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Reading Mini-Lessons for this book and others

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Cow Craft

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Farm Animal Facts

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Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images

Cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and goats are staples of childhood learning through toys, educational television shows and cartoons. However, there is more to know about these animals than just the sounds they make and the way they look. Whether you are taking a class trip to a farm or just want to entertain your kids, fun facts about farm animals can leave a lasting impression.

Most kids know that pigs like to roll around in mud, but they may not know pigs do this to cool off because they don't sweat. Despite being stereotyped as dirty, pigs are actually rather clean. Given enough space, pigs will relieve themselves as far from their sleeping area as possible. Like puppies, young pigs enjoy playing with toys and with other piglets. They also like being around people and enjoy a good scratch behind the ears or on the belly. While pigs prefer to spend the majority of their day at rest, they are capable of running roughly 11 miles per hour. Pigs also communicate with each other using more than 20 different noises.

Just like pictures that children draw of cows, every cow's pattern of spots is different. A male cow's horns feature rings, the number of which roughly equals its age. Don't assume a cow is tired or lazy because it is lying down. This is sometimes a reaction to a change in atmospheric pressure before a storm. With a sense of smell so strong, cows are able to detect scents up to five or six miles away. Like many domesticated pets, cows learn and react to the names they are given by people. They are even known to form cow "cliques" within the herd.

Although one sheep may look like any other to a person, members of the same flock have been known to recognize one another even after years of separation. A flock is a social group and a defense mechanism, facing threats together. When a sheep's fleece is shaved, it must be done in one piece, with the person doing it also holding the sheep still.

Female goats have beards, just like the males. Some are born with horns and, much like human fingernails which are made of the same material, the horns continue to grow for the goat's entire life. Goats are not only skilled swimmers; they can also climb trees and traverse a ledge as deftly as a circus high-wire performer.

"Cock-a-doodle-do" is often one of the first sounds that toddlers learn. The rooster's crow that signals the sunrise may be heard before any light is seen as chickens spot the break of light almost an hour before people do. Groups of chickens that live freely establish an order of importance among themselves to determine who eats first and who sleeps where. Chickens wash with dust rather than water and clean their feathers with their beaks.

Photo Credits

Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images

Author

Kathy Mair has been writing professionally since 1994. As a member of the Kinston Indians front office, she was responsible for all team press releases and articles, a duty she subsequently held for two other minor league baseball teams. Mair also spent time as a copy editor for "TV Guide." She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Elizabethtown College.

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Cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and goats are staples of childhood learning through toys, educational television shows and cartoons. However, there is more to know about these animals than just the sounds they make and the way they look.

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Fun Cow Facts

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Fun Cow Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about Cattle

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Check out our range of fun cow facts for kids. Learn the world population of cattle, what young cows are called, what they eat and much more.

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Cow Facts

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Click here for more animal facts Cows are also known as cattle. Cows are herbivores meaning they eat grasses, plants, corn. They do not eat meat. There are many types of cows. Cows a...

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Teaching Ideas & Resources

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Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. All day long he hears Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo. But the problems really begin when the cows start leaving Farmer Brown notes. First it was electric blankets-where will it end? And when the animals don't get what they want they go on strike, of course! Doreen Cronin's unusual text and Betsy Lewin's quirky illustrations make this a hilarious story.

Book Author: Doreen Cronin
See More Books from this author
Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

Before reading the story, look at the front cover. What might the cows be typing a letter about? Could you write what it might say?

Write a story about an animal (or a group of animals) that can do something that you wouldn't expect, e.g. A frog that can tap dance or a rabbit that sings opera songs.

Farmer Brown thought that it was impossible that his cows could type. Write a new story about something an 'impossible' event that actually takes place.

Click, clack and moo are examples of onomatopoeia. Find more words that are said how they sound.

A group of cows is called a herd. Find out the collective nouns for other types of animals.

Look at the use of punctuation in the story.

Use the story as a starting point for work on letter writing.

Look at the cows' letters. How could they improve their writing? Could they use more exciting vocabulary? Could they use additional punctuation?

Investigate persuasive writing... Can you write a more persuasive letter from the cows to Farmer Brown?

The cows get impatient later in the story. What does this mean? Can you think of any synonyms?

Look through the text for any new words that you are to familiar with, e.g. neutral, ultimatum. Use a dictionary to find out what these words mean.

Hold a debate in your classroom where each of the animals shares their point of view.

Write the next part of the story, now that the ducks have the typewriter.

Could you read the story with lots of expression? Use this video for inspiration:

Maths

Find out how much electric blankets might cost. Can you work out the cost of buying more than one blanket for the cows and the chickens?

Science

Investigate how Farmer Brown could block the 'Click, clack, moo' sound that he hears all day. What materials are good at muffling sound?

The cows get very cold at might. Investigate other ways that they could keep themselves warm.

Think about why animals are kept on farms. What do they produce that people buy from the shops?

Computing

Type your own letter to Farmer Brown, from the cows' point of view, explaining how they are feeling.

Art

Draw a picture of the duck bond, adding exciting features that the ducks might like.

Look at pictures of the animals found in the story. Can you draw your own pictures based on them.

Music

Listen to the sounds that a typewriter makes. Could you use these within your own composition or song?

Geography

Draw a map of the farm.

Look on a map and find farms in your local area.

PSHE

Look through the story for words that describe different emotions, e.g. impatient, furious. What does each type of emotion feel like? What might make us feel that way?

The animals reach a compromise. What does this mean? Have you ever had to compromise with someone?

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Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. All day long he hears Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo. But the problems really begin when the cows start leaving Farmer Brown notes. First it was electric blankets-where will it end?

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Lesson Plans

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Doreen Cronin Lesson plans for Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type - Free English learning and teaching resources from Varsity Tutors.

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Farm Theme Words

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Click, Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin has long been one of our favourite read aloud books. It is funny and it features great illustrations and animals, so it is one the kids love. It's the kind of book that is clever enough that even adults can appreciate it so I like it too!

Since we are doing the letter "C" this week, I thought it would be perfect to spend a day incorporating this book into our lessons.

I love this activity to introduce the concept of characters in a story. I put the four main characters on the cork board and cut out different sentences such as "I had a problem" and then I had the kids tape them on the character they belonged to. I found the printables here.

This great sheet allowed the kids to write a letter to Farmer Brown from an animal. You can print it here.

These Click, Clack, Moo Fill in the Blanks sheets were great for my early readers and it always makes me happy to see my kids helping each other. Einstein was helping Snuggle Puppy.

If you are looking for more book activities, you may be interested in following my Book Activity Ideas Board on Pinterest.

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Click Clack Moo Cows That Type - Activities

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Click, Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin has long been one of our favourite read aloud books. It is funny and it features great illustrations and animals, so it is one the kids love. It's the kind of book that is clever enough that even adults can appreciate it so I like it too!

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Learning Objectives/Lesson Plans

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Pinterest Activities

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ASL Version of Book -- no speech

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ASL Version of Book with speech

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The story "Click, Clack, Moo" narrated and signed in ASL.

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Writing Activity

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Fun Activities

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Click, Clack, Moo:  Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
Illustrated by Betsy Lewin

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Walker Foundation Student Book Activity