Wild Animals
An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
hildren love all animals, but wild animals are particularly
fascinating to them. There are so many unusual kinds, and they
live in vast lands far, far away. Children will be curious and want to
learn more about their habitats, their similarities and differences, and
their importance in the natural world. Follow the interests of the children
and expand or contract the activities as needed.
C
Discussions and activities about wild animals provide
hands-on opportunities for children to reinforce
new-found knowledge. Through extension of the
wild animals theme, a “layering” occurs that
creates depth of understanding and often leads
to curiosity about related topics. In addition,
when the same theme is introduced in
many ways throughout the curriculum,
children have more opportunity to
discover their own talents
and learning styles.
© Environments, Inc.
How to Use this Thematic Activity Guide
What’s contained in this guide?
This Thematic Activity Guide is written to
help you introduce a wild animals theme
across the curriculum. Introductory information will help you understand the value of the
theme to the children and provides simple
facts and words to broaden the exposure to
the theme. Integrated curriculum activities
are designed to incorporate the theme into all
centers and curriculum areas. The suggestions
include activities that will appeal to differing
developmental levels and learning styles. To
help you adjust the activities to suit the needs
of your children and to make your planning
easier, space for notes is provided.
What materials do I need?
Most of the activities and suggestions in this
guide use materials and equipment commonly
found in the early childhood classroom.
Where necessary, you may wish to substitute
alternative materials similar to those mentioned in the activities. For your convenience,
any suggested items that are available from
Environments exclusively are shown in
CAPITALS and included in the materials list at
the end of this guide. For more information
regarding Environments products, call toll
free 1.800.EI.CHILD or visit online at
www.Environments.com.
Additional Thematic Guides are available! See more thematic guides and other early
childhood resources online at www.EnvironmentsResources.info.
A Publication of the Environments Professional Group
The Environments Professional Group is a team of educators and designers who come together to make
the connection between the needs of early childhood programs and the developmentally appropriate
products that meet these needs.
© 2004 Environments, Inc.®
The contents of this publication are copyrighted by Environments, Inc.® All rights reserved.
Note: Up to 50 copies of this publication may be reproduced for educational use. Reproduction of this
or any other Environments publication for commercial use or sale is strictly prohibited.
Disclaimer: Environments, Inc., the Environments Professional Group, and Consultants cannot be
held responsible for any damage or injury that occurs during the use of or because of activities in this
publication. Appropriate caution, reasonable safety precautions, adult supervision of children involved
in activities, and supervision corresponding to the age and capability of each child involved are recommended at all times. Do not leave children unattended at any time.
Call toll free 1 800 342 4453
Environments, Inc.
159 Bay Pines Road
Post Office Box 1348
Beaufort, SC 29901-1348
Phone: 843.846.8155
Fax: 843.846.2999
Email: [email protected]
En√ronments
En
ts
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
1 800 EI CHILD
Fax toll free 1 800 343 2987
1Visit
800
EI FAX US
online:
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page 2
Exploring Wild Animals
Wild animals are magnificent creatures. Their massive sizes, their exotic
coats, and their ways of adapting to their environments make them unique
and interesting. In learning about wild animals and their habitats, children
will gain respect and appreciation for how these animals live, grow, and
survive – sometimes under harsh conditions. They will also have a better
understanding of how important it is to protect wild animal environments.
Words to Learn
elephant
peacock
mammal
trunk
tiger
reptile
tusk
grassland
bird
giraffe
savanna
crocodile
rainforest
lion
mane
zebra
panda
bamboo
stripe
spot
camouflage
monkey
snake
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 3
Simple Wild Animal Facts
Wild Animal Fun Facts
• Animals live in different habitats.
• Lions are the only type of cats in which
the males and females look different.
The male lion has a mane and the
female doesn’t.
• Elephants, lions, giraffes, and zebras
live in grasslands.
• Tigers, monkeys, and snakes live in
warm, wet rainforests.
• Pandas live in bamboo forests in China.
• Animals use stripes, spots, and colors
• Zebras smile to greet each other.
