The study of animals is frequently an integral
part of the early primary science curriculum. Most children have some
framework of knowledge about animals, on which further understanding can
be built. Activities about animals can also incorporate a variety of skills
reading, observation, vocabulary, description, and comparison.
The activities in this unit incorporate skills that are critical in language
arts, math, and science.
Life Cycles
These activities explore the life cycles of a
variety of animals. They will help students understand that animals have
a life cycle and that they live and die, that details of the life cycle
are different for different organisms, and that offspring are similar
but not identical to their parents.
Students can explore how animals' characteristics
help them survive or adapt to their environments, as well as how animals
are different from plants. Children will identify different parts of an
animal, recognize that plants and animals belong to different environments,
and practice using a Venn diagram.
These activities focus on animals that are very
familiar to young children. Students can experience the genre of poetry,
read for information, build sight-word vocabulary, identify the contribution
of a veterinarian to the community, practice counting skills, and relate
everyday language to math problems.
These online activities and Internet Field Trips
allow students to find out more about animals that lived long ago, as
well as animals living today. Students will use the Internet to obtain
information, learn about zoo animals, and recognize that dinosaurs are
animals that once lived on earth and have since become extinct.