1-2-3 Come Do Some More Zoo Activities With Me!

Do you go on a field trip to the zoo with your students or take a “virtual” field trip online?

If so, then I think you’ll enjoy this “What Did You See at the Zoo?” packet.

There are a variety of activities included, which are easy to diversify for different ages & skill levels.

The packet includes:

1. * “What animals did WE see?” colorful animal poster to use as a whole group activity, with a matching BW “What animals did YOU see?” worksheet.

2. * “Sizing Up the Animals!” worksheet, where students can practice their comparison & contrast measuring skills: “What animal was taller than you?” (shorter, heavier, longer…) “What animal would fit in your backpack?” A colorful option is also included so you can do this as a whole group.

3. * Two, “We Saw Animals!” worksheets in both color to use as a whole group discussion activity, as well as black & white versions, so you also have the option to do one or both as an independent activity.

4. * Fun Worksheet: “Oh My! An animal is escaping. It’s following you out of the zoo.” Complete the picture, by drawing your favorite animal, or one you’d like to take home.

This can simply be a “draw & color” activity for little ones, or a writing extension for older students, who will then explain their picture, or tell “how they escaped” or “what happens when they get home.”

5. * “What Did You See at the Zoo?” booklet, where students trace & write the animal word, then answer the question by marking an X in either the “Yes” or “No” box. They also color the picture of the animal.

6. * I’ve also included a colorful teacher’s edition, (“What Did WE See at the Zoo?” ) which you can do as a whole group activity with little ones.

Each full-size page, features 4 animal strips, so you can easily cut them apart to make a “Snip & Flip” Strip Booklet.

This allows you to make your booklet as long as you like; or limiting the number of pages for wee ones. There are 24 animal strip options, on 6, full-size pages.

These activities pair nicely with my
"We're Going to the Zoo!” Field Trip Packet I blogged about last week. Click the link to take a peek.

Today's featured FREEBIE is also animal-themed. Alpha-bird, is a super-fun craft that your students can either make. OR...

You can make just one for your classroom to use as a unique asssessment tool!.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. 

We have relatives coming to stay with us this week from Washington, so my feet have hit the floor running. 

Wishing you a fun-filled and stress-free week.

"Always having somewhere to go is HOME. Always having someone to love is FAMILY. Having both is a beautiful BLESSING." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Zoo Craftivities With Me

I’ve taught PK, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th, 10th, 12th & college; going on a variety of field trips or “outings” with all of them. Plus, as a mom and grandmother, I’ve done my share of chaperoning too.

Why’s that important? I’ve “been there & done that” many times! You might say I’ve earned a “black belt” in the karate of field tripping.

I’ve used that experience to design this comprehensive zoo packet. Basically, it has everything you need to plan a field trip to the zoo, so that things run smoothly, and you too can enjoy the excitement & fun.

It’s my hope that the packet is also a huge time saver & “stress buster” for you.

I’ve done an elephant's ton of work, so that you can simply “print & go” and know that "I’ve got you covered”; with a nice assortment of things to do before and during the trip, as well as a huge variety of activities for after; with plenty for several days following.

I've divided the packet into these 3 major parts.

There's a "preparation section" which includes initial notes home to parents, with follow-up reminders; as well as chaperone information, permission slips, checklists, and a variety of forms.

There's also a section of helpful tips, several "To Do" lists; and a "We've Gone to the Zoo" doorknob hanger.

This "preparation section" also includes posters; "we're Going to the Zoo Tomorrow" Slap Bracelets, to use as a fun reminder to parents; plus a KWL black & white worksheet for your students, as well as a colorful one you can do as a whole group.

Also in this section, is a set of 8 different animal name tags. This is a super-easy way to group your students with their chaperone.

There are various debates over the  safety of having a child's name out there for all the world to see.

However, we discuss "stranger danger" as part of our field trip behavior. I've included discussion questions, a poster & contract for students to sign.

I think the many advantages of having a name tag, particularly for chaperones, far out weighs "that might  not happen" disadvantage. 

I laminate the tags, then write children's names on with a black marker; then use a Mr. Clean sponge to rub the names off later. Takes a bit of elbow grease, but so worth it, so I can use them again.

You can pin the "badge" on, or you can make them into a necklace. I cut up colorful plastic straws and strung those on a length of cord, alternating them with pony beads.

Another pattern in the "before" part of the packet, is a "How Many Days?" craftivity.  I've included 4 real photographs of zoo animals for you to choose from. Pick two, and glue them back-to-back, then laminate.

