Ideas for lessons related to the theme "Animals"

• Show pictures of two different animals: What are their differences?
• Think of an animal: Have the children guess what animal you're thinking of by asking smart questions. They are not allowed to call out an animals name. The have to ask questions like: does it have 4 legs? Does it crawl? Is it always the same colour etc.
• Portray an animal: Have the children guess what you are portraying.
• Animal sorting (zoo-animal / no zoo animal, lives in the water/does not live in the water, striped/not striped)
• Create some special "snakes", by sequenced threading of beads.

The parrot game

This exercise will train the auditory memory. Also, it is important the the children's pronunciation and articulation are correct.

The children will start repeating you, since they have become parrots. There is one rule though: When you say stop, they will become children again. Needless to say this is a very important rule!

To start off, you only speak separate words:

caretaker - flamingo - zoo - cage - elephant - camel - bear - fur - skin - snake - trunk - wolf - feed - monkey - giraffe - bucket - dessert - wild animals - crocodile - forest - hippo - fish - lizard - bat - hissing - swim - crawl

Then you continue with complete sentences. When you are in a circle, have the children repeat a sentence individually. Have the older children repeat the longer sentences.

• The caretaker is cleaning the cage.
• Elephants can get very old.
• The polar bear lives in a cold country.
• Do not feed animals in the zoo.
• Penguins cannot fly, but they do have wings.
• A zebra has stripes on his belly.
• Are you afraid of snakes too?
• A hippo has a large mounth.
• Crocodiles lay eggs.
• Lions like to take naps.
• A giraffe can see very far.
• A snake cannot walk.
• Monkeys are good climbers.
• An orang utan is a monkey.
• A flamingo is pink.
• Do you know what a panda bear looks like?
• Tigers have sharp teeth.
• A chimpanzee is a monkey too.
• The panther has a black fur.
• The animals are behind bars.
• The female lion is called a lioness.
• Lion's children are called cubs.
• When you want to enter the zoo, you have to buy a ticket.
• Do bears really like honey?
• Penguins totter towards the water.
• A seal likes to eat fish.
• Do camels live in warm countries?
• I am glad there are zoos.
• We just played the parrot game!

STOP.

"Animal Riddles"

• I look like a donkey, but I have black and white stripes. My name starts with a z. Sometimes you can see me on the street. I am a ... (zebra).
• I have beautiful spots on my skin. I have a long neck. I can reach the highest leaves in a tree. I am a ... (giraffe).
• I am very large. I live in Africa and India. I am usually coloured grey. I have a long trunk and big ears. I am a real trumpet player! I am a ... (elephant).
• I am a bird. I live in the forest. My feathers are quite colourful. Sometimes I can speak. My name starts with a p. I am a ... (parrot).
• I am black and white. I don't walk but totter. I love the cold. I do have wings but cannot fly. My name starts with a p. I am a ... (penguin).
• I am a dangerous animal. I have sharp teeth. My fur has dark stripes. I am a fast runner. My name starts with a t. I am a ... (tiger).
• I am a large animal. I live in the sea. Sometimes I spray water into the air. My name starts with a w. I am a ... (whale).
• I love bananas. I am a good tree climber. A have long arms. My name starts with an m. I am a ... (monkey).
• I can hide very well. I always have my house with me. I am as slow as a snail. I can grow to be big and old. My name starts with a t. I am a ... (turtle).
• I don't have any legs. I crawl around the floor. I am quite long and thick. I can sometimes be dangerous. I hiss and lay eggs. My name starts with an s. I am a ... (snake).
• I am the biggest bird there is. I cannot fly. My eggs are very big. My name starts with an o. I am an (ostrich).
• I live in the dessert. I can live without water for a long time. I have two bumps on my back. My name starts with a c. I am a ... (camel).