paper.  It is helpful if there is a picture of that animal on the sheet of paper.  Be sure to write clearly, using large block letters.  Set the papers near the keyboard.  Working as individuals or pairs, the students will copy the animal names by typing them out.  When the students complete each name, they will count the number of letters and type the appropriate number after the animal name.  At the conclusion of the activity, the students can print up their work.  They like the activity even more if their names are on the sheet too. 

Lesson Seven:  Number Picture Books (with a digital camera and camera software or word processor)

This activity requires zoo animals, a digital camera and either printed numbers, or number puzzle pieces (the ones that show the whole number).  Students will arrange zoo animals into groups, giraffes with giraffes, lions with lions, etc.  Students will use the digital camera to take photos showing one number and that number of animals (one lion, two pandas, etc.).  After the students finish taking the pictures for the books, the teacher will print out the photos.  Students can arrange the pages themselves to be stapled.

The teacher will use the television screen as the monitor to display the project to the class.  The teacher will create the beginning of the web, with zoo animals in the center, and categories of zero legs (0), two legs (2), and four legs (4).  Then the teacher will click on the categories one at a time and allow the students to brainstorm all the zoo animals with the appropriate number of legs.  By clicking on the lightening button, each animal will be connected to the web.  At the conclusion of the activity the students can assist the teacher to place appropriate stickers in each place of the web.  In place of the television monitor, a projector can be used.

Divide students into small groups.  Only one small group will work with the teacher at a a time.  Each student will receive a small bag of animal cookies.  The students will then sort their cookies and tell the teacher how many of each type of cookie they have.  The teacher will keep a record of all students' data.  After working with each group, teacher will input data into a spreadsheet to total the amounts of each type of cookie.  If the teacher chooses, this can be done using the television monitor in front of the entire class, only on the monitor with individual children, or simply at a prep time.  After the data is entered, total the amounts and inform the children.  Use two different types of graphs to display the data to the students on the television monitor.  Ask the children simple questions (What kind of animal were there the most of, the least of?  Were there any that were the same?).  In place of the television monitor, a projector can be used.

The students will work in pairs to construct their own patterns.  Using KidPix Deluxe 3 the students will select a background (something with a fairly straight line, like the stage or the desert scene, works best) and place animal "stickers" on it in a pattern.  The children can determine the type of pattern they will create, but should try to construct the pattern from left to right.  When finished, the students can print their completed patterns to show the teacher.