Grade 1 - "in the beginning"

Georgia Performance Standard:

S1L1- Students will investigate the characteristics and basic needs of plants and animals.
Compare & Describe various animals - apperance, motion, growth, basic needs.

Essential Questions:

Why can’t all animals live in the same place?
What are the characteristics of wild vs. domestic animals?

Directions:

Ask students to bring pictures to class of as many animals as they can find in magazines or newspapers at home (or supply them with magazines and newspapers that they can cut up while at school). 

Place two containers at the front of the class.  On one container write “Domesticated” and write “Wild” on the other.  Have each student introduce his/her animal pictures to the class.  Ask for a show of hands from the students if they think each animal is domesticated or wild.  Give the class clues as needed to ensure that the animals are sorted correctly.  As each animal is voted on, the student places that picture in the appropriate container.  Add your own pictures as well.

Explain that the “domesticated” category consists of both farm animals and pets.  Also, discuss that “wild” animals can live in a variety of places including the forests, grasslands, and oceans.

Divide the class into groups and give each group at least three pictures from each container.  Explain that each group will create a collage of domesticated animals and a collage of wild animals, but they will sequence the animals from smallest to largest or vice versa.  Provide examples by asking the class to compare animal pairs according to their sizes (ask “Which one is larger?” etc.). 

Have each student pick one domestic and one wild animal from his collage to write about. The student should include a sentence about the animal’s appearance, how it moves, how it grows, what it eats, and where it lives.