Crