MANY The Diversity of Life on Earth, by Nicola Davies

So many kinds of life on earth, more than we can count. N. Davies shows the reader how every one of them, including humans, is a part of a big and beautiful pattern. This is a lovely book to help children learn the importance of taking care of our planet and the diversity of living creatures on earth.

Materials

Alive/Not Alive cards
Microscope for children or powerful magnifying glass/es
Dice
Copy of number cards per child
Magazines with pictures of animals
Things to build habitat in Sand & Water table. Insect habitat=sticks, leaves, grass. Forest habitat=bark, sand, moss, rocks to build a cave or to have the animals stand on, and short branches/sticks to be trees. Pond Habitat=sand, moss, pieces of bark to float frog and turtle manipulatives on.
Globe or map of the world

Vocabulary

Diversity (Variety)
Microbes (living things that are SO small you have to have a special micro-scope, magnifier to see them
Living (an animal, plant or person; things that require air, water, food/energy, and shelter).

Before Reading the Story

Explain to the children that the story today is about living things and how important they are to the earth. Ask the children if they know it means to be alive? Give a simple definition. Hold up the Alive/Not alive cards one at a time and ask the children if this is something that is alive, or not alive? If they get it wrong, ask them why they think that and then remind them of the definition. Tape the alive cards to one side of your board/wall and the not alive cards to the other side of your board/wall.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, living things, and processes.

Reading the Story

Make sure to include some of the italicized words on the page as they give extra information and clarification.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children to recall some of the animals they saw in the story. Play I’m thinking of an animal…. Use clues that includes where it lives, what it eats, and special features that it might have. (I am thinking of an animal that eats insects and/or fruit. It lives often in caves or under eaves and flies out at night. Bat).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, living things, and processes. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare, and contrast objects, events, and experiences.

Discovery

If you have a microscope or good magnifier, put it out today with things like a feather, dead beetle, shell, rock, leaves. Let the children look at things up close.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods/ begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials, and observe processes and relationships.

If you have time and you are adventuresome making some sort of animal habitat is easy and interesting. You will have to make it for the children and teach them how to observe the animal or insect without hurting it. Try pillbugs, worms, or an ant farm. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&ei=0eAgXb_jE8Gp_QaBrov4Cg&q=how+to+make+an+ant+habitat&oq=how+to+make+an+ant+&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0j0i20i263j0l8.49852.54248..57071…0.0..0.118.564.6j1……0….1..gws-wiz…….0i71j35i39j0i67.T4-zW8CGpZk#kpvalbx=1

Music and Movement

Teach the children the song Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZB7gSQRIuM

Help Woodsy spread the word, never be a dirty bird.

No matter where you go, you can let some people know

Give a hoot, don’t pollute, never be a dirty bird.

In the city or in the woods, help keep America looking good!

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Put on the song If Animals Danced and do the movements with the children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ePPeUbwSs

Creative Arts/Movement; expresses through movement and dancing what is felt and heard in various musical tempos and styles.

Blocks

Put out any and all rubber animals that you have into the center today and encourage the children to build an animal city.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; approaches tasks and activities with increased flexibility, imagination, and inventiveness.

Art

Bring in magazines that have pictures of animals (ask a librarian for old magazines that they would otherwise be throwing away. Ask parents to send in any old magazines, cards, or calendars that they might have with animals). Let the children cut out the animals and glue them to a large paper circle as a group project.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Sand and Water

Turn your water table into an animal habitat. Add any small animal manipulatives that you might have. See resources for several examples.

Creative Arts/Dramatic PLay; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Library and Writing

Bring in a globe or map of the world. Show the children where you are located on the globe/map. Point out any geographical points of interest near you. (See this blue, that is the ocean. Look we are close to the ocean. ) Bring in books or pictures that depict animals and birds that are commonly found in your state. Talk to the children about what the animal is, where it lives, what it eats, have they ever seen one like it? Look up state bird, animal, flower, etc. to get ideas and pictures.

Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; begins to express and understand concepts and language of geography in the contexts of the classroom, home, and community.

Dramatic Play

Bring in any supplies you have that the children can use to play Veterinarian. Small stuffed animals, doctor kit, disposable masks and gloves, shoe boxes to hold the pets, etc..

Creative Arts/Dramatic PLay; shows growing creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations. AND Social & Emotional Development/Knowledge of Families & Communities; develops growing awareness of jobs and what is required to perform them.

Math and Manipulatives

Give each child a number card or a dotted card. Show the children how to cover the page with another piece of paper except for one row. Take turns having the children roll the dice and then find that number within the row. Color the square that correlates with the number rolled. Each paper holds 6 rolls.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantities.

Outdoor Play

On the playground look for living things. Bring out paper and markers and have the children record by list or drawings all the living things they found. (grass, trees, dandelion, worm, ant, pillbug, butterfly etc.).

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops growing abilities to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Transitions

Play Bigger than-Smaller than with the children. Ask a child to name something bigger than a ______(elephant, flower, mouse). Ask another child to name something smaller than a _________(elephant, flower, mouse). Continue until everyone has had a turn. If the children name their something correctly they can move onto the next activity.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.