Teaching Activities
for
Questions to Ask Before & After Reading the Book
•
•
•
•
•
•
2
Questions to ask before reading the book
What do children already know? With charts
After reading the book – writing prompts & thinking it through
Re-read the book looking for more information
Comprehension questions
What do children already know activity conclusion
Language Arts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Developing a “word wall”
Vocabulary game
Putting it all together
Suggested vocabulary list
Silly sentence structure activity
Sequencing sentence strips
Riddle me this
Word search
Write about it!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Classifying animals
Activity or sorting cards
Animal card games
A day in the life of . . .
Tail adaptations
Science journal
Label the skink
Venn diagram
•
Animals by class graph
7
Science
14
Math
22
Research & Geography
•
Skink range & distribution
•
Feeling good about yourself
23
Character
25
Teaching Activities are intended for use at home, in the classroom, and during story-times.
Copyright © 2007 by Arbordale Publishing formerly Sylvan Dell Publishing
Return to Top
Questions to ask children before reading the book
•
What do you think the book is about by looking at the cover (or one or
two of the inside illustrations)? Sometimes it is easy to tell from the
cover, other times it is not.
•
What does the cover illustration show?
•
Does the title tell you what the book is about?
•
Is there a subtitle to give more information?
What do children already know?
•
Young children are naturally inquisitive and are sponges for information. The
whole purpose of this activity is to help children verify the information they know
(or think they know) and to get them thinking “beyond the box” about a particular
subject.
•
The children should write down their “concepts” (or adults for them if the children
are not yet writing) on the provided chart found on the next page.
•
Use the questions to get children thinking about what they already know. Feel
free to add more questions or thoughts according to the child(ren) involved.
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
2
What do children already know—activity chart
Ask children to write down what they think they know before reading the book. If the
information is verified while reading the book, they check “yes.” If the information is
wrong, they mark “no” and cross it off, then write the correct information. Have the
children note how the information was verified.
What do I think I know?
What do I know about skinks or lizards?
Yes
No
Verified
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
What type of animal is a skink (mammal, bird, or
reptile)?
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
How do lizards protect themselves?
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
What happens to the lizard after it loses its tail?
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Why do skinks, lizards, & turtles like to bask in the
sun?
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Why are tails important to some animals?
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
3
Use this chart for any other thoughts the children might have.
What do I think I know?
Yes
No
Verified
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Text
Illustration
Info in FCM
Other
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
4
After reading the book—writing prompts & thinking it through
•
Did the cover “tell” you what the book was about?
•
If not, how does the illustration on the front relate to the story?
•
Draw your own cover.
•
Write a song about Little Skink trying on new tails.
•
Can you think of another title for the book?
Re-read the book looking for more information
Go back and re-read the book studying each page carefully.
•
In the story, the skink loses its tail but the tail grows back. There is another
animal that goes through a change too. Tell the children to look for it changing in
the illustrations.
•
If possible, give the children a copy of the map of Skink’s woods and ask them to
track where the skink is on the map as you read the story to them.
Comprehension Questions
•
What happened to Little Skink’s tail and why?
•
What did the crow do with the tail?
•
How did Little Skink feel (two different feelings) after she lost her tail?
•
What did Little Skink imagine?
•
What other animals lived in the woods with Little Skink?
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
5
What do children already know activity conclusion
•
Do the children have any more questions about skinks or lizards? If so, write
them down on the chart.
•
Identify whether the information was verified and how.
•
If the concept is correct, make a note of how the information was confirmed
(illustration, in text, in fun fact notes in the “For Creative Minds” section).
•
If the concept was not correct, what IS the correct information – with confirmation
notes as above.
•
If the concept was neither confirmed nor denied, look the information up in a
reliable source and note where it was confirmed.
•
Wrap it all up by adding notes with new information that the children learned
either through the reading or the research while looking up something else.
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
6
Language Arts
Developing a vocabulary “word wall”
If using the book as a way to introduce a topic or subject, this is also a great way to
introduce subject-related vocabulary words. If you don’t have the time (or the inclination)
to develop the “word wall” by playing the Vocabulary Game (below), we have provided a
vocabulary list for you.
