It's a Zoo in Here!

Last week  we had  "Zoo Day" in the library for all of my PK and Kinder students. I usually try to do this activity before they go on their spring field trip to our local zoo.  It's always a hit!

First we enjoyed Twas the Day Before Zoo Day by Catherine Ipcizade as our read aloud.

Then it was time to visit all the animals in the zoo.  I pulled out all of our stuffed animals in the library, that usually sit on the shelves near their Dewey number, and paired them with one of their matching low level nonfiction books.  These buddies were placed at each table to create our little "zoo".  Then each student sat with a stuffed animal and read the book that went along with their animal.

I typed a simple fact about each animal on an index card  and placed it on the table.  Each child had to also read the card.

____________________ likes to eat _______________________.

This helped with sight word practice and gave them something to tell me about the animals that they visited at the "zoo".

I also asked the students to find  pictures in their book that show a baby animal, what the animal  eats, and its habitat.

We rotated around the room about every 3-4 minutes.  Remember, these are 4 and 5 year olds with  very short attention spans!  Plus, I wanted them to be able to visit as many animals as they could in the short time that we had together.

After "zoo time" was over, the students had to tell me one fact they learned about their animal.  They were all able to recall what one of their animals like to eat.  Some also knew where they lived or the animal's habitat.  Hopefully they'll be able to recall the facts they learned about the animals during their field trip next week!

Carolyn