• Monkeys can use their feet like hands.
• Elephants use their noses – called
trunks – like hands to pick up food, get
water, and hold on to each other.
for hiding. This is called camouflage.
• Pandas eat bamboo.
• Giraffes have the same number of
• Elephants are the largest, heaviest
• Crocodile mothers carry their babies
• Giraffes are the tallest land animal.
• Peacocks have “eyes” on their tails.
• Crocodiles are the only reptiles that
• Young giraffes stay in “nursery”
Bamboo is a large grass.
land animal.
care for their babies.
• Zebras have black and white stripes,
and each animal has its own
unique pattern.
• Some snakes and monkeys live in
trees most of the time.
•
Tigers are the largest cats in
the cat family.
neck bones as people do.
in their mouths.
groups while their mothers go off to
find food.
• Snakes are more afraid of people than
people are of them.
• Pandas like to turn somersaults.
• Tigers are cats who will get into water
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
to cool off.
page 4
Integrated Curriculum Activities
These suggestions and ideas incorporate the wild animals theme in all
centers and curriculum areas – Language & Literacy, Science & Nature,
Basic Concepts & Math, Block Play, Dramatic Play, Art, Music & Movement,
Cooking, and the Home-School Connection. They include activities that will
appeal to differing developmental levels and learning styles. Use the blank
spaces provided to write your own ideas and notes.
Language & Literacy Activities
•
Hang SAVANNA PANORAMA and ASIA FANTASIA BANNERS to fill
your classroom with lively wild animals. Go with the children on an
imaginary adventure to look for wild animals. Take along binoculars the children have made of cardboard tubes, tape, and yarn.
Use the binoculars to visually explore the banners. Ask openended questions to help children describe what they see on their
imaginary trip. “What do the animals look like? What are they
doing?” Look for similarities and differences in the animals – their
colors, whether they have fur or feathers, number of feet, eyes, a
tail or no tail, etc.
•
Read Roar! A Noisy Counting Book. Look back through the
book and ask the children to name the animals. Write the names
on a chart pad as the children say them to you. Ask the children
to give you words to describe the animals and write them, too.
Be scientists and record facts about the animals. Write individual
or class journals about the animals.
•
Read We’re Going on a Lion Hunt. Invite the children to
imitate the actions in the book – going over, under, through.
For variety, substitute other wild animals for the lion in the story.
Go on a monkey hunt through the rainforest, for example.
•
Read Who Is the Beast? Play “Who is the...?” riddle games.
Children can take turns giving clues while the other children try
to guess which animal is being described.
•
People live in areas where wild animals live also. In the United
States, our wild animals are bears, foxes, rabbits, etc. Read books
like The World Turns Round and Round and All Kinds of
Children to find out about the people who live in lands near tigers,
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 5
pandas, elephants, and zebras. Find out about the children – their
homes, schools, games, and snacks. Put wild vinyl animals and
people puppets with the puppet theater. Make up new stories
about a little girl who saw a zebra on her way to school or a little
boy who had a monkey near his house.
•
Read Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears and Anansi the
Spider. Make up new “why” folktales with the children. “Why the
Peacock Has Eyes on His Tail,” “Why the Panda Has Black Spots
around His Eyes,” “Why the Elephant Has a Long Nose.”
• Learn fingerplays and silly songs.
Five Little Monkeys
Five little monkeys jumping in a tree
One fell off and scraped his knee
Mama called the doctor, and said he
No more monkeys jumping in the tree!
The Elephant Goes Like This
The elephant goes like this, like that
He’s terribly big
He’s terribly fat
He has no fingers
He has no toes
But he’s got a very, very long nose!
The giraffe goes like this, like that
He’s not terribly big
He’s not terribly fat
He has no fingers
He has no toes
But he’s got a very, very long neck!
Ask the children to help you make up your
own verses.
Science & Nature
Activities
•
Read simple animal fact books like About
Birds, About Mammals, About Reptiles and
add new information to the facts the children
already know. For more in-depth information, read Eyewitness Bird, Eyewitness
Mammal, and Eyewitness Reptile. Make a
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 6
list of characteristics common to each species. Classify the wild
animals into bird, mammal, or reptile categories. This can be done
on a large chart pad.
