This Thematic Penguin Unit provides detailed lesson plan descriptions of activities that are fun and engaging for students. This unit meets state and federal standards in science, literacy, social studies, math, and art.
Before Beginning the Penguin Unit
Gather an assortment of high quality picture books about Penguins. (see recommended book list) Include nonfiction titles as well as fictional titles that will fit your individual lesson plans.
Display the books in a prominent area in your room. An attractive banner over the display such as “Penguins are Cool” is sure to draw student attention to the topic.
Prepare a bulletin board with a blue background. Cut large light blue blocks to represent the ice at the Antarctic and arrange on the bulletin board. Students will be making the penguins for this bulletin board during the unit. Coloring the ice with white chalk is a great way to create the look and feel of the Antarctic.
Preview and read (aloud if possible) the books you have selected to match your lesson plans. Use sticky notes to jot down ideas and concepts you want to note in your lesson plans.
Introductory Lesson Plan. Assess student background knowledge about Penguins. Create a classroom KWL chart as students share their knowledge about Penguins. If time permits, you can fill in both the Know and the Want to Know section of the chart or you may wish to do them on two consecutive days. For older children, each can complete their own KWL book.
Language Arts Lessons:
Preview the book by showing children the cover, reading the title, and showing them one or two selected pages of the book. On chart paper or the while board, write predictions of what students think the book will be about based on the preview. Encourage students to think about what they already know about penguins.
As you read, stop periodically to ask what will happen next. Revisit the predictions at the end of the reading to see how well they predicted events.
Add new information to the “What I Learned” section of the chart or provide time for older students to add this information to the appropriate section of their book.
Beginning readers can color and read the Itsy Bitsy Penguin Book.
By using the recommended books, you can design your language arts activities around each book. You will want to include comprehension, sequencing, recall, and interpretation. The specific activities you choose will depend on the age and developmental level of the group of students you are working with. For very young children, retelling the story, acting out the story, and sequencing events are great activities. Older children can fill out penguin book reports over each book.
These Penguin Poems can be used with older children to introduce writing penguin poems. For younger children, write the poems on sentence strips and display in a pocket chart. Once students have learned the words to the poem, mix the lines up and challenge them to put them in the correct order.
Highlight sight words and vocabulary words you want students to learn. Highlighting the word Penguin is a sure way to teach this word.
This Penguin Connect the Dots teaches alphabetical order. Young children will delight in connecting the dots and then coloring the picture. Make sure you provide crayons and markers in bright colors.
After reading about the life cycle of the penguin, reinforce the concepts with a Penguin Life Cycle to color and read. Older children will enjoy drawing their own life cycle. Older students would also enjoy reading about prey and predators and drawing the food chain of the penguin.
After reading the book Antarctica, visit Inch in a Pinch to explore Antarctica and its animal and plant life. This is a great resource for information on the habitat and the environmental challenges of the area.
Math Lessons
For early elementary students, this Penguin Counting Book is a great way to reinforce counting skills.
This Penguin Color by Number printout is great for number identification.
For students at the end of Kindergarten or beginning first grade, this Penguin Color by Sum worksheet provides practice with addition.
Creating word problems involving penguins will provide practice in problem solving for older students.
Just for Fun
These Penguin Coloring Pages are sure to be a hit with your students
For those students who are always finished and looking for something more to do, this Penguin Maze is fun to do.
This great Penguin Template is the perfect for bulletin board displays. You can reduce or enlarge the pattern to create Penguin families.
This cute template offers a unique template using the student’s hand prints for the wings.
Fingerprint Penguins make a great take home craft for young children. Parents are sure to cherish them forever.
VIDEOS:
Antarctic Antics (available from United Streaming)
Cute 19 minute video in 13 segments that chronicles the life cycle, behavior, playtime, predators, and food of the Penguin. Includes songs and animated video.
Why not wrap up the unit with a special viewing of Happy Feet. For refreshments, serve fresh fresh (Gold Fish crackers, of course) and ice blue Jello cubes. Top it off with a nice glass of blue Hi C with an iceberg (ice cube) floating on top.
When students are engaged in the topic, they learn more and retain the information longer. Providing them with the opportunity to learn about Penguins while having fun too is a great way to boost confidence and instill a love of learning.
Recommended Books