I punch a hole in the top and dangle a paper chain from the bottom.  There are X number of links, which equal how many days there are before our field trip. This is how I tell my students the exciting news.

Ripping off a paper link, becomes part of our daily routine, which really stops all the inevitable questions of "How many days before we get to go to the zoo?" 

Besides using the chain as a countdown, I review all sorts of math standards with my students. The paper chain is made up of 2 colors in an ABAB pattern, so we practice that, as well as: counting how many links are left, then subtracting one by ripping it off the chain, ("Now how many are left?") "Is this greater or less than the other number?" etc. 

Chaperones is another helpful preparation section. Each of my chaperones gets a clipboard to carry. 

On it is a list of students, which includes any health issues like allergies, as well as the phone numbers for the other chaperones. There's also an itinerary and map of the zoo clipped on. 

Since it's nice to be prepared for the "oops" that may happen; I also give them an "Emergency Baggie", which has a small pack of Kleenex, several Band-Aids, plus a little bottle of hand sanitizer.  This inexpensive gift has often come in handy & is truly appreciated. 

I've also included colorful, as well as black and white patterns to make chaperone "thank you cards", which my students sign and I attach to the clipboards as well. 

There are several options, plus a thank you note for the bus driver too.

One of the most helpful forms for me, is the lunch bag reminder note, which I attach to a brown paper lunch bag. 

This helps the note "stand out" which has eliminated "forgotten" lunches, plus parents are truly appreciative of the convenience. I don't want to haul heavy lunch boxes, but instead have a completely "disposable" lunch sent, so providing the bag, has also eliminated that issue as well.

Blank versions of all my notes, forms & checklists, are also provided. 

I've included a variety of activities that can also be done before the trip, as I think students get so much more out of their field trip experience, if they have some in-school information and lessons to refer to. 

I love it when I hear my students say things like: "Pandas are endagered." "That monkey is a mammal", "Polar bears have an artic habitat!" 

To help build vocabulary and animal identification skills, I've included 35, animal pocket chart cards featuring real photographs of the animals.

There's also 3 different sets (30 cards in a set) of animal word & picture cards, so that children can play a variety of games, as well as practice sorting, sequencing & making patterns. 

Another thing you can do with the cards, is play the "Hip Hippo Ray It's Feeding Time!" game.  My students absolutely LOVE "feeding" the hippo. It's such a quick, easy and super-fun way to practice a variety of standards.

Besides the above mentioned cards, I've also included a set of animal cracker cards for upper & lowercase letters, as well as numbers from 0-50. Use the cute, poster-poem to introduce the game.

Likewise, there are many activities that you can do after your field trip to the zoo, so I've included worksheets, word finds, mazes, centers, writing prompts, graphing activities & some Venn diagrams.

It's very important for students to be able to process everything they've seen. One way to do that, is with the "feedback form". 

You can do this verbally, as a whole-group activity on the bus, while children are excited to share what things they enjoyed the most, or interesting tidbits that they learned. 

To help children calm down, and get back into the routine of school when you return, you may want them to make the "flip-the-zoo-gate" writing prompt craftivity, and jot down their experience. 

Completed projects make a cute bulletin board too. I've included a giraffe poster for the center of your display.

I sincerely hope that my latest "labor of love" gives you peace of mind, and that you enjoy these activities as much as I did creating them.

Here's wishing you a stress-free, relaxing and super-fun time, as you plan for, and go on an ed-venture to the zoo! 

Today's featured FREEBIE, is also animal-themed and features a name writing and alphabet activities with an elephant.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Two of my nine grandchildren are coming over today to go swimming, so it's time to put my nana hat on along with some suntan lotion. 

Wishing you a carefree day filled with giggles galore.

"The city is not a concrete jungle, it's a human zoo." -Desmond Morris

1-2-3 Come Play Some Alphabet Games With Me

I designed these cards to go along with the FREE ABC Zoo Booklet that I posted yesterday. (Scroll down to the next blog article to have a look or click on the link for the item.) Whenever I did a theme with my Y5's I really tried to find or make matching things.  I'm not sure if that's the perfectionist or artist in me. 

Any hoo, I thought you might like a few matching things to supplement your lessons too, so I once again used the adorable clip art of djinkers.  She's one of my favorite artists and I simply fell in love with her cute critters.

These alphabet cards, can be found in my whopping 200-page Wild About the Alphabet packet in my TpT shop.  For a limited time, the cards will be FREE (all this week), simply click on the word FREE.

