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Challenge children with a fun obstacle course that they complete while pretending to be a particular animal "Do you think it's easier to complete this course as a human, lion, or snake?"

PREK Guidelines:

PK4.IX.B.1 Child shows control of tasks that require small-muscle strength and control.

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Use animals as inspiration to get little bodies moving!
Flip a card and challenge children to move like that animal.

PK Guidelines: PK4.IX.A.2 Child coordinates sequence of movements to perform tasks.

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Planning a field trip to the zoo is the best way for students to see what they have been learning about in real life!

Parents would be given permission slips and notices 2 months in advance, as well as reminders. Parents and other people that can help would be advised to join the field trip. Students would also be notified early on, as well as telling them about the change in schedule for that day, and be reminded as it gets closer to the time of the field trip.

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Open Daily 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Last Admission at 4:00 PM. Carousel & Train Open 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.Giraffe Feeding Open 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

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Cream and Cream Zoo Animals Baby Birthday Invitation (1)

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Brown and Beige Blob Illustrative Animal Page Border (1)

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Green and Brown Cute Animal Monkey Illustrative Jungle Page Border (1)

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Domain: B. Life Science

PK4.VI.B.3 Child observes, investigates, describes, and discusses the relationship of organisms in their environments.

Activity Name: Animal Habitats

Goal: Students will be able to identify and describe the different habitats that animals live in.

Objectives: Students will be able to identify and describe the different habitats that animals live in by learning about animals home's and students will be able to identify the different types of animals who live in each one.

Content: Key terms: Habitat- the home of an animal or a plant.

Read "What's Your Habitat?" By Sarah Leidhold and have students determine what animals live in what habitat, what animals need to survive, and their characteristics.

Materials: "Whats Your Habitat" book

blank paper

crayons

animal habitat worksheets

https://www.education.com/download/lesson-plan/animal-habitats/animal-habitats.pdf

Procedures: 1. Teacher reads "What's your habitat"

2. ask students to think about what kinds of things animals might need to survive. Write “What Animals Need” on the board, write responses on the board.

3. Explain that animals all live in something called a habitat, which is what we call the most ideal or natural home of that animal.

4. Ask students to think about some of the different kinds of habitats in the world by naming some of the

most common (desert, forest, ocean, jungle)

5. Write Desert, Forest, Ocean, and Jungle on the board and ask students to think about each habitat and what animals and plants they might see in that habitat

6. Assign different habitats to the students

7. Have students draw pictures of plants or animals that would live in each habitat.

8. Provide a sentence frame such as, "I agree that a ____ could survive in the ____ because _____."

9. Explain that students will now get to choose an animal who lives in one of the habitats we discussed (and are listed on the board) and get to draw a picture of their animal in its habitat.

Simplifications: Have students work in groups or assist students on choosing an animal/habitat

Extensions: Give students a group of various animals (bear, frog, snake) and have them draw what their habitat would look like/

Have cards of habitats and cards of animals and have students place them in the right groups.

Evaluation: A verbal discussion on their favorite animal and habitat.

Have students verbally tell you if they were there favorite animal, where would their home be and what would it look like.

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Measure & Compare Animals

Find out the different lengths that some zoo animals will grow to be. Invite children to use counting cubes or measuring tape to compare the different lengths. Leave the measuring tape or counting cubes on the ground, then encourage the children to lay next to them to see how they measure up to their favorite animals!
This is a great opportunity to practice and assess use of measurement terms such as bigger than, smaller than, inches, feet, large, small and more.

PREK Guidelines:

PK4.V.D.1 Child recognizes and compares heights or lengths of people or objects.

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Zebra Stripes Color Sight Words

Work on color recognition and literacy development with this activity. This activity has two levels of play. Use the colored color words to work on matching up color words to the same color zebra. Or use the black color words to encourage children to use phoneme recognition or sight word recognition.

PREK Guidelines:

PK4.III.B.9 Child blends and segments one-syllable words by phonemes with visual or gestural support.

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Zoo First Sounds Clip Cards

Practice phoneme recognition by having students move the clip to the letter that the name of the animal pictured begins with.

PREK Guidelines: PK4.III.C.1 Child recognizes and names at least 20 letters (upper- or lower-case letters).

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Provide books about the zoo, along with plastic zoo animals and props on a small table. Invite students to retell their favorite stories and create their own using the props.

