Unit 25
Animals on land
About this unit
This unit is about animals and animal stories.
Pupils start by reading and discussing
information about animals. Then they read
and enjoy a folktale. Word practice continues
to revise vocabulary and plurals. The
language focus is on identifying for in the
present perfect tense. Pupils match words
and pictures and have fun miming animal
movements and reciting rhymes.
Lesson one
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Listening and speaking: Listen to, read
and discuss information about animals.
 Vocabulary: Learn and record new
expressions and words such as, Which
animals have …? Which animal has…?;
feathers, fur, tails, horns, wings, paws,
hooves, shells, big ears, long legs, spots,
stripes neck, eagle, dove, parrot, lion,
cat, dog, hare, zebra, giraffe, monkey,
goat, donkey, cow, pig, elephant, tortoise,
turtle, snail, frog, bee, butterfly, buck,
rhino.
Resources
 Chalkboard
 Pupil's Book
 Picture cards of animals that highlight the
body features: feathers, fur, tail, horn,
wing, paw, hoof, shell, ear, leg, spots,
stripes
 Picture cards of animals: eagle, dove,
parrot, lion, cat, dog, hare, zebra, giraffe,
monkey, goat, donkey, cow, pig, elephant,
tortoise, turtle, snail, frog, bee, butterfly,
buck, rhino
 Word cards to match the pictures.
116
Starting off
1. Show the class the picture cards of body
features. Stick them on the board, and
ask pupils to match words to cards.
2. Pupils arrange word cards alphabetically,
and chant the words while miming or
pointing to the body parts. for example:
feathers, fur, hooves, horns, legs, neck,
paws, wings.
Listening and speaking
(Pupil's Book p. 116)
1. Make sure the pupils know the names of
the animals pictured on page 116. Show
the word cards, and ask pupils to point to
the animal on the page. If you have made
picture cards, stick the word cards on the
board, and ask pupils to place matching
picture cards next to the word cards.
2. Read the information and while they
listen, pupils point to the pictures of the
animals being described. Pupils read
aloud with you. Assist any pupils who
have difficulty identifying the animals.
Refer them to your visual aids.
3. Put pupils in pairs. Call up a pupil and
model the question and answer process,
as explained on page 116. In pairs, pupils
then take turns asking and answering the
questions.
Answers
(Pupil's Book p. 116)
Eagles, doves and parrots have feathers.
Lions, cats, dogs, hares, monkeys, and donkeys
have fur.
Lions, cats, dogs, hares, zebras, giraffes,
monkeys, goats, donkeys, cows, pigs, and
elephants have tails.
Rhinos, buck, goats, and sheep have horns.
Eagles, doves, parrots, bees and butterflies
have wings.
Dogs, cats, and lions have paws.
Buck, pigs, cows, horses, and zebra have
hooves.
Snails, tortoises, turtles and shellfish have
shells.
Elephants have big ears.
Pigs and birds have small eyes.
Giraffes have long legs.
Leopards have spots.
Zebra have stripes.
Giraffes have a long neck.
Extension
1. Start making an animal scrapbook as a
class, in groups or as individuals. Ask
pupils to collect pictures of animals from
magazines. Paste them into a big book.
Label the animals in home language and
English. Try to categorise the animals in
some way – alphabetically, or in groups
like mammals, birds, insects, etc.
Lesson two
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Reading: Read a folktale about animals
and answer questions about the folktale;
complete sentences from a choice of
words.
 Vocabulary: Learn and record new words
such as, long ago, squeaky, medicine,
louder, swallow, thorn, wrap, hurt, roar,
to this day.
Resources




Chalkboard
Pupil's Book
Workbook
Flash cards of new vocabulary
Support
1. Draw this table on the board and ask
pupils to copy it into their books.
Has on body
How it moves Eats
Starting off
Introduce or revise the vocabulary from the
folktale that pupils are going to read.
lion
Reading
turtle
(Pupil's Book p. 117–118; Workbook p. 54)
eagle
2. Read aloud the text about the animals on
page 116 again. Pupils complete the table
using information from the text. They must
fill in one word in each space. If necessary,
demonstrate the first answer in your table on
the board.
Suggested answer:
Has on body
How it moves Eats
lion
fur
runs/walks
other
animals
turtle
shell
swims
insects and
fish
eagle
feathers
flies
small
animals
117
1. Show the pictures of the animals that
feature in the story (hare, lion) and let
the pupils name them. How is a hare
different from a rabbit? (It is bigger and
has big ears.)