Use the cards as a border or for flashcards. They are also great for games like Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?"   Students can match uppercase cards to lowercase ones or they can match the word card with the picture card.  Have them find all three to complete a puzzle. 

One of my favorite games that I played with my Y5's was "What's Missing?"  I'd gather my kiddos in a circle and lay 4 small seasonal items in the center, then point to each one and we'd say the name together.  They then closed their eyes and I'd take one away.  To make sure there was no "peeking cheating" I held a paper plate or some sort of cover over the items, then reached under and took one.

"Open your eyes!"  I'd whisper and they'd try to figure out what I took away. To strengthen their memories, I'd continue to add up to 7 items for them to look at.  To reinforce standards, you could do this with shapes, numbers or these ABC cards.

Make things a bit more interesting, by giving the missing card to the person who calls out the correct answer first, then add another card and continue to play 'til you've used all of the letters.  For more ideas, and games, such as "Kaboom" , take a look at the 4-page list of tips that are also included in the packet.

I've also included a black and white set of cards, so your kiddos can make an Itty Bitty alphabet booklet to color, cut and collate, then take home and share with their family. (Great  home-school connection and fun way to reinforce lessons.)

Mix up the word cards and have students put them in alphabetical order, then post them on a mini-word wall, or pass them out and then flash an uppercase letter card. 

Whomever is holding the matching word card holds it up and reads it.  Afterwards, as a writing extension, have students use their word card in a sentence.  There's a "No Lion About It" worksheet for that in the packet as well.

 For letter-writing practice, there are plenty of upper, as well as lowercase "trace and write" worksheets, along with 20+ other fun worksheets to reinforce letter recognition, formation, as well as word sounds. I hope you like the packet as much as I enjoyed designing it. Wild About the Alphabet

Thanks for visiting today.  As always, feel free to PIN away.  Do you have an alphabet game you could share with us?  I'd really enjoy hearing from you.  You can contact me at dianehen@teachwithme.com  or leave a comment below. 

It gets rather lonely on this side of the computer screen.  I often wonder what people think when they read my blogs, and if what I design truly helps make someone's life easier and more fun.  Blessings to you and yours.

"I love acting, but it's much more fun to take the kids to the zoo." -Nicole Kidman

1-2-3 Come Make An Alphabet Booklet With Me

This emergent reader is a wonderful activity to do before or after your zoo field trip, as most of the letters are associated with an animal.  This colorful FREEBIE is part of my jumbo (200-page)  "Wild About the Alphabet packet in my TpT shop.

I have another cover that doesn't say zoo and is simply an ABC book, if you prefer that.  The FREEBIE is in color, but I also have a black & white version, so that students can make their own booklet to trace, write and color.

To practice comprehension, ask students which letters didn't have an animal associated with them, like Ii is for ice cream, or which animals would they probably not see at a zoo, like a dog or cat.

The packet also includes an alphabet anchor chart/poster in color.  I have a black and white student version in the big Wild Packet.

Posters can also be used as an assessment tool, or to play an "I spy" game.  Simply call out a letter; children find and color the animal associated with it.  

Continue saying a letter 'til all of them have been colored in.  This is a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess. 

Click on the link to view/download the Animal Alphabet Booklet and poster.  Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN away. 

"The city is not a concrete jungle; it's a human zoo." -Desmond Morris

1-2-3 Come Do Some Zoo Telling-Time Activities With Me!

As promised, I'm continuing to design some zoo-themed activities in celebration of National Zoo Month, as well as the fact that many lucky little kiddos get to go on an end-of-the-year field trip to the zoo!  Woo hoo for you!

Whenever I went on an outing with my students, time was everything.  When to get ready; when to board the bus and leave; when do we arrive?  When can we eat; when do we leave to go back to school; when do we get there? etc.  So I thought it would be fun to create a zoo booklet centered around time.

I've included analog clocks that students draw hands on, as well as blank spaces for them to record the digital time that things happened.  Be sure and remind them to complete the sentences with appropriate punctuation. 

Share the Zoo Time booklet with your students before you leave, to make them aware of the times that they need to be thinking about. 

Attach a copy to your clipboard (I always carried one with an attendance sheet, emergency information and contact numbers on it. )

As you arrive and go through the zoo, ask your students what time it is.  You can use a watch or your cell phone.  When they come up with an answer, record it in your booklet. 

When you get back to school, have children help you make a list of the various times on the board.  They can refer to this, as they record the digital time in their booklet and then draw hands on the analog clocks to show those times.

Give them a few minutes to color the pages and then read the Zoo Time booklet, as a whole group.  Note some of the various other times that students have come up with for their last page. 