Materials: Zoo books, plastics zoo animals and zoo props.

PREK Guidelines:

PK4.III.D.1 Child retells or re-enacts a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

PK4.V.E.2 Child collects data and organizes it in a graphic representation.

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Allow students to manipulate clay to shape their favorite zoo animal.

Materials: different colors of clay

PREK Guidelines:

PK4.V.C.2 Child creates shapes using materials and/or manipulatives.

PK4.VIII.A.1 Child uses a variety of art materials for sensory experiences and exploration.

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Zoo Themed Puppet Show

Make zoo animal puppets and invite them to create stories with the zoo animals.

Materials: Card Stock or Construction Paper

Paper Bags

Glue

Scissors

crayons

other wanted animal accessories (eyes, tail, ears, etc..)

PREK Guidelines:

PK4.VIII.A.2 Child uses art as a form of creative self-expression and representation.

PK4.II.E.4 Child uses sentences that provide many details, remains on topic, and clearly communicates intended meaning.

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Place some simple props such as zoo animals, plants, assortment of blocks, people, and signs in your block center to inspire your preschoolers to create a small world zoo!

Materials: toy zoo animals, plants, blocks, people and signs

PREK Guidelines:

PK4.IX.B.2 Child shows increasing control of tasks that require eye-hand

coordination.

PK4.VI.C.1 Child observes, investigates, describes, and discusses earth materials, and their properties and uses.

https://www.prekprintablefun.com/zoo-animals-lesson-planning-page.html

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Center rotation: Every day, 15 minute rotations from 9:00-10:15

Students will be put in numbered groups 1-4

The rotation will be on the board and students will follow the center rotation after 15 minutes. The last 15 minutes will be used for clean up and bathrooms.

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Play "Animals Walk" game

Have everybody stand at one end of the classroom. First model: hold up a flashcard of a lion. Shout "Run like a lion!" – then get down and crawl across the room like a lion all the time roaring. Then have everyone do it. Then do for all the other animals (e.g. "Stomp like an elephant!", etc.).

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Zookeepers

“Kids Learn about Zookeepers and Taking Care of Animals | Job Jams | Tigers, Monkeys, Bunnies.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Feb. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=39-KnScB4N8.

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Job Jams- Kids Songs About Fun Jobs and Careers

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Kids Learn About Zookeepers and Taking Care of Animals | Job Jams | Tigers, Monkeys, Bunnies

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The Zoo
A good poem to use with body movements.

At the zoo we saw a bear.
He had long dark fuzzy hair.
Pretend to walk like a bear.

We saw a lion in a cage.
He was in an awful rage.
Pretend to be a angry lion.

We saw the big, long-necked giraffe,
And the silly monkeys made us laugh.
Be laughing monkey.

But my favorite animal at the zoo,
Is the elephant--how about you?
Discuss everyone's favorite.

National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets. Accessed 1 May 2024.

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A to Z Kids Stuff | Preschool & Kindergarten Zoo Theme

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Zoo theme ideas and activities for preschool and kindergarten children.

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Zoo Animals
(tune: Have You Ever Seen A Lassie?)

Have you ever seen the ________.
The ______, the _______?
That lives in the zoo?
That lives in the zoo,
That lives in the zoo.
Have you ever seen the ______,
That lives in the zoo?

Have children take turns naming zoo animals. After each child's turn have the children sing the above song, filling in the blank with the animal's name.

National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets. Accessed 1 May 2024.

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A to Z Kids Stuff | Preschool & Kindergarten Zoo Theme

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Zoo theme ideas and activities for preschool and kindergarten children.

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We're going to the Zoo (Tune:The Farmer in the Dell)
We're going to the zoo.
We'll see a kangeroo
And a cockatoo.
So how 'bout you? We're going to the zoo.

Lions roar and play,
With tigers so they say.
Elephants spray
And zebras neigh
At the zoo all day.

“Zoo Theme and Activities.” Child Care Lounge, child care lounge, childcarelounge.com/pages/zoo-theme-and-activities. Accessed 5 May 2024.

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Children love to learn about animals at the zoo. This is a great theme to incorporate with a field trip to the zoo.

Zoo Songs and Fingerplays

We're going to the Zoo (Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
We're going to the zoo.
We'll see a kangeroo
And a cockatoo.
So how 'bout you? We're going to the zoo.