2. Stick the pictures on the board and invite
pupils to come up and write the names
under each one.
3. Discuss differences between the two
animals. (size, what they eat, where they
sleep).
4. Pupils open the PB at page 117. Explain
that folktales are stories passed on by
word of mouth. Perhaps they will tell this
story to a brother or sister?
5. Read the folktale to the pupils while they
follow in their books. They can point to
the pictures as the story unfolds. Ask
questions to check their understanding.
6. Guide pupils through the comprehension
questions and then, in pairs, they discuss
and answer the questions. They may do
this orally or in writing but either way,
they must use full sentences. Ensure they
have answered correctly.
Answers
(Pupil's Book p. 118)
1. Hare helped lion to roar. 2. The hare put a
banana and two thorns into lion's mouth. 3. Hare
gave lion the medicine to make his voice louder.
7. Complete sentences:
Pupils open their WB at page 54. They
look at the pictures in Exercise 1 and use
the words in boxes to complete the
sentences below.
Answers
(Workbook p. 54)
1. a) Elephants are the biggest animals on land.
They have big ears and long trunks. They use
their trunks to eat and drink. They eat plants.
b) Frogs live in water. They sometimes live on
land. They swim by moving their arms and legs.
They have webbed feet to help them swim.
c) A crocodile has a thick skin and big teeth. It
likes to lie in the sun. At night it goes into the
water. It eats fish and small animals.
Extension and Support
Remind pupils that folktales are passed on by
word of mouth. In pairs, they pretend that
they have a younger sister or brother. They
take turns to retell the story of Lion and Hare
to him/her in the simple past tense. Listen for
correct order and use of simple past. Provide
a frame for weaker pupils.
Lesson three
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Phonics: Practise using vocabulary
words; complete sentences using the
correct form of the verb.
118
 Reading: Read a poem with expression
and answer questions about it.
 Vocabulary: Learn and record new words
such as, squirrel, shade, afraid, Bang!,
hunting, conservation.
Resources




Chalkboard
Pupil's Book
Flash cards of new vocabulary
Flash cards of common verbs (run, walk,
eat, sing, dance, jump, etc.)
 Picture cards of endangered animals in
Nigeria
 Poster paper for Extension activity.
Starting off
Pupils sit in a circle. Go round the circle
asking questions like: ‘What animal has
fur?’ If someone answers: ‘A monkey has
fur’ the next child must repeat it in the plural,
‘Monkeys have fur’.
Then ask another question, until you have
asked everyone in the circle. More examples
of questions: What animal doesn’t have fur?
What animal has a tail? etc. What animal
doesn’t have a tail? What animal has wings?
Pupils may refer to your picture cards.
Phonics
(Pupil's Book p. 118)
1. Write up some sentences in singular and
plural ways. Point out the differences –
we usually add s to a word to show many
(or plural). The verb can also change.
For example: 1. The bird builds a nest.
Birds build nests. 2. A tortoise walks
slowly. Tortoises walk slowly. 3. A
monkey swings through the trees.
Monkeys swing through the trees.
Drill and repeat at this stage so that
pupils begin to ‘hear’ what is correct,
rather than getting too involved in
explanations.
2. Pupils do Phonics Exercise 1 on page
118 in the PB on their own, writing the
sentences in their note books.
Answer
(Pupil's Book p. 118)
1. a) A butterfly has wings. Butterflies have
wings. b) A bird flies. Birds and butterflies fly.
c) My cat likes water. Most cats do not like
water.
heading/caption that is a full sentence. For
example: Leave forests for elephants / Let's
save reedbuck so that our children can see
them too.
Support
Reading
(Reader p. 67)
1. Introduce the new vocabulary. Remind
pupils that an exclamation mark shows
strong feeling. Pupils turn to page 67 of
the Reader.
2. Ask them to look at the title of the poem
and the pictures and then say what the
poem is about. Talk about hunting
animals and what pupils feel about it.
Talk about and show pictures of
particular animals that are endangered in
Nigeria, for example: elephants,
pangolin, giant eland, various reedbuck,
etc. Encourage empathy for animals and
support conservation.
3. Read the poem with plenty of expression,
altering your voice for each little speech.
Clap your hands as you say BANG!