Click on the link to view/download the Zoo Time booklet.

Finally, More Zoo Time is a matching packet with time cards to the hour and half hour. 

Print, laminate and use as flashcards, in  a pocket chart, for Matching or "I Have; Who Has?" games.  Make up an extra set and cut them into puzzles. 

There's also an elephant clock "craftivity" for your students to make as well as a certificate of praise bookmark (in black line as well as color).  Click on the link to view/download the more Zoo Time packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  As always, feel free to PIN away.  My "Pin it!" button is at the top on the menu bar. 

"All you need is twenty seconds of insane courage, and I promise you, something great will come of it." - From "We Bought a Zoo"

1-2-3 Come Do Some Zoo Animal Activities With Me

Are you planning a year-end field trip to the zoo?  If so, I think you'll enjoy looking over these before and after-you-go, zoo activities. 

Studying a variety of animals was always a fun theme for my Y5's and me.  I didn't have a specific zoo theme with them, because I didn't want to steal the thunder from our first grade teachers.  When I taught 1st grade that field trip was a much-looked-forward-to "ed-venture," culminating with our animal reports. 

However, I know that lots of preschoolers and kinders all over the map visit the zoo, especially at the end of the year.  After all, June is National Zoo Month, so why not!  With that in mind, I decided to whip together some "zoo stuff" that you could review with your kiddos before their trip, as well as some activities you could do with them afterwards.

I have a huge collection of animal and zoo books, so I thought I'd make an alphabetical list of all my super-duper zoo-per favorites.  It was a difficult task narrowing down my 3 boxes of these themed books, but I finally came up with 90.  

I always tried to read some non-fiction books along with all the wonderful fictional storybooks, and have included them in my list, such as the job of a zookeeper.  If you do a community helpers unit, these would be quick and easy read-alouds for that too.  Click on the link to view/download the list of 90 Favorite Zoo books.

I really enjoy making templates for programmable notes home to parents, using cute clip art, so I whipped together a "We're Goin' On A Fieldtrip" form featuring dj Inkers sweet creatures. 

Simply write in your data and you're good to go. Another item in the Zoo Fieldtrip Packet are some zoo scavenger hunts.

I sent my students on all sorts of scavenger hunts throughout the year. 

They truly enjoyed them and learned a lot along the way, so I designed two zoo scavenger hunts that involve the alphabet.

I never liked to have my students holding things in their hands when we were on a field trip, stuff got dropped and slopped or lost. 

Tears would ensue and something that was meant to be helpful became a hindrance. 

Thus I suggest sharing the scavenger hunt with children before hand, so they are aware of what they need to be on the look out for. 

Teachers can carry a copy on a clipboard with an attached pen.  When someone spies something that begins with that letter or is on the list, you can check it off, circle it, or jot it down depending on what form you choose to use.

Once back, students can circle animals that they saw that are on the alphabetical list, or they can fill in something that they saw that begins with each letter of the alphabet. 

You can make this a bit more interesting by having a competition between your students or another class that also went on the field trip, to see who got the most points.

Since we have a huge Hispanic population in our school, I tried to teach some Spanish words with each unit.  My students really enjoyed learning new words and parents were pretty impressed when they shared their new-found vocabulary at home. 

With this in mind, I included a list of Animals in English as well as Spanish. 

There's also an alphabetical order worksheet, where students trace and write the animals in alphabetical order. 

Finally, there's a "We Went To The Zoo" class book activity.  I've designed a black and white as well as full-color cover, plus a template for the inside pages. 

Students complete the prompts and draw a picture.  (I've included a sample for you to share.)

Teachers collect and collate their pages into a zoo book.  Read it as a whole group.  When you come to a particular student's page, they read it.

Click on the link to view/download the Zoo Field Trip packet. 

While working on these activities I wondered about students who don't live near a zoo, or teachers who don't have the time or the budget to take their students on a field trip, so I started researching virtual zoos online. 

After several hours of work, I came up with a list of my top eight, the San Diego Zoo was one of my favorites.

I chose them because they were kid-friendly, contained live animal cams, videos, games, activities and a plethora of photographs with interesting information, which would be helpful for any animal report your kiddos might be working on.  Click on the link to view/download the Virtual Zoo list. 

Thanks for visiting today.  As always, feel free to PIN away.  My Pin It button is at the top on the menu bar.  Be sure to stay tuned, as I'll be working on more zoo-themed activities the rest of this week.

 "Zoo: An excellent place to study the habits of human beings!" -Evan Esar