•
Put damp sand in the SAND AND WATER TABLE before the
children arrive. Gather leaves, small sticks, and simple vegetation
so that the children can use them to make a habitat for vinyl wild
animals. Recess a shallow pan of water into the sand to become a
watering hole. Encourage children to demonstrate animal behavior
and discuss it as a class or in a small group.
• Explore humid climates with a classroom rainforest. Put a 2
layer of small pebbles in the bottom of a large jar. Add soil and
plants, water well, cover the jar, and place in a warm area. Watch
moisture develop and “rain” on the plants. Invite the children to
observe their class “rainforest” as they arrive at school each day.
Children could also make individual “rainforests” using a Mason or
spaghetti jar sent from home. Be sure to put a name label on each
child’s jar.
•
Create grasslands in the play yard. Leave a small patch of grass
uncut for a short period of time. Invite the children to play in the
grass to see how it would feel to be a lion living there.
•
Put soil into a large shallow pan, plant grass seeds, water, and
watch them sprout. When the grass is 2 high or more, add vinyl
wild animal figures for explorative grasslands play.
Basic Concepts & Math Activities
•
Using pictures of the grassland and rainforest habitats, invite
the children to sort animal pictures or vinyl animals and place
them on the correct habitat.
•
Provide the children with wild animal magnets, flannel board
pieces, sorters, and counters to match, sort, pattern, and count.
• Let the children use beads and laces or large pop beads to make
snake patterns.
•
An interesting fact is that a giraffe only sleeps 5 to 30 minutes a
day. Share this fact with the class then set a classroom timer for a
number of minutes within that time frame. Ask the children, “How
do you think the giraffe would feel after sleeping only 5 minutes?
30 minutes? How would you feel if you slept so little? How long do
people sleep?”
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 7
•
The elephant is the largest, heaviest land animal. Gather a variety of objects of different weights. Ask the children to predict
which are heavy and which are light just by looking at the objects.
Now ask them to pick up the objects to see if their predictions
were correct. Use a balance to compare the weights to see how
accurate the predictions were.
• To reinforce interest in the wild animal theme, put out wild
animal puzzles in the manipulative area. Also place small
wild play animals with snap together construction sets for
fine motor play.
Camouflage Matching – Put out pieces of animal print
paper, felt, or fabric. Match animal pictures or vinyl
animals by placing them on the matching patterns.
Tall and Short Measurement – The giraffe is the
tallest of all land animals. The female can be 15 tall
and the male 20 tall. Lay a 15 to 20 string on the
ground to see how tall giraffes are. Let the children
walk the length then lie down to see how many children it takes to reach a giraffe’s head. Give each child
the opportunity to participate. Measure the children
in the room and graph their heights. Who is the
tallest? Who is the shortest? On a chart pad make a
list of the advantages of being short and tall.
Block Play Activities
• Put vinyl wild animals in the block play area, and invite children
to build habitats. Use large paper to line the wall. Encourage the
children to draw trees, bushes, grass, etc. to turn the area into a
rainforest or grassland. Include play people to visit the animals
and vehicles they might need – jeeps, boats, canoes, etc. Provide
fabric squares to make tents along with cameras, hats, and books
for field guides.
Dramatic Play Activities
• Invite children to use masks and dress-ups like ENVIRONMENTS
CURIOUS CREATURES POPOVERS™ and ANIMAL ANTICS
POPOVERS™ to become wild animals.
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 8
Photo Safari – In the dramatic play center, prepare children for a
safari. Gather dress-ups and play props like adventure vests, hats,
backpacks, binoculars, camera, portable phones, or walkie-talkies.
Be sure to include camping supplies, field guides, and journals.
Place animal figures around so children can photo their finds and
even document them in journals with pretend or real writing and
drawn pictures.
Travel Agent – Explain to the children how travel agents help
people get to the places where wild animals live. Set up a corner
for the travel agent. Provide travel brochures, a telephone,
and a variety of writing materials for making tickets, etc.