Lions roar and play,
With tigers so they say.
Elephants spray
And zebras neigh
At the zoo all day.

Elephants
An elephant goes like this and that (stomp feet)
He's terribly big (raise arms over head)
And heâ€™s terribly fat (stretch arms to side)
He has no fingers (wiggle fingers)
And he has no toes (wiggle feet)
But, goodness gracious WHAT A NOSE!!!! (pull on pretend trunk in front of nose)

Animals are so charming (Tune: Skip to My Lou)
Verse 1:
I went to the city zoo,
Saw a camel and a gnu,
Saw an anaconda, too!
Animals are so charming.

Chorus:
Zoo, zoo, trip to the zoo,
Zoo, zoo, trip to the zoo,
Zoo, zoo, trip to the zoo,
Animals are so charming.

Verse 2:
I looked at the tall giraffe;
Watched a hippo take a bath;
And the monkeys made me laugh.
Animal are so charming.

(Repeat chorus)

Verse 3:
The gorilla had some swings;
Penguins flapped their funny wings;
And the seals swam through some rings.
Animals are so charming.

(Repeat chorus)

Verse 4:
Polar bears gave me a fright!
Zebras' coats were black and white.
Elephants stood at great height.
Animals are so charming.

(Repeat chorus again)

Zoo Art Activities

Coffee Ground Bear
Mix coffee grounds in brown paint, and have children paint a brown bear with texture.

Zebra Marble Painting
Place a white zebra cutout in a box or cookie sheet. Have children dip marble in black paint and roll painted marble over zebra to create a unique painting.

Zebra Tape Painting
Give children strips of masking tape to place as stripes on a zebra construction paper cut-out. Have them paint the zebra over the tape. When the paint is dry, tear the tape off to see the stripes.

Giraffe Spots Sponge Painting
Use a cotton ball or sponge to dip into paint and dab spots onto a giraffe cut-out.

Zoo Math and Science

Zoo Animal Addition
Cut an egg carton in half and label number 1-6 on the bottom of each section. Let children put two Zoo Animal Erasers in the egg carton and shake it up. Have them create an addition problem, based on what numbers the erasers end up in. Example: Animals land in section 2 and section 4, so child figures out what 2 + 4 equals.

Zoo Animal Patterns
Using the same animal erasers, let children create patterns on their own.

Animal Habitats
On the science table, place a bowl of water, a tray of dirt, and a box with hay or grass. Also, include many small toy zoo animals. The children can place the animals in their correct habitat.

Zoo Motor Skills and Movement

Zookeeper, May I?
Choose one child to be a zookeeper. Ask the "zookeeper" stand across the room or 10 feet in front of the remaining children. The zookeeper gives the instruction for other children to move like zoo animals. Examples: take five kangaroos hops, Walk four elephants steps, etc. Once the children reach the zookeeper, the zookeeper chooses a child to be the next zookeeper.

Animal Charades
Place a picture of different animals in a bag. One at a time, let children pick out an animal and act it out for others to guess.

Zoo Snacks

Elephant Snack
Eat peanuts for a snack, just like elephants do.

3-D Animal Snack
Give children a graham cracker and have them spread either peanut butter or green-tinted cream cheese on the top. Stand animal crackers on the top of the iced graham cracker.

Other Zoo Resources
A-Z Zoo Animals Preschool Unit Free Zoo Preschool Printables! Zoo Coloring Pages Zoo Animals Preschool Science Lesson

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Children love to learn about animals at the zoo. This is a great theme to incorporate with a field trip to the zoo. Zoo Songs and Fingerplays

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5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed.
{Hold up 5 fingers and bounce hand like the fingers are jumping.}
One fell off and bumped his head.
{Hold up one finger. Then pat head.}
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said:
{Hold fingers like a phone and put to face as though talking on the phone.}
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed.”
{Wag one finger back and forth or up and down.}

(repeat with 4,3,2,1,0)

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“Let’s Go to the Zoo | Animal Song for Kids | Super Simple Songs.” YouTube, YouTube, 13 Aug. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwRmivbNgQk.

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Let's Go To The Zoo | Animal Song for Kids | Super Simple Songs

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Virtual Field Trip To The Zoo

“Zoo | Virtual Field Trip | Kidvision Pre-K.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 July 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7TDzn-7v4k.