Vocabulary words for the “word wall” may be written on index cards, on a poster board,
or on a chalk board. If writing on poster board or chalk board, you might want to sort into
nouns, verbs, etc. right away to save a step later. Leaving the words posted (even on a
refrigerator at home) allows the children to see and think about them frequently.
Vocabulary game
This activity is designed to get children thinking of vocabulary words which will then be
used as the beginning vocabulary list for a science lesson.
Select an illustration and give children a specific length of time (five minutes?) to write
down all the words they can think of about the particular subject. If you do not have
classroom sets of the book, it is helpful to project an illustration on a white board. Check
Web site (www.ArbordalePublishing.com) for book “previews” that may be used for this
purpose.
The children’s word list should include anything and everything that comes to mind,
including nouns, verbs, and adjectives. At the end of the time period, have each child
take turns reading a word from his/her list. If anyone else has the word, the reader does
nothing. If however, the reader is the only one with the word, he/she should circle it.
While reading the list, one person should write the word on a flashcard or large index
card and post it on a bulletin board or wall.
At the end, the child with the most words circled “wins.” And you have a start to your
science vocabulary list. Note if a child uses an incorrect word, this is a good time to
explain the proper word or the proper usage.
Putting it all together
The following activities may be done all together or over a period of several days.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Continue to add words to the vocabulary list as children think of them.
Sort vocabulary words into nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. and write what they are
on the back of the cards. When the cards are turned over, all you will see is
“noun,” etc. (These can then be used to create silly sentences, below)
Now sort the vocabulary words into more specific categories. For example,
nouns can be divided into plants, animals, rocks, minerals, etc. They can be
divided into living/non-living, or into habitat-related words.
Have children create sentences using their vocabulary words. Each sentence
could be written on a separate slip of paper.
Have children (individually or in small groups) sort and put sentences into
informative paragraphs or a story.
Edit and re-write paragraphs into one informative paper or a story.
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
7
Suggested vocabulary list
nouns
butterfly
crow
deer
feathers
owl
porcupine
quills
rabbit
shadow
skink
skunk
spray
squirrel
tail
turtle
verbs
balance
bask
chase
dream
escape
hop
imagine
jump
picture
raise
scamper
slink
snap
steer
trick
twitch
warn
wriggle
adjectives
blue
bottom
bright
bushy
dark
happy
hungry
large
light
pointy
prickly
puffy
sad
stinky
top
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
8
Silly sentence structure activity
This is a fun activity that develops both an understanding of sentence structure and the
science subject. Use words from the “word wall” to fill in the blanks. After completing silly
sentences for fun, have children try to fill in the proper words by looking for the
information in the book.
Little Skink __________ off her __________ when the crow
verb
noun
attacked her.
The crow __________ the tail and Little Skink __________.
verb
verb
A rabbit’s tail is _________on top and light on the bottom.
adjective
It __________ its tail to warn other _________s of trouble.
verb
noun
A __________ uses its __________ tail to balance.
noun
adjective
A deer raises its tail to __________ other deer of danger.
verb
A __________ raises its tail and squirts a _________ spray.
noun
adjective
A porcupine releases __________ into other animals.
noun
An owl uses its tail to __________ and steer as it flies.
verb
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
9
Little Skink’s Tail
Sequence sentence strips
Preparation: Cut into sentence strips, laminate if desired, and place in a “center.” Have
children put the events in order. Children may work alone or in small groups. Cards are
in order but should be mixed up when cut apart.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Little Skink was happily chasing ants for
breakfast.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The crow attacked and Little Skink snapped off
her bright blue tail to escape.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Little Skink was sad to have lost her tail.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Little Skink imagined having other animals’ tails.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
None of the other tails were right for her.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Little Skink’s own tail grew back!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
10
Riddle me this
Use the list of animals in the book to answer the riddles.
Skink
Crow
Rabbit
Squirrel
Skunk
Porcupine
Owl
Turtle
Deer
I am a lizard with a bright blue tail – who am I?
_________________
I am a mammal that some humans hunt in the fall – who am I?
_________________
I am black and white and have a stinky spray – who am I?
_________________
I am a smart bird and say “hooo” – who am I?
_________________
I have a hard shell and pull my head in when scared – who am I? Box _____________
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
11
Little Skink’s Tail
Word Search
Find the hidden words. Even non-reading children can try to
match letters to letters to find the words! Easy – words go
top to bottom or left to right.
For older children: identify the coordinates of the first letter
in each word (number, letter).
For beginning readers: what other two or three letter words
can you find?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
A
T
U
C
O
T
E
A
T
C
P
SKINK
PORCUPINE
B
H
E
R
A
B
B
I
T
A
O
C
R
A
O
S
K
U
N
K
K
R
CROW
OWL
D
E
O
W
L
E
T
I
M
E
C
E
E
N
E
F
Y
T
W
O
S
U
RABBIT
TURTLE
F
S
E
B
O
W
E
H
D
I
P
G
K
S
Q
U
I
R
R
E
L
I
SQUIRREL
BUTTERFLY
H
I
O
M
R
N
F
T
E
L
N
I
N
T
U
R
T
L
E
R
Y
E
J
K
O
M
T
L
Y
E
S
N
O
SKUNK
DEER
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
12
Write about it!
After Little Skink snaps off her tail to distract the crow, she imagines having other
animals’ tails.
Pick four different animals and imagine that you have part of their bodies. Write a
description of what you would look like with your new body part and how it would help
you. Draw pictures of you with your new body parts.
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
13
Science
Little Skink’s Tail: Classifying and Sorting Animals
Scientists sort or classify things into groups that are similar. They will ask questions
about the item to see where it belongs. Sometimes it is easy to know to which group an
item belongs, other times it is very hard. The first question they will ask is whether the
item is (or was) alive or not. Both plants and animals are living things.
If the item in question is an animal, like the animals in the story, scientists will then ask
other questions. By answering these (and other) questions, scientists can sort or classify
the animals into “classes” such as mammal, bird, reptile, fish, amphibian, or insect.
•
•
•
•
•
Does it have hair or fur, feathers, or dry skin or scales?
Does it breathe oxygen from air through lungs or water through gills?
Are the babies born alive or from eggs?
Does the baby eat milk from its mother?
Is the animal warm or cold-blooded? (does it get heat from inside its body—
warm-blooded, or does it get heat from outside its body—cold-blooded?)
Information on classes of vertebrates (animals with backbones) is given in the table
below. Using information found in the book or below, fill in the blanks for each of the
animals mentioned in the book (text and the For Creative Minds section). Some of the
information may be determined by looking at the illustrations. For example, if the animal
breathes water, it will be shown living in the water. If the information is not in the book, it
has already been filled in.
Have the children use the chart to determine to which class each animal belongs
(mammal, bird, fish, amphibian, or reptile). Animals may also be sorted by what they eat:
plants (herbivores), meat (carnivores), or both (omnivores).
Animal Classification Chart at Class Level (Vertebrates)
Mammals
Birds
Fish
Reptiles
Amphibians
Little Skink
Rabbit
Deer
Owl
Breathes
oxygen from
air or water
Air
Air
Water
Air
Water, then
air
air
air
air
air
Warm or
cold-blooded
Lays eggs
or live birth
Skin
covering
Eats:
Warm
Warm
Cold
Cold
Cold
Mostly live
Eggs
Varies
Mostly eggs
Eggs in
water
Eggs
Live
Live
Eggs
Hair or fur
Feathers
Scales
Scales
Naked &
smooth
Scales
Fur
Fur
-----------
Warm
Warm
Warm
Animals that like to bask in the sun, like skinks, snakes, & turtles, are all cold-blooded.
What type of covering does the owl have?
Little Skink was enjoying a breakfast of ___________. That means skinks eat plants
AND ___________.
Rabbits and deer nibble on leaves. Does that mean they eat plants or animals?
The owl has sharp talons (claws) to grab and catch prey. Does that mean it eats plants
or animals?
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
14
Activity or sorting cards
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
15
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
16
Animal card games
Memory Card Game Make two copies of each of the sorting card pages and cut out the
cards. Mix them up and place them face down on a table. Taking turns, each player
should turn over two cards so that everyone can see. If the cards match, he or she
keeps the pair and takes another turn. If they do not match, the player should turn the
cards back over and it is another player’s turn. The player with the most pairs at the end
of the game wins.
Who Am I? Copy or download the cards. Poke a hole through each card and tie onto a
piece of yarn. Each child should put on a “card necklace” so that the card is on his/her
back. Children should ask “yes/no” questions to guess the animals.
A day in the life of . . .
•
•
Pick an animal from the book and pretend that you are that animal.
Explain where you live (habitat).
•
•
What do you eat?
What animals might eat you?
•
•
•
How do you protect yourself from those animals?
Where do you sleep or rest?
Write a paragraph about what you do during the day (or night if nocturnal)?
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
17
Tail adaptations
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
18
Science journal
Tail adaptations
Have children draw a picture to define the vocabulary word or concept.
tail for protection
tail(s) for balance
tail(s) to warn of danger
tail to steer while flying
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
19
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
20
Venn diagram
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
21
Math
Animals by class graph
5
4
3
2
1
Mammals
Reptiles
Birds
Graph the animals found in the book by their animal class:
Skink
Crow
Rabbit
Squirrel
Skunk
Porcupine
Owl
Turtle
Deer
Which animal class has the most?
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
22
Research and geography
http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/index.htm?http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/outreach/accounts/reptile
s/lizards/Broadhead_Skink/&2
Western Skink
CA: http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/lizardsmaps.html
CA Catalina Island: http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/ecology/research/richmond.cfm
CO: http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/field_guide/reptiles/skink.cfm#
ID: http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/bio/reptile/lacer/eusk/euskfram.htm
MT: http://fwp.mt.gov/fieldguide/mediaDisplay.aspx?id=1395&elcode=ARACH01110
WA: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/herp/html/map_eusk.html
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
23
Five-lined skinks live from the lower peninsula of Michigan, southern Ontario, and
eastern New York to northern Florida, and west to Wisconsin, part of Michigan's upper
peninsula, Missouri, and eastern regions of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Isolated
populations also occur in northeastern Iowa, and west central Minnesota.
http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Eumeces_fasciatus/
http://faculty.maryvillecollege.edu/wbcash/ATBI%20Reptile%20Web%20Pages/GSMNP
%20Reptiles/Eumeces_fasciatus.html
There are several kinds of skinks that have blue tails. Some of the more common types
are called Broadhead, Western, or Five-lined skinks. Some types are considered
threatened or endangered in their areas.
•
Are there any blue-tailed skinks that live in your area?
•
What type?
•
There may be other types of blue-tailed skinks that live in your area. Check with
a local reptile group, the Department of Natural Resources or other wildlife
agency.
•
Why do you think there aren’t skinks living in the Arctic Circle?
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
24
Character
Feel good about yourself
Little Skink felt sad without her tail. She started imagining what it would be like to have
another animal’s tail. But, she soon realized that she needed her tail and that it was just
right for her.
Have you ever wanted to be more like someone else? Sometimes that can help you to
be a better person but it can also make you forget about what is good about you.
Here are some ideas to help you feel good about yourself:
•
Do something to help someone else
•
Do something that you are good at and keep practicing so that you do it really,
really well
•
Don’t be afraid to try something new, it might just be something that you are
really good at doing or that you really like
•
If you do try something and you don’t do a good job, don’t give up but keep trying
•
Be proud of the things you can do
•
Being a good person comes from inside you—it is not something that other
people can do for you
•
Being pretty from the inside is more important than being pretty on the outside
Return to Top
www.ArbordalePublishing.com
25