Zoo Animal Theme for the Kindergarten ELL

This blog post is to add up to a previous one.

http://eflpreschoolteachers.blogspot.com/2014/02/go-over-to-my-teachers-pay-teachers.html

Links to the files:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Zoo-Animals-Unit-for-Kindergarten-EFL-2510744

                            Watch the video of the resource:

The resource is also available here: https://www.bilingualmarketplace.com/products/zoo-animals-unit-for-kindergarten-efl?variant=37571129311396

Start with  Flashcards for your visual students.

Display the flashcards. Tell the children that this time these animals can be seen at the zoo or at a safari.  Dim the lights in the room. Bring in a flashlight. Point a flashcard with your flashlight. Have the children name the zoo animal.

You take a camera to the zoo!

Place the letter art and crafts cards on the board in order.  Hand in the 6 flashcards and have the students run to stand under their letter.

Guess the zoo animal game.  

Teacher: It is tall. It las 4 legs. It is yellow. It has brown dots.

Students: Giraffe.

Animal Movement Cards. Tell the students that all the animals have different movements. Use the animal movement cards to do a show the movements activity.
Teacher: Elephant! Let´s walk like an elephant. Let´s stomp like an elephant.

Place the cards on the desk. Have a student come up, grab a card and do the movements so the class can guess the animal. The student who guesses first, is next.

Let´s feed the animals. Discuss with your students what kind of food the zoo animals eat.  (Zebra leaves. Elephant: tree barks, fruit, vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds. Giraffes: leaves, fruit, grass. Tiger and Llion-prey. Monkey: bananas.) 

I assembled my animals on recycled boxes from my kitchen. I opened a slit at the mouth using an exacto knife.  Feed the animals their corresponding starting  letter or the food that they eat. 

Teacher: What do tigers eat?
Students: meat!

Teacher: What letter does giraffe start with?
Students: Letter G

More Cutouts  to sort by size.

Point to each one and say the word. 

Teacher: giraffe, elephant, zebra, tiger, lion, monkey!

Place all the cutouts on the board, some on the left, some on the right. Use the arrows.

Have the students say which animals are on the left and which ones are on the right.

I made the concentration game in circles. I glued them onto craft paper used for scrapbooking. Remember to print twice  for each table of students. Show them how to place the cards facing down on the table. Indicate how to play the game and to name the animals on the cards.

Use the memory game to make patterns. Since you have two of each animal. Hand in the animals to the several students. Call the animals and make them line up.

 Teacher: Elephant! Giraffe! Elephant ! Giraffe !

Students: Elephant! Giraffe! Elephant ! Giraffe !

You can also use the file to make necklaces. Hand in all the necklaces in random order. Place all the flashcards in random order in the classroom.  At your signal, have them run to find their animal and make a big group. Then, count how many animals made it to the flashcards.

Zoo Animals Worksheets can add up a short time in class. It´s that individual quiet time. Worksheets are cheap, it costs just a copy. When you send the worksheets home, the parents can see what they have done in class.  I use them to review concepts, but I always find a hands-on activity to follow to encourage more practice in a fun way.

ws 1. I recycled a meat tray from the kitchen, made some holes and thread yarn to make it look like a cage.

ws 2. After the worksheet is done, students cut all the giraffes and line them up in numerical order.

ws 3 and 4. Draw the missing parts of the zoo animals.I recycled bottle caps, added letters and wrote the zoo animal words.

Students can cut each animal and play putting the animals in order as you name them.

Teacher: lion, monkey, giraffe, elephant!

Then, name an animal and students say which body part was missing and that they drew.

Teacher: elephant!

Student: ears!

WS 5. Draw the zoo animals in the cage.You can use the bottle caps again.

ws6. Draw and color your favorite  zoo animal.

Use the puppets  to model social greeting.

Teacher: Hello , class.

Students: Hello Tiger !

Children can make their own set of puppets. They can sing along using the puppets.

Student´s learning is cumulative , one day after another, it is also connected  to previous lessons.  Activate student´s prior knowledge by reviewing other themes. It can give the students the chance to apply what they know along with the new theme.

                    Here are the body, numbers and shapes. 

I found these animal bodies to match up. You can use as a worksheet or as cards to play find your animal game. Hand in all the cards and at your signal have the students run to find the partner to make up a complete animal.

I printed big numbers onto colored cardboard . I glued the cutout onto empty toilet paper tubes. Students can walk, gallop, run, leap and stomp as their animal along the number.

I always have a set of shapes in every color. Hand in a set to each table to display. Students can cut all the animals. At your signal, the students place the animals.
Teacher: monkeys on a blue rectangle ! Tigers on green squares !

They can make up their own sentences for the class to follow.Playing is a teaching tool that can´t be missed. It gives access to language and creativity.
Teacher: What can I see ?
Students: a lion !For your collection of Letter Arts and Crafts.  Students benefit from the opportunity  to manipulate the language through a craft.  All children love to proudly take home their creation. Students can make up their own original creation for their letter. It is not a waste of time for language learning, instead it provides a moment to interact with the teacher on how to assemble the letter. You need to be in the idea of performing a craft in class, maybe you are not that crafty or you think that a mess will be made, think it again and your students will gain more in the doing. Make a model beforehand so you can make notes on what you should bring already done or what materials you will need. Show the model to your class before giving all sorts of instructions.   

                           

And a printable book.

and this is a cut and paste book.

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