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Zoo | Virtual Field Trip | KidVision Pre-K

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Chorus:
Zoo, zoo,
Let's go to the zoo,
What will we see at the zoo?

Zoo, zoo,
Let's go to the zoo,
What will we see at the zoo?

Verse 1:
Lion, we will see a lion,
Elephant, we will see an elephant,
Monkey, we will see a monkey,
Let's go to the zoo!

Chorus

Verse 2:
Tiger, we will see a tiger,
Snake, we will see a snake,
Birds, we will see some birds,
Let's go to the zoo!

Says:, Akiko. “Let’s Go to the Zoo.” ESL KidStuff Blog, 16 July 2013, www.eslkidstuff.com/blog/songs/lets-go-to-the-zoo.

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Lyrics:
Chorus:
Zoo, zoo,
Let's go to the zoo,
What will we see at the zoo?

Zoo, zoo,
Let's go to the zoo,
What will we see at the zoo?
Verse 1:
Lion, we will see a lion,
Elephant, we will see an elephant,
Monkey, we will see a monkey,
Let's go to the zoo!
Chorus Verse 2:
Tiger, we will see a tiger,
Snake, we will see a snake,
Birds, we will see some birds,
Let's go to the zoo!

Gestures and activities to use with the "Let's Go to the Zoo" song

The gestures are fun and mimic the animals being sung about:

1. For the "Zoo, zoo, Let's to to the zoo", have everyone walking on the spot as they walk to the zoo.

2. For the next line "What will we see at the zoo?", have everyone put their hand above their eyes as they search for animals.

3. For the animal parts do the following:

lion: look fierce and roar

elephant: make a trunk with your arm and make the trumpet noise

monkey: do the money scratching head and armpit gesture whilst saying "oh-oh"

tiger: look fierce and roar

snake: make a snake shape with your hands and hiss like a snake

birds: flap your arms like wings and say "tweet-tweet"

Using the "Let's Go to the Zoo" song in class

The song is perfect for teaching zoo animals and also as a follow up it is useful for teaching the structure "Let's go to ...".

1. Teach the zoo animals vocab. If you have plastic toys for the animals you can use them or you can use zoo animal flashcards. Before the class put the toys or flashcards in a bag. Bring out the bag and peer in - make surprised noises to get the full attention of your students. Slowly, inch by inch, pull out the animals - elicit /teach/chorus the animal name "e.g. What's this? It's a (lion). (Lion), (Lion), (Lion)". Then teach/chorus the animal noise (E.g. "What noise does a lion make?" "Roar!").

2. Play "Pass the animals". Pass one of the animals or animal flashcards to the nearest student. As you pass, say "(lion) (roar)". Have the students pass all the animals around the circle, all the while saying the animal name and noise.

3. Play "Animals Match-up Concentration". You'll need two sets of zoo animals flashcards. Shuffle them and spread, face-down, on the floor or table. Turn over one card and then another. The object of the game is to find the same two cards - which wins you a point. If you turn over the same pair of cards (e.g. two tigers) you keep the cards and remove them from the game. If you turn over two different cards, turn them back over. The game ends when all cards have been removed and the player with the most cards is the winner.

4. Sing the "Let's Go to the Zoo" song. Before the song, run through the actions in the correct order of the song. It will help to have the flashcards in order on the board or use our song sheet. Play the song and have everyone doing the actions as they sing along.

5. Play "Animals Walk" game. Have everybody stand at one end of the classroom. First model: hold up a flashcard of a lion. Shout "Run like a lion!" - then get down and crawl across the room like a lion all the time roaring. Then have everyone do it. Then do for all the other animals (e.g. "Stomp like an elephant!", etc.).

6. Do "Zoo Animals Play-doh". You'll need different colored play-doh. Sit down the students in groups and show them how to make simple models of animals. Let everyone make the animals that want and as they are doing so circulate and ask lots of questions (e.g. What's that? Is it a lion? What noise does a lion make? etc.).

7. Do "Zoo Animals" worksheet. Use the Animals 3 worksheet. First hold the worksheet up for all to see. Take a crayon and elicit its color (e.g. "What color is this?"). Then color one of the animals whilst eliciting its name. Do the same for the other animals. Give out the worksheets and have the students color the animals, all the time praising, helping, encouraging and asking target questions (e.g. "What is it?"). Finally, go to each S in turn, look at his/her worksheet, ask some questions and then give back with lots of praise.