Art Activities
•
Make snakes out of paper chains or out of paper shapes joined
together. Use felt for the head and attach wiggly eyes with glue.
•
Let children dip lengths of fat yarn into paint, then drag the
yarn across the paper to make snake trail paintings.
•
Look at pictures of real masks from Africa and Asia. Invite the
children to make wild animal masks using large paper bags, paper
plates, or pizza rounds with eye hole cut-outs. Put out a variety of
materials to encourage creativity and individuality. Animal print
papers, felt, papers with different textures, pom-poms, yarn,
markers, crayons, and paints are good to use.
Habitat Murals – Foam rollers or brayers are great to use for
painting tall grasslands or rainforest tree trunks or vines. Printing
with real leaves or leaf-shaped sponges is a quick way to make a
rainforest with dense foliage. Animals can be painted directly onto
the mural, or they can be painted on colored paper, cut out, and
glued on. Ask the children to make up stories about the
mural. “Why are grasslands or rainforests important?”
Talk about endangered environments and animals. “What
can happen when habitats are destroyed or changed?”
Stripes and Spots – Let the children use foam rollers
and sponge dabbers along with shallow bowls of paint
to make stripes and spots designs on colored paper.
During the activity, talk with the children about which
animals have stripes and which have dots. Discuss
other patterns and textures that animals might have:
diamond shaped scales, pebbly hides, baggy skin.
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 9
Black and White Art – Use a piece of white
paper as the background. Provide black paint,
sponge painters, and stampers for children to
make bold, graphic black and white designs.
Talk about black and white animals while you
paint.
Music & Movement Activities
• Play music from other lands like the World Playground
CD and African Lullaby CD. Invite the children to play
along using shakers and bells. Encourage the children to
move to the rhythms and beats of the sounds they hear.
•
Use rainsticks, wrist bells, triangles, and other
tinkly-sound instruments to make music that sounds
like a rainforest.
•
Read Eric Carle’s From Head to Toe. Ask the
children to move and dance like they think the animals
would dance. For fun, they can wear the masks
they made.
• Link like elephants and dance together.
• “Monkey See, Monkey Do” is a fun follow-the-leader
movement activity. Children take turns picking an action
for others to follow.
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Monkey See, Monkey Do
The monkey does the same as you.
If you clap, clap, clap your hands,
The monkey claps, claps, claps his hands.
Monkey See, Monkey Do
The monkey does the same as you.
If you stamp, stamp, stamp your feet,
The monkey stamps, stamps, stamps his feet.
Wild Animal Charades – Swing like an elephant, climb like a
monkey, reach like a giraffe, swim like a crocodile. Let the children
take turns acting out the animal movements while the other children try to guess the animal.
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 10
Cooking Activities
•
Have animal crackers for snack. Ask the children to count them
and sort them before they eat them.
• Taste the panda’s favorite food – bamboo shoots.
Monkey Chow – Mix together dried bananas, raisins, nuts, and
berries. Enjoy!
Striped or Spotted Cookies – Use round or animal-shaped
pre-baked sugar cookies. Let the children decorate them with
stripes or spots using tubes of chocolate icing.
Animal Cookies – Using a favorite cookie recipe, make cookies by
rolling out dough and cutting with animal-shape cookie cutters. Or
let the children use the real dough like clay and make their own
animal shapes using raisins for facial features.
Black and White Zebra Sandwiches – Spread slices of bread
with softened cream cheese. Sprinkle chopped olives in rows on
top and cut into 4 triangles to eat.
Yummy Animal Creations – Ask parents to send some of the
following: fruit, licorice ropes, raisins, marshmallows, dried fruit,
gumdrop candy. Invite the children to make a realistic or fantasy
wild animal by connecting the food with toothpicks.
Home-School Connection Activities
•
Ask parents to read books about African or Asian wild animals
to their child – lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes, crocodiles, hippos,
rhinos, pandas, tigers, monkeys, peacocks, snakes, etc.
