Mammals Lesson Plan and Lesson Plan Options for Second and Third Graders.
You could spend many days in the computer lab working on www.mrnussbaum.com/mammalsflash.htm
HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO IN SECOND GRADE.
1.) Slide Show. Have students watch the brief slide show in the upper left hand corner of the page. The slide show will show them exactly what makes a mammal a mammal. Ask students questions afterwards to make sure they understand. (5 minutes)
2.) Explore the interactive mammals book. Show students how do navigate through the book. Mammals are classified by the continent they are found on. Some mammals, however, are found on multiple continents. Have students choose any continent. Then, have them scroll over the different animals. Tell them to clock on one. Let students explore the book for 10-15 minutes. They will be entertained simply looking at the animals. Instruct them to look for similar animals that live in different continents (i.e. leopard, jaguar). Call on students to volunteer. Ask students how animals are different in Antarctica than they are in Asia. (15 minutes)
2.) Have Students try the scavenger hunt. After students have become oriented to the online book, have them pair up and complete the scavenger hunt. This may seem hard for second graders, but I've taught many classes of second graders that had no trouble with this. You may have to guide them to find the answers, but, by and large, they can do it mostly on their own. (30-45 minutes)
3.) Focus on particular mammals. mrnussbaum.com features about 20 detailed species profiles. Have students choose an animal that interests them. They can then read the passage and complete the scavenger hunt for that animal. They can use the page to conduct research and the pictures to enhance their project. (30 - 45 minutes)
4.) Compare/Contrast. Have students pick two animals to complete a compare/contrast activity. Pass out a sheet of paper and instruct students to fold in half (hot dog fold). The title of the chart will be ____________ vs ____________. On the left side, students will write "similar", and on the left side. students will write "different". Instruct students to use the online book to find five similarities and five differences between the two mammals they chose. (30 minutes)
5.) Mammals Paralaugh. (INTEGRATION LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITY) is an online mad-lib type activity. Students practice typing nouns, verbs and adjectives while learning about mammals in a hilarious story. (20 - 30 minutes)
6.) Clickaway Studio Mammals - Have students make a gallery of mammals by using the mrnussbaum.com Clickaway Studio. Clickaway Studio contains about 30 mammals in which students can color online. Have students color the animals, print them out, and write one interesting fact about each mammal by finding it on the mrnussbaum.com online book, or in the species profile. (10-15 minutes per animal)
7.) Habitat Maker - Have students insert mammals and other animals into the habitat of their choice. Then allow students to animate their selection and hear animal noises. (15 - 45 minutes)
8.) Mammals Crossword - Have students try the mrnussbaum.com interactive crossword. Students can do this in pairs. Instruct them to click on the number to access the clue. Answers must be spelled correctly to be considered correct. (20 - 30 minutes)
9.) Mammals Hangman - Students have a blast trying to figure out mammal names in the mrnussbaum.com mammals hangman. Students can do this when they are done with work early.
10.) Mammals Words a Plenty - See how many second graders can attain scores of 2 or 3 in this challenging games. Students can play alone or in pairs. They are presented with a series of words with the letters scrambled. Students have to unscramble the letters and type in the correct spelling as many times as they can in 10 seconds.
11.) Poacher Trap - This is a challenging game that asks tough questions about African mammals. The object of the game is to beat a poacher to Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. You may want to explain several terms before students try this game: 1.) poacher 2.) endangered species 3.) Extinct. Students fly to the coast of Tanzania and progress toward Serengeti by answering questions about African mammals. If they answer correctly, they also earn a badge depicting the animal he or she answered about and move forward. If they answer incorrectly, the poacher moves toward Serengeti. The object is to beat the poacher to Serengeti to save the animals and arrest the poacher. NOTE - this game is hard and asks questions that require research - after all, education is the key to their survival. There is no time limit so students are free to search for the answers.
12.) Make Mammals Word Searches. Have students use our generator to make a word search that contains the names of mammals. (20 - 30 minutes)
13.) What is your favorite mammal Poll? Have students use our Smart Poll to graph the results of a poll they take on their classmates. Have student choose four or five mammals as options. Then enter the mammals and data into Smart Poll, generate the graph and answer the questions generated. (30 - 45 minutes)