Animals in Winter

Animals In Winter

Age Group: Kindergarten – Third Grade

Time: 1 ½ hours

Standards of Learning Science: K.1, K.6, K.8, 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 2.1, 2.4a, 2.5, 2.7, 3.1, 3.4, 3.6, 3.8b, 3.10

Objectives 1. Students will conduct experiments which will require observation, predictions, data collection, classification and inferences from data. (Science K.1, 1.1, 2.1, 3.1) 2. Students will investigate and understand that animals have life needs food, air, water, light and a place to grow. (Science K.6, 1.4) 3. Students will investigate and understand that animals undergo a series of orderly changes in their life cycle. (Science K.8, 1.5, 2.4a, 3.8b) 4. Students will investigate and understand the relationship of seasonal change and weather to the life cycle of animals. (Science 1.7, 2.7) 5. Students will identify natural resources and understand that natural resources are limited. (Science 1.8, 3.6) 6. Students will investigate and understand that living things are part of a system and are interdependent with their living and non living surroundings. (Science 2.5, 3.10) 7. Students will investigate and understand that behavioral and physical adaptations allow animals to respond to life needs. (Science 3.4) 8. Students will investigate and understand that environments support a diversity of animals that share limited resources. (Science 3.6)

Book List

Animals In Winter Henrietta Bancroft How and Why Animals Prepare for Winter Elaine Pascoe The Animals Winter Sleep Lynda Graham-Barber What Do Animals Do In Winter? Melvin Berger When Winter Comes Pearl Neuman Animals That Hibernate Phyllis Jean Perry Animals That Hibernate Larry Dane Brimmer A Little Bit of Winter Paul Stewart Time To Sleep Denise Fleming The Big Snow Berta and Elmer Hader Stranger In The Woods Carls R. Sams Hibernation Margaret Hall Hibernation Carolyn Scrace What Is Hibernation? John Crossingham What Is Migration? John Crossingham Amazing Animal Journeys Liam O’Donnell The Journey: Stories of Migration Cynthia Rylant Footprints In the Snow Cynthia Benjamin Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints Millicent E. Selsams What Are Camouflage and Mimicry? Bobbie Kalman Camouflage: Changing to Hide (Natures Changes) Bobbie Kalman What color is Camouflage? Carolyn Otto

Building Background Knowledge Suggested pre-field trip activities to build background knowledge.

Hibernation: 1. Read one of the above mentioned books on hibernation. 2. Hibernation Experiment: To understand how excess fat helps to keep an animal warm during hibernation, do this experiment. 1. Have students dip one finger into a bowl of ice water to see how cold it is. 2. Next, have students roll a spoonful of shortening into a small ball. Explain to students that shortening is a type of fat. Have students stick one finger into the ball, so the shortening makes a cap around their fingertip. 3. Now, dip the finger coated with shortening into the bowl of ice water. How does it feel? Is there a difference? If so, explain the difference. 3. Hibernation Folder: Go to www.atozkidsestore.com/samples/hibsample.pdf to get directions for making a student folder on hibernation.

Migration: 1. Read one of the above mentioned books on migration. 2. Play Migration Concentration at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/poes_tracking/index.shtml#

Adaptation: 1. Read one of the above mentioned books on adaptation. 2. To understand adaptation, have students go outside without their coats on. Using a stop watch, time the students until they are cold. Then allow them to Put their coats on. Then next day have the students go outside with just a sweater on. Again time the length of time until they are cold and put their coats on. On the third day, have the students go outside with their jackets on but not closed. Time again. On the last day have the children go outside with their jackets zipped Time again. Make a graph using the time results. This should model how increased levels of fur, feathers or fat, help to keep an animal warm in winter. Enrichment Activities Suggested post field trip activities to reinforce instruction.

1. Have the students take digital pictures during the field trip. Use the pictures to make a photo story about their field trip.

2. Have the students draw pictures and/or write about their field trip, using attachments 3 or 4. Put all the pages together to make a class book. Students will enjoy the book during the rest of the year.

3. Dioramas Have each student select an animal in a certain environment or put the names of animals in a hat and allow each student to draw the name of an animal. Have the students do research about their animal. Using a shoe box, each student should construct a diorama that shows how the animal survives the winter.

4. How is a Human Vacation Like Animal Migration? 1. Ask the students to think about trips they have taken. - Why did they go? - What made the trip fun, comfortable and safe? - What caused problems? 2. Make two columns on the board or flip chart. Label one column Human Travel and the other Animal Migration. Then add comments to the appropriate columns. Here are examples of questions to spark discussion: - What’s the purpose of your trip? - How far ahead do you make your plans? - What things do you need to bring? (Have you ever traveled without a suitcase?) - Do you need to get in shape before you go? - How do you find your way? - Does the weather affect your time of departure, or the route you travel? - How do you find food on your journey? - Where do you spend the night?

Websites www.members.tripod.com/~llij/winter.html www.timeforkids.com/TFK/media/teachers/pdfs/2002F/021220BPt.pdf www.library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312800/hibernate.htm www.staff.msad71.net/techno/AIW www.kizclub.com/storytime/winteranimals/winteranimals1.html http://home.howstuffworks.com/bird-watching-activities-for-kids16.htm great activities http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/Migration lessons on migration Videos www.youtube.com www.video.nationalgeographic.com Field Trip Activities

Materials: 1 bag of animal pictures (per 4 students) Photo Story on Animals in Winter

Procedure 1. Whole Group: (45 minutes) 1. Show photo story about Animals in Winter

2. How Do I Spend The Winter? Game: (15 minutes)

3. Nature Walk: (30 minutes) Students will walk around farm in through the woods looking for signs of Animals and how they are surviving winter. - look for birds - look for small animals or tracks - look at the extra down on the chickens - look at the extra hair on the horses