•
Encourage them to sit down with their child and look for
pictures of the animals in magazines.
•
Play a guessing game with the child by taking turns describing
and guessing the name of a particular wild animal.
See next page for
“Wild Animals”
Materials List
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 11
“Wild Animals” Materials List
This list of Environments products is designed to help you select materials
which support the wild animals theme throughout the curriculum.
The items are listed under the curriculum area they are most commonly
associated with.
The list correlates to the 2006-2007 Environments Early Childhood
Catalog and Online Environments Stores where you will find detailed
product information and pictures.
• To find products in the catalog:
Simply look up the product on the
page listed under Product Location.
• To find products at the online stores:
Go to www.Environments.com and enter the
item number into the “find products” search tool.
Language & Literacy Items
Related Environments Banners
Designed to enhance the exploration of early childhood themes, these banners promote curiosity and provide much opportunity for adults to interact with children. Banners can be used
just as you would “read” picture books: informally pointing out and naming colors, shapes, and
objects; talking about; imitating – all chances to develop emergent literacy.
Qty
Item #
Description
Product Location
900-027
Savanna Panorama Banners
172-A
900-101
Asia Fantasia Banners
172-B
Related Books (in alphabetical order)
Qty
Item #
Description
Product Location
681-090
All Kinds of Children
106-F
306-052
Altoona Baboona
Online Only
184-801
Animal Faces
174-E
800-790
Animal Parade Board Book Set
172-D
800-113
Baby Animals at Home
167-I
308-142
Caps for Sale Big Book
Online Only
104-411
Eyewitness Bird Book
Online Only
104-414
Eyewitness Mammal Book
Online Only
104-415
Eyewitness Reptile Book
Online Only
104-409
First Encyclopedia
201-H
308-130
From Head to Toe
Online Only
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 12
308-073
A Giraffe and a Half
Online Only
632-087
Hello, Hello!
174-F
134-008
I Am a Little Elephant Board Book
173-H
134-009
I Am a Little Giraffe Board Book
173-H
134-003
I Am a Little Monkey Board Book
173-H
134-020
I Am a Little Panda Board Book
173-H
134-010
I Am a Little Tiger Board Book
173-H
800-717
Multicultural Book Set
108-A
308-167
My Beastie Book of ABC
Online Only
104-406
My First Dictionary
201-G
800-165
Nature Guides for Children
170-E
309-063
Picture Dictionary
201-F
307-028
Polar Bear, Polar Bear Big Book
203-R
552-093
Rain
174-G
308-140
Roar! A Noisy Counting Book
Online Only
306-049
Weird Friends
174-D
307-034
We’re Going on a Lion Hunt
Online Only
309-119
What Do You Do with a Nose Like That
167-F
306-042
Who Is the Beast? Big Book
203-T
153-011
Who Needs That Nose?
167-G
632-032
Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?
Online Only
800-785
Wild Animal Board Book Set
Online Only
Additional Language & Literacy Materials
Qty
Item #
Description
Product Location
900-838
Dozen Journals
152-F
106-001
Puppet Storage Stand
161-K
900-774
Puffy Pal Wild Animals
172-B
900-726
Wild Animals First Puppets
173-G
800-484
African Animal Puppets
175-I
800-759
World Wildlife Puppets
175-J
900-730
Two Tier Puppet Stand
188-G
675-100
Puppet Theater
189-K
219-201
Flannel/Magnetic Marker Board
193-E
399-071
Adjustable Chart Stand
194-A
160-091
Spiral Chart Pad
194-B
800-872
Writing Center Accessories Kit
197-C
160-094
Ream of Picture Story Paper
197-D
279-001
Stencil Library
