Objectives  Learn animal traits and behavior; learn medial sounds; generate sounds

Teaching Guide
using consonant blends in alliteration; read and reproduce rhyming words; compare and
contrast; use picture and context clues Rhyming Tongue-Twisters: Animals
Materials  index cards, pencils, construction paper, crayons or colored pencils, glue,
scissors, popsicle sticks

30 minutes, Days 1–3

Build Background
Activate Prior Knowledge  Tell children: Today we will learn about animals.
Open the book and show the animal pictures to the class. Cover up the text
below the pictures and ask children to name the animals they know. Talk
about what the animals are like, what they eat, and where they live. For
example: Is the hare fast or slow? Do koalas eat plants or meat? Where do you think
zebras live?

Introduce the Focus Skill: Medial Sounds  Explain to the class that
words usually have a different sound in the middle. Ex: great, late, straight have
the middle sound /ay/. Turn to p. 4. Point out the words field, feed, and seeds.
Tell children that these words have the /e/ sound in the middle. Then say the
words aloud. Tell them to listen for the /e/ sound and clap when you say it.
Turn to p. 14. Have children find words with the /a/ medial sound (crabby,
crab, crack, snack).

Acquire New Vocabulary  Point out the bold-faced animal names in the book. Write them on the board. Distribute index
cards and pencils to the class. Tell children to pick an animal and write it on an index card. Then have them write three words or
phrases on the back that describe the animal. For example, for goat: white, eats grass, has horns. If children have difficulty thinking of
words or phrases to describe their animal, tell them to copy describing words from the book and/or to use picture clues. Then have
partners play “Guess the Animal.” One child will read his/her description and the other partner will guess the animal.

Read and Respond  Display the book. Read the title and author name aloud as you track the print. Tell the class that they are
going to read aloud with you. After reading each page, challenge a volunteer to say the tongue-twister as quickly as possible. Turn to 
p. 12. Ask a volunteer to guess the animal on the page (giraffe). Then turn to p. 28. Have another volunteer guess the animal (lion).
Discuss animal traits and behavior as a class.

60 minutes, Days 4–5

Æ Curricular Enrichment: Theater

THEATER
  Tell children that they are going to make animal puppets. Distribute
construction paper, crayons or colored pencils, glue, scissors, and popsicle sticks to the class. Tell them to draw a picture of
an animal, cut it out, and glue it to a popsicle stick. When children have finished, have them present their puppets to the
class, one by one. Guide each child to give the class the same three clues that they gave their partner during the Acquire
New Vocabulary activity. Encourage them to expand upon the clues by forming complete sentences and/or making animal
sounds. Ex: This is a baby pig. It swims in the pond. It says “oink-oink.” What animal is it? (piglet) Discuss with the class which animals
in the book are found nearby.

Home Connection  (Teacher, you may want to photocopy NATIONAL STANDARDS

this activity for children to complete with a family member.)
Language Arts: K-12.1, K-12.3, K-12.4, K-12.5, K-12.6, K-12.7, K-12.8, K-12.11, K-12.12
Talk with your child about what he/she learned this week. Play Mathematics: Numbers PK-2.1—PK-2.3; Algebra PK-2.1, PK-2.4; Geometry PK-2.1—PK-2.4;
“Guess the Animal.” Encourage your child to use complete Connections PK-12.3
Science: K-4.1, K-4.2, K-4.3, K-4.4, K-4.5
sentences when giving you clues about an animal. When it is Social Studies/Geography PK-12.1, PK-12.2, PK-12.3
your turn to give clues, encourage your child to answer with a Theater: K-4.1, K-4.2, K-4.4, K-4.5
Visual Arts: K-4.1, K-4.2, K-4.3, K-4.5, K-4.6
complete sentence, not just the animal name. For example: I am
a baby horse. I can run for miles. I have long, thin legs. What animal am
I? (You are a foal.) Then have him/her repeat the answer and  
all of the animal clues in complete sentences: A foal is a baby horse.
Foals can run for miles. Foals have long, thin legs.

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