T E A C H I N G G U I D E

Kindergarten Reading Level

ISBN 978-0-8225-5672-5

TEACHING

AnimalHomes

T E A C H I N G A N I M A L H O M E S2

StandardsScience • Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment.

• Understands the nature of scientific inquiry.

Language Arts • Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process.• Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of

informational texts.

Art • Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes related to the visual arts.

Geography • Understands how human actions modify the physical environment.

Mathematics • Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of numbers.

Physical • Uses movement concepts and principles in the development of motor skills.Education

Multiple Intelligences Utilized• Linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal,

and naturalistic

Copyright © 2006 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Student pages may bereproduced by the classroom teacher for classroom use only, not for commercialresale. No other part of this teaching guide may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior writtenpermission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of briefquotations in an acknowledged review.

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Manufactured in the United States of America5 6 7 8 9 10 — IG — 14 13 12 11 10 09

Books in the Animal Homesseries include:

In a CaveIn a TreeIn the WaterOn the GroundUnder the Ground

T E A C H I N G A N I M A L H O M E S 3

Read(student, small group)• Read books from the Animal Homes series.• What animals lived in each kind of home? What are

some other animals that might live in each kind ofhome?

Model(teacher)• Read the minibook aloud to the class. Talk about

animals that may fit in each blank. For the last page,brainstorm types of human dwellings.

• Demonstrate how to complete the minibook. 1. Show students where to write their names

and the book title on the cover. Explainthat they should also decorate the bookcover.

2. Fill in the blanks with an animal that livesin each type of home.

3. Show students where to fill in the type ofhome they live in.

4. Show students where to draw a picture ofeach animal in its home, as well as thestudent in his or her own home.

Practice(student)• Students complete minibooks. Students may use

invented spelling or copy the words from books inthe Animal Homes series.

Discuss(class)• How is your home like an animal’s home?• How is it different?

Evaluate(teacher)• Check that students have completed their minibook

pp. 8–10 correctly.

Lesson 1Animal HomesMinibook Purpose: Students will create their own nonfictionbooks about animal homes.

Objectives • Recall information from Animal Homes books.• Identify animals that live in different homes.• Classify animals by where they live.• Describe animals that live in different homes. • Create a book about animal homes.• Compare a human home to an animal home.

Activity Procedures

Prepare(teacher)• Copy the minibook template pp. 8–9 back-to-back

for each student. Copy the minibook template p. 10for each student.

• Assemble the student books. Fold pp. 8–9 on thedotted line. Fold p. 10 on dotted line so the printedside is on the inside. Place p. 10 on top of pp. 8–9and staple in the fold. If the book is assembledcorrectly, the cover should be blank and pagenumbers will be sequential.

Pretest(class)• Ask students where they have seen animals. What

kinds of homes did the animals have?

Materials• Animal Homes series• minibook templatepp. 8–10

• pencils• colored pencils• stapler

Discuss(teacher, class)• If you could be any animal, which would you be?• What type of home does that animal live in?• What is that home like? What are some things an

animal does in its home?• Use student answers to generate a list on the board.

Model(teacher)• Explain how to write a story about being an animal

in its home.• Demonstrate how to use Writing Words p. 14 to help

spell words.• Have students draw a picture of the story.

Practice(students)• Write and illustrate a story about being an animal in

its home.

Discuss(teacher, students)• Share stories in class.• How is the animal home the same as or different

from your real home?

Evaluate(teacher)• Read student stories.• Check for use of rebus writing sheet.• Check for invented spelling and other emerging

writing skills.• Assess students retelling skills as they share their

stories with the class.

Extension(teacher, students)• Read Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold (Penguin, 1993).

This is a humorous story about a girl who dreamsabout living like a frog. Students will love the twistending.

T E A C H I N G A N I M A L H O M E S4

Lesson 2Home Sweet HomePurpose: Students will write a story about an animal

at home.

Objectives • Recall animal homes.• Describe which animals live in each type of home.• Illustrate an animal in its home.• Imagine being an animal in its home.• Compose a story.• Compare how animal homes are similar to and

different from human homes.

Activity Procedures

Prepare(teacher)• Copy writing paper p. 13 for each student. You may

want extra for students who want to write longerstories.

• Copy one Writing Words p. 14 for each student orpair of students.

Pretest(teacher, students)• Where do animals live?

Read(teacher, students)• Read Animal Homes books.

Materials• Animal Homes books• writing paper p. 13• Writing Words p. 14

• pencils• crayons• chalk• chalkboard

T E A C H I N G A N I M A L H O M E S 5

Activity IdeasUse in the classroom after reading books from the Animal Homes series.

ArtTitle: Animal CrackersObjective: Students will draw animal homes.Materials: animal crackers, construction paper, glue, crayons, pencilsDescription: Each student will receive an animal cracker. The students will draw a picture of where the animallives. Once the picture is finished, place the animal in its home by gluing the cracker to the picture. To extendthe activity, give each child a picture of themselves (school picture or self-drawn) to place in a drawing of theirfavorite animal or human home.

Bulletin BoardTitle: There’s No Place Like Home.Materials: chart paper cut to cover the bulletin board, markers, crayons, bulletin board/wallDescription: As a class, discuss why a home is important for animals and people (eg. shelter from rain, a place tokeep their belongings, etc.). Write these ideas on a piece of chart paper. Place this list in the center of a bulletinboard. Break students into groups and have each group create one of the main animal or human homes (water,underground, cave, tree, above ground, house and apartment) on a piece of chart paper. Encourage groups tomake their drawing fill the paper. Post the finished illustrations around the list of home features.