4. Pupils read the poem with a friend. Then
they read it again and answer the
questions.
Answers
(Reader p. 67)
1. Ten squirrels sat on a tree. 2. They saw a
man with a gun. 3. gun / run 4. shade / afraid
5. They all ran away.
5.
Let pupils read or recite the poem to
you. For this poem, a narrator could say
the introduction, final line and
beginnings of the sentences and
different pupils could read the words in
speech marks. Encourage pupils to say
the poem with feeling.
Extension
In groups, pupils make a poster to encourage
people to conserve one of Nigeria's
endangered species. Let them draw and
decorate their posters as well as write a
119
Revise the present simple tense. Hold up
word cards with verbs on them. Say an
animal name. Pupils make a sentence. For
example: Hold up run. Say monkeys. Pupil
says monkeys run. Hold up run. Say a
monkey. Pupil says a monkey runs.
Lesson four
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Grammar: Identify the present perfect
using for.
Resources
 Chalkboard
 Pupil's Book
 Workbook.
Starting off
Revise the names of the animals that the
pupils have learnt about and ask them for
more examples of animals that they know
about.
Grammar
(Pupil's Book p. 118)
1. Introduce the present perfect tense using
for. Do not let pupils get confused
between since and for: Explain that we
use for to show a period of time. We use
since to show when the action first
started. Use this example to show the
difference.
I have worked at the factory for eight
years. (for a period of eight years)
I have worked at the factory since I was
twenty. (I was twenty when I started
working there)
2. Pupils open to page 118 of their PB.
Read the examples. Pupils practise
saying the sentences with a partner.
3. Pupils open at page 55 of the WB,
Exercise 3. Read the example and
sentences below. Pupils complete them
using for. Then they read their sentences
to a partner.
Extension
Pupils copy and complete this paragraph
choosing the correct word:
Birds (have/has) feathers. They (do/does) not
have fur. Most birds (lives/live) in trees, but
some (make/makes) their homes in the grass.
Their babies (come/comes) out of eggs. You
(do/does) not see many birds at night. But
some birds (hunts/hunt) when it is dark.
Answers
Birds have feathers. They do not have fur. Most
birds live in trees, but some make their homes in
the grass. Their babies come out of eggs. You
do not see many birds at night. But some birds
hunt when it is dark.
Support
Pupils rewrite this paragraph correcting your
mistakes:
Animals moves in different ways. A monkey
climb tree well, but donkeys does not. A
butterfly fly. A frog jump on land, but swim
in water. We loves all animals.
Answers
Animals move in different ways. A monkey
climbs trees well, but donkeys do not. A butterfly
flies. Frogs jump on land, but swim in water. We
love all animals.
Lesson five
Lesson aims
Pupils will:
 Writing: Match words to pictures.
120
 Vocabulary: Learn and record new words
such as, dirty, thirsty, third, purple,
thirteen, plus, stir, Sir.
Resources





Chalkboard
Pupil's Book
Workbook
Flashcards of new vocabulary
Personal dictionaries.
Starting off
Revise vocabulary for this lesson: dirty,
thirsty, third, purple, thirteen, plus, stir, Sir.
Writing
(Pupil's Book p. 119; Workbook p. 55)
1. Talk about the pictures on page 119.
What is each picture of?
2. Read the words and phrases clearly and
slowly. Let pupils repeat after you with
clear pronunciation of -ir and -ur sounds.
As you read a phrase, pupils point to the
correct picture. Ensure they are pointing
correctly.
3. Working alone, pupils write the words
and phrases into their note books.
4. Pupils can then complete Exercise 2 on
page 55 of the WB. Explain to them what
they need to do.
Extension
Let pupils volunteer to come forward and
mime different animals for the rest of the
class to guess. This should be a fun and
interactive exercise. Don’t let pupils mime
animals that have already been done.
Encourage them to think of a different
animal (examples: cow, sheep, duck, lion,
elephant, dog, pig)
Support
Read the folktale about Lion and Hare with
the class again.
Write the following summary on the board
but jumble up the order of the sentences.
Pupils must rewrite the sentences in the
correct order:
Long ago Lion had a squeaky voice.
Hare said he could help to make Lion's voice
louder.
He wrapped two big thorns in a banana skin.
When Lion swallowed them he gave a loud
roar.
To this day, Lion has a loud, roaring voice.
121