Stuffed Animal Science

This stuffed animal program has been a huge hit! Due to me limita ons, science is o en an

overlooked curriculum in the early elementary grades, which is a shame and wrong as science

connects to so many other areas—include a huge student interest.

The natural way to fix this is to create an easy science unit with the following characteris cs:

Kids love it—who doesn’t love a stuffed animal?

Teachers love it—again, who doesn’t love a stuffed animal? And this program is super easy

to run.

It is an integrated unit combining science, literacy, and a li le math too.

Read on to see how this program was run in this example and then change it to suit your

needs! Have fun!

Where do you get the animals?

Op on 1: Purchase them. You have many choices when purchasing stuffed animals but it is

best to pick realis c stuffed animals as opposed to cartoon‐like animals. Your price will de‐

pend on the size you pick. The animals pictured above were purchased on Amazon.com

mostly from the Melissa & Doug brand collec on. These are pricey because of their size.

Most of the cost between $40‐$100 each. However, this is because the program was run as

an en re district program. The animals rotated to over 50 teachers over the course of a se‐

mester and served over 1,000 students. You can save a lot of money by purchasing smaller

animals for the program.

Op on 2:

Have the kids bring in their own animals. Students can sign up to bring their animal in for a

week and then take it back home. This is a very cost effec ve method that would work if you

are just doing this program in your classroom.

How Long?

This program works best if you concentrate on one animal for a week. You won’t discuss the

animal all the me but when it is science me you would concentrate on just the one animal.

Go to the library and find a couple of books for that animal or use the links provided in these

files.

Weekly Components:

Realis c‐looking stuffed animal

Books from library to go along with that animal

PowerPoint Slide to gather ques ons about that animal (first day each week)

PowerPoint slides with links to web cams and informa on about that animal

Weekly animal template where student research and record informa on on that week’s

animal.

Animal math sheet where students use the concept of scale to determine how many of

their stuffed animals would equal the length of the real animal.

Classroom Zoo—culmina ng ac vity where the students then bring in another stuffed ani‐

mal all on the same day and the animals are displayed around the room along with their

animal’s informa on page (using the blank animal template provided). Invite another class

or parents in to see the classroom zoo.

How to Introduce the Animals:

To add some fun each week, put your animal in a box. Tape pieces of paper to the outside of

the box with clues to what animal is inside and make the students guess what the animal is

for that week. The students had a blast with this part of the program.

Comparing Sizes Let’s see how many of your stuffed animals it would take to equal the

length of the real animal!

My animal is a ________________________________

Draw Your animal and you here to show how your animal’s size compares to you.

Draw a picture that shows how many of your stuffed animals would fit into the length of

the real animal.

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Giraffe Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Hippo Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Wolf Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Zebra Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Alligator Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Penguin Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Elephant Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Shark Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Bat Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Beaver Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Cheetah Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Gorilla Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Kangaroo Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Tiger Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Lion Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Opossum Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Sea Turtle Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Walrus Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Blue Footed Booby Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Bald Eagle Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Squid Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Skunk Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Seal Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Armadillo Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Iguana Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Python Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class

Stingray Life

My Animal Where My Animal Lives

My Animal’s Habitat My Animal’s Favorite Foods

Adaptations That Help My Animal Survive My Animal’s Predators

Size Weight How Long Do They Live Animal Class