Critical Thinking/QuestioningKnowledge: List places animals can live.Comprehension: Describe where animals live.Application: Draw a picture of an animal in its home.Analysis: Discuss why animals live in different kinds of homes.Synthesis: Predict the outcome of destroying a type of animal home through deforestation, water pollution, urbansprawl, etc.Evaluation: Explain why people should protect the environment. Give examples of what they can do.

Large MotorTitle: Animal MovementsObjective: Students will identify and demonstrate ways animals move in their habitats.Materials: chalk, chalkboardDescription: After reading the Animal Homes books, make a list of the different ways animals move in theirhomes. You may want to discuss each movement while creating your list. Develop vocabulary by encouragingsynonym use. Lastly, call out the words and have students demonstrate the movement. Examples: climb, hop, walk,slither, crawl, leap – challenge students’ imaginations with swim and fly. To extend the activity, have studentspretend to be animals in their habitats. Students can use animal noises or pretend to speak like an animal.

MathTitle: Critter CountingObjective: Students will count pictures.Materials: Critter Counting p. 12, pencils, crayonsDescription: As a whole group, identify the animal homes found on Critter Counting p. 12. Students then countthe number of animals in each kind of home and write the numbers in the blanks. Have the students color thesheet when they are done.

T E A C H I N G A N I M A L H O M E S6

MusicTitle: Animal Homes SongObjective: Students group animals by the kind of homes they live in.Materials: Chart paper with song lyrics.Description: Sung to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”Animals can live in trees. Which ones can you name?Birds and chipmunks, monkeys tooSquirrels and frogs and bugsAnimals can live in caves. Which ones can you name?Bats and spiders, bears and birdsCrickets and crayfish

Reading IncentiveTitle: We’re Bananas about Books!Materials: 1 monkey template p. 16, 1 banana template p. 15 for every two students per week, constructionpaper, markersDescription: Create a large tree on classroom wall, door, or bulletin board. Decide how many books the classwill need to read/explore to move the monkey up the tree. Mark the increments on the tree. Cut, color, andlaminate the monkey. Tape the monkey to the bottom of the tree. Have students keep track of booksread/shared at home on their bananas. Collect the completed bananas weekly, calculate the total number ofbooks read, and mark the progress by moving the monkey up the tree. Tape each banana to the treetop. Whenthe goal is reached, celebrate with a banana (banana split, muffins, etc.) or monkey-themed (a new monkeybook for the classroom, monkey bookmarks, etc.) treat.

ScienceTitle: Home HuntingObjective: Students will find animal homes.Materials: Home Hunting p. 11, crayons or pencilsDescription: Discuss as a class the types of animal homes that can be found in your community. Take studentsoutside the school building or to a park. Try to find each kind of animal home pictured on Home Hunting p. 11. Draw an X on each picture when that home is found.

Social StudiesTitle: Moving DayObjective: Students will discuss reasons why animals sometimes have to leave their homes.Materials: chart paper, marker, pictures of natural and human-made changes to environments (cutting downtrees, forest fire, building a new neighborhood, etc.)Description: As a large group, discuss why an animal might have to leave its home. List the reasons on the chartpaper. An extension of this activity would be to create a chart and identify the reasons as natural or human.Discuss how and why people should be very careful when changing the environment. Possible reasons an animal may leave its home: home is gone (human or natural disaster removes it), ayoung animal grows up and leaves to find its own home, food sources or water sources disappear (natural orhuman cause), more predators have moved into the area, etc.

Animals can live on ground. Which ones can you name?Toads, elephants, horses, and deerTurkeys and kangaroosAnimals live underground. Which ones can you name?Worms, prairie dogs, and lots of antsCrabs and mice and foxes

WEBSITESAnimal Homes

http://www.suelebeau.com/animalhomes.htmStudents can view animals that live in varioustypes of homes.

Kidport Reference Library: Animal Homes http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/Science/AnimalHomes/AnimalHomes.htmChildren can explore the different kinds ofhomes in which animals live.

Peep and the Big Wide World: House Hunt http://peepandthebigwideworld.com/games/househunt.htmlStudents will enjoy playing this onlineconcentration game in which they must matchanimals to their homes.

Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Just For Kidshttp://nationalzoo.si.edu/audiences/kidsVisitors to this site can solve puzzles, take avirtual tour, and learn about animals. There isalso a page for educators with activity sheets andguides.

T E A C H I N G A N I M A L H O M E S 7

Additional ResourcesBOOKSGalko, Francine. Cave Animals. New York:

Heinemann, 2003.Readers will learn how cave animals live and howpeople are learning to protect this habitat. Thistitle is one of the Animals in their Habitats series.

Ganeri, Anita. Animal Homes. Philadelphia: ChelseaHouse Publications, 2004.Animal homes provide shelter and storage.Readers will explore homes such as a bird’s nest,a beaver’s lodge, and a termite’s mound.

James, Diana. Animal Homes. New York: Two-CanPublishers, 2000.Close-up photographs and simple vocabularyillustrate how animals live, eat, and tend theiryoung. A short quiz is included.

Kalman, Bobbie. Animal Homes. Toronto, Canada:Crabtree Publishing Company, 1994.Explore how different creatures find homes.Illustrated cross-sections show inside a number ofanimal homes.

Maze, Stephanie, ed. Peaceful Moments in the Wild:Animals and Their Homes. Potomac, MD:Moonstone Press, 2002.This book introduces young children to thediversity of animal habitats around the world. Itcontains photos taken by professional wildlifephotographers.

Sharp, Zoe. In the Tree. Washington D.C.: NationalGeographic Society, 2002.This book explains how a tree is a home for manydifferent animals.

Wilkes, Angela. Animal Homes. Boston: Kingfisher,2003.Animal Homes introduces various places thatanimals call home. Readers will learn how tolocate different animal homes.

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