ZT Giraffes Activities 11 Fw.qxd
1/11/11
10:40 AM
Page 2
,
w
w
w
A
G!
Fun Pages
Giraffe starts with the letter “g,”
but lots of other words start with
the letter “g,” too. Put a “g” in
each blank to see them.
_orilla
_rasshopper
_erbil
_rapes
_em
_uitar
_oat
_in_erbread
man
FR
EE
ww Gir
w. aff
zo e s
ob A
oo ud
ks i o
.c Bo
om o
/a k @
ud
io
Which words above start with a “hard g” sound, like in green?
Which words start with a “soft g” sound, like in giraffe?
Can you find a word that has two “g”s in it? Do those
two “g”s make a “hard g” or a “soft g” sound?
Copyright © 2011 by Wildlife Education, Ltd.
ZT Giraffes Activities 11 Fw.qxd
1/11/11
10:41 AM
Page 3
Tall, Taller, Tallest
Fun Pages
Copyright © 2011 by Wildlife Education, Ltd.
art by Mo Ulicny
Which giraffe is the tallest? Color that giraffe brown.
Which giraffe is the shortest? Color that giraffe yellow.
Color the other giraffe any color you choose!
Ready for some harder questions?
How many giraffes are taller than the shortest giraffe?
How many giraffes are shorter than the tallest giraffe?
Tear out along the perforation
Tear out along the perforation
Giraffes are very tall, but not all giraffes are the same size. Some giraffes
are taller than others, which means that some are shorter than others, too!
Baby giraffes are the shortest of all—they have to grow up (and we mean
UP) before they become tall like their parents.
ZT Giraffes Activities 11 Fw.qxd
1/11/11
1:16 PM
Page 4
Truth be told, g is not the simplest letter for preschoolers
to learn. Visually, the uppercase and lowercase versions
have nothing in common, and aurally, there’s the hard
g/soft g confusion. Not only that, but for some kids,
the hard g sounds just like k. Don’t be surprised if your
child gets a little confused. Just try again another day.
Resource
Corner
Fortunately, the tall/short comparison is very straightforward, since it’s first cousin
to big and little. For the most part, grown-ups are tall and kids are short. Trees are
tall and flowers are short. Just remember that when you only measure three feet
high yourself, there are a lot more tall things in the world than short ones!
Who’s WHO?
Explore Even More!
Mammals
More printable
activity pages for
kids & parents
online!
Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates, e.g. deer, camels, and hogs)
Giraffidae
Tear out along the perforation
Tear out along the perforation
Giraffes
Okapi
Go to
Nigerian
Kordofan
Nubian
Reticulated
Rothschild
Masai
Thornicroft
Angolan
Cape
www.zoobooks.com
click on the Secret Jungle and
enter this month’s password:
Where
in the
WORLD?
Giraffes are found
only in Africa.
• Giraffes
claw
Reading Resource
Every title in the Zootles series is
designed to be used for fun and
learning, and as a reading resource
as well. Reading Zootles together
will provide “together time” for you
and your child—and reinforce
vocabulary, comprehension, and
early reading skills, too.
It’s a ZOO out there!
Giraffes are wonderful to watch. If you’re fortunate to live near a zoo or animal park that has a spacious and humane
giraffe habitat, your family may enjoy a trip there after reading Giraffes. Check in advance to find out when feeding
times are scheduled so you can see the giraffes at their liveliest. You’ll reinforce learning and foster careful observation
skills if you look for the features and behaviors mentioned in Giraffes. As you watch the animals, observe the following:
• What does the giraffe’s coat look like? Its pattern will tell you what kind of giraffe it is.
• Watch for the giraffe’s tongue. Notice how long it is. How big are the giraffe’s feet and eyes?
• What is the giraffe doing? Is it lying down or standing up?
• Compare the height of the giraffe to things nearby. Is anything taller? What is shorter?
ZT Giraffes Activities 11 Fw.qxd
1/11/11
10:39 AM
Page 1
What ELSE can we DO?
