OBJECTIVE

Students will be able to identify different farm animals and describe their characteristics.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

What types of animals live on farms? What do farm animals do?

MATERIALS NEEDED

Farm Animal Worksheet

PROCEDURE

Introduction:
In circle: Review some facts that students know about farms from the KWL sheet. Ask the students to name as many farm animals as they can.
Choose 4 or 5 animals (sheep, cow, chicken, pig, and goat are good to start out). Explain to the students that you are going to go around and whisper a farm animal in their ear. Ask students to keep that animal to themselves. Students may hum the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell” quietly while you whisper to each of them.
Next, explain that they will soon be acting out their animal, silently, in order to find all of the other animals in their group. “For example, if I were a pig, I might roll around a bit in the mud to show the rest of the group what animal I am.”
Give students a few minutes to gather together silently in their groups. If it is too hard for students to distinguish silently, you may allow them to quietly whisper the sounds of their animal to find others in their group.

Activity:
Once the students are grouped by farm animal, explain that they are going to work together to present their animal to the rest of the class. Together, they will figure out the answers to these questions:
-What does your animal look like?
-Where does your animal live?
-What does your animal eat?
-What is your animal’s job on the farm?
Give students several minutes to gather together and discuss these questions. Then, choose one group to begin. The students may stand up and share their answers to the questions.

Wrap up/ Assessment:
At their desks, students fill out the Farm Animal Worksheet. For a challenge, ask students to fill out the worksheet for a different animal than the one they were assigned.