8. Set Homework: "At the Zoo" worksheet. To finish off this section of the lesson, give out the worksheet for homework.

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Download a new song from ESL KidStuff: Let's Go to the Zoo Let's Go to the Zoo song Song Theme: Saying different zoo animals and their noises.Target Vocab: zoo, Let's go to, What will we see, lion, elephant, monkey, tiger, snake, birds.Song Length: 1:22 Our original song about going to the zoo and seeing lots of animals.

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The Elephant's Trunk

The elephant has a great big trunk. (Pretend an arm is the trunk.) That goes swinging, swinging so. (Swing trunk.) He has tiny, tiny eyes that show him where to go. (Point to eyes.) His huge long ears go flapping, flapping up and down. (Pretend hands are ears.) His great big feet go stomping, stomping on the ground. (Stomp with feet.)

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Cuyler, Margery, and Joe Mathieu. We’re Going on a Lion Hunt. Amazon Publisdhing, 2008.

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Richardson, Justin, et al. And Tango Makes Three. Little Simon, 2015.

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Burach, Ross. I Am Not a Chair! Scholastic Inc., 2018.

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Carle, Eric. Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? American Printing House for the Blind, 2001.

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Fiona the Hippo. Zondervan, 2018.

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Knowles, Sheena, and Rod Clement. Edward the Emu. Angus&Robertson, 2023.

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Martin, Bill, and Eric Carle. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Henry Holt and Company, 2021.

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Curious George Goes to the Zoo. Paw Prints, 2015.

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Carle, Eric. 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo: A Counting Book. World of Eric Carle, 2020.

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Waber, Bernard. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. Clarion Books, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2023.

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Bostrom, Kathleen Long. The View at the Zoo.

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Campbell, Rod. Dear Zoo. Macmillan Children’s Books, 2022.

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Lopshire, Robert. Put Me in the Zoo. Random House, 1988.

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Rathmann, Peggy. Goodnight, Gorilla. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an Imprint of Penguin Group, 2013.

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My Visit to the Zoo. Paw Prints, 2011.

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Name and identify various Zoo Animals and their characteristics

Types of animal habitats

Roles of Zookeepers

Learn animal and environment care

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Nature: all the animals, plants, and other things in the world that are not made by people

Habitat: the home of an animal or a plant.

Wildlife: wild animals living in their natural environment

Zookeeper: The people who take care of wild animals in zoos and animal parks

Teach The Zoo Animals: Teach the animals of the Zoo and their characteristics. (monkeys, lions, elephant, flamingo, giraffe, etc...)

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This thematic unit will walk you through the wild content of teaching about The Zoo/Animals in the Early Childhood classroom. The Zoo/Animals is an important theme in Early Childhood education because it allows students to see a part of nature through animals in their habitat. The Zoo is an opportunity fo children to see animals they read about or see on the tv in real life. Going to and learning about the Zoo can introduce students to new words and concepts that improves their vocabulary and comprehension skills. Students also learn about conservation and animal care; when they see their favorite animal in the Zoo, they learn how important it is to take care of the environment. When children visit the Zoo, they develop a sense of empathy for the animals, this helps with their compassion and kindness in society. Overall, this unit will help students appreciate nature by visiting the Zoo, reading and learning about the Zoo and animals, explore and use their imagination about The Zoo/animals through dramatic play, and more in an academic themed environment.

Learning about The Zoo/Animals is cross-curricular and can be used for a lot of content, meeting the following Texas Pre-K Guidelines:

PK4.VI.C.4 Child demonstrates an understanding of the importance of caring for our environment and our planet.

PK4.VI.B.3 Child observes, investigates, describes, and discusses the relationship of organisms in their environments.

PK4.VI.B.1 Child observes, investigates, describes, and discusses the characteristics of organisms.

PK4.IX.C.1 Child practices good habits of personal safety.

PK4.III.D.2 Child uses information learned from books by describing, relating, categorizing, or comparing and contrasting.

PK4.VI.C.1 Child observes, investigates, describes, and discusses earth materials, and their properties and uses.

PK4.I.C.6 Child demonstrates empathy and caring for others.

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Benefits of Zoos for preschoolers: Education, Family Bonding & More

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Discover the educational benefits of zoos for children. Enhance language skills, promote bonding, environmental awareness, empathy, and more.