Materials
- Masking tape
- Room to run
- Large pictures of land, water and sky
- Animal pictures
What to do
1. Using masking tape, divide the area to be used into three sections.
2. Place a picture of land, water or sky in each section by hanging them on a wall or mounting them on a box to make them more visible.
3. Tell the children that different animals live in different habitats: some in the water, some on land and some in the air. Some animals move about in more than one. For example, turtles usually live in the water, but also move on land. Show some animal pictures and ask the children to tell you in which habitat each can be found.
4. Explain that you are going to continue this game in the gym (or outside). Show the defined areas of habitats. You will then name an animal, or continue to show pictures, and the children will run to the habitat area in which they think each animal lives.
5. Try calling out two or more land animals in a row so the children will not automatically move to another area.
6. Children can imitate the movements of the animals, too.
More to do
- Field trip: Take a walk to a forest or pond and look for animals living in those habitats.
- Science: Provide small twigs and branch sections for the children to build animal homes.
- Turn your room into a rain forest. Ask your children to make several lengths of paper chains out of green and brown construction paper. Hang these from the ceiling. Hide stuffed animals, like monkeys and birds, in silk trees that you have placed around the room. Have an environmental cassette playing in the background, such as thunderstorms and showers or a Brazilian rain forest. Try running a humidifier on high to simulate the humidity.
- Display forest animal foods such as acorns and other nuts, seeds and berries in the classroom.
-Valerie Chellew, Marshfield, WI