197-K
Science & Nature Items
Qty
Item #
Description
800-605
Set of 3 Utility Tubs
37-Q
675-005
EI Sand & Water Table
146-B
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
Product Location
page 13
675-101
Top for Sand & Water Table
146-C
675-102
FlowScape®
146-D
800-152
Sand & Water Play Set
151-A
245-706
Who Knows Whose Nose? Game
167-H
298-001
Animal Discovery Cards
173-F
800-294
Wild Animals
174-A
Basic Concepts & Math Items
Qty
Item #
Description
Product Location
800-198
Nature Sorting Set
133-H
399-075
Jumbo Plastic Beads
134-C
405-077
Duplo World of People
139-F
405-084
Large Duplo Basic Set
139-G
900-804
Wild Animals Play Puzzle
141-L
800-788
Animals Peg Puzzle Set
143-H
800-171
Chunky Puzzles Set #1
144-A
800-175
Two-Layer Puzzles
144-E
399-107
Pan Balance Scale
152-E
800-864
Frog Fun & Games Set
164-C
568-006
Animal Memory Match
172-C
Block Play Items
Qty
Item #
Description
Product Location
675-006
Beginner Unit Building Blocks Set
78-A
675-007
Intermediate Unit Building Blocks Set
78-B
580-020
Rainbow People
80-C
580-019
Fantasy Forest
80-D
800-298
Large Transportation Set
83-N
432-043
African-American Pretend Family
85-K
432-044
Asian-American Pretend Family
85-K
432-045
Caucasian Pretend Family
85-K
432-046
Hispanic Pretend Family
85-K
399-084
Jumbo Jungle Animals
175-B
Dramatic Play Items
Qty
Item #
Description
Product Location
900-678
Animal Antics PopOvers™
88
900-679
Curious Creatures PopOvers™
89
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 14
900-834
Adventure Hats
90-C
800-203
On Duty Duffle Bag
90-D
900-826
On Duty Dress-Ups Set #1
91-A
245-708
Flashlight
91-J
584-158
Flash Camera
91-K
800-973
Portable Phones
92-D
399-040
Calculator Cash Register
92-E
900-837
Round-the-World RoleOvers® Set
108-B
399-054
Binoculars
171-J
289-001
Periscope
171-K
800-823
Dramatic Play Literacy Props
197-N
Item #
Description
Product Location
800-995
Multicultural Art Kit
109-H
800-474
Animal Tracks Sponges
174-C
800-445
Giant Leaf Sponges
179-M
800-043
Preschool Easel Brush Set
183-L
800-677
Crayola® Washable Paint Set
183-M
800-365
Classroom Collage Kit
184-A
800-388
Dozen Large Glue Sticks
184-B
270-001
Dozen Fiskars Scissors
184-E
160-007
Ream of 9 12 White Paper
184-G
160-001
Ream of 18 24 Newsprint Easel Paper
184-I
800-039
Construction Paper Class Assortment
185-K
409-002
Set of Six Bowls
185-N
225-087
Classpack of Large Crayons
185-O
225-081
Dozen Boxes Classic Color Markers
185-P
Art Items
Qty
Music & Movement Items
Qty
Item #
Description
Product Location
164-002
Single Cassette/CD Player
21-G
800-214
Two-Up Rhythm Rally Set
72-F
684-007
Floor Drum
75-C
800-545
Jingle Bands
75-F
584-123
Rainmaker
75-G
800-196
World Rhythms Set
75-I
800-536
Environments Rhythm Instruments
75-J
842-029
African Lullaby CD
77-G
842-007
World Playground CD
77-AA
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
page 15
Home-School Connection Items
Qty
Item #
Description
Product Location
900-838
Dozen Journals
152-F
900-070
Gorilla Book and Buddy Bag
186-C
900-073
Zebra Book and Buddy Bag
186-D
800-064
Wild Animals Puppet Pack
189-N
283-068
Reading Right from the Start – English
201-C
283-069
Reading Right from the Start – Spanish
201-C
Call toll free 1 800 342 4453
Environments, Inc.
159 Bay Pines Road
Post Office Box 1348
Beaufort, SC 29901-1348
Phone: 843.846.8155
Fax: 843.846.2999
Email: [email protected]
En√ronments
En
ts
“Wild Animals” An Environments Thematic Activity Guide
© Environments, Inc.
1 800 EI CHILD
Fax toll free 1 800 343 2987
1Visit
800
EI FAX US
online:
En√ronments.com
page 16