• Gentle Yet Giant (p. 1) Nothing epitomizes “tall”
quite like a giraffe. The concept of size is pretty easy
for a preschooler to grasp, and a preschooler
always takes pride in showing off her knowledge.
• ZOOTLES TO-DO: Let your child demonstrate how
much she knows by starting a conversation with a
comment like, “Oh, giraffes are so short.” When she
says, “No, they’re tall,” continue teasing her with a
statement like, “Oh, tall like an ant.” And so on, and
so on, until she finally teaches you the difference.
• Giraffes . . . in General (p. 2–3) goes beyond size
to reveal other amazing giraffe facts. Can your child
clean his nose with his tongue? Encourage him to try.
• ZOOTLES TO-DO: Help your child make a giraffe.
Cut out a giraffe shape from a brown paper bag.
Using scraps of the paper, cut out and glue on
some ears, ossicones, a tail, and a nice long
tongue. Use a marker to draw some eyes and a
nose. Now cut a kitchen sponge into an abstract
shape, and dip it into a saucer of brown tempera
paint. Dab the sponge all over the giraffe to create
its coat pattern. Voilà! Your child’s very own giraffe!
• Looking Out for Trouble (p. 4–5) introduces
in preschooler-friendly terms some scientific concepts
that will show up in high school, with names like
“competition,” “interdependence,” and “ecosystem.”
• ZOOTLES TO-DO: How about a field trip to some
places high up, such as the top of a skyscraper,
the top of a mountain, or just the top of a slide?
What can you see from up high that you can’t
see when you’re on the ground on your stomach?
• How Big Is a Giraffe? (p. 6–7) Not only is an
entire giraffe gigantic; each of its parts is pretty big, too!
• ZOOTLES TO-DO: Head to the driveway or park
with a roll of paper towels to demonstrate just
how tall a giraffe can be. Unroll 18 sheets for a
grown-up giraffe and six sheets for a baby giraffe.
Otto:
An adventureloving otter
Now THIS is
what I call a
field trip!
Twelve sheets will give you an elephant (to the shoulder)
and six for a horse (up to the withers). See how
many sheets it takes to measure your child. Would
she be tall enough to tap a giraffe on the shoulder?
• Giraffe Kisses (p. 8–9) may seem a bit sloppy
compared to human kisses, but they are still a sign of
a mammal mother’s love.
• ZOOTLES TO-DO: Preschool poetry is even better
when delivered as poetry in motion. Reading the
first line of the poem, stretch up tall on your toes.
Now eat leaves with your hands high over your
head. Then wipe your eyes, stick out your tongue,
and wiggle it all around.
• Great Big Baby (p. 10–11) features over fifteen facts
about baby giraffes. And here’s another one: preschoolers
have an insatiable appetite for facts about baby animals!
• ZOOTLES TO-DO: Each one of the giraffe facts given in
Great Big Baby begs to be compared and contrasted
to a human baby fact. Ask your child questions,
such as: “When do human babies begin to walk?”
Dig out old photos or a baby book and compare
notes. Giraffe babies can weigh 150 pounds at
birth. How much did your little one weigh? At the
age of one, a giraffe youngster can be almost
12 feet tall. How about your youngster at the
age of one? This page is loaded with conversation
starters about the topic preschoolers find the most
fascinating—themselves!
• Winning by a Neck (p. 16-17) and Otto and Allie
(back cover) illustrate some of the advantages (and
disadvantages) of always being the tallest creature
at the table.
• ZOOTLES TO-DO: Help your child get in touch with
her inner giraffe by suspending a snack from a tree,
then helping her figure out how to get it. Put a piece
of yarn or gift ribbon through a hole in a slice of
Swiss cheese and hang it up, or hang a bunch of
grapes or an apple up by its stem. You can even
tie some ribbon around the neck of a milk jug.
Silly? Yes, but still a lot of fun!
Allie:
An intrepid hedgehog
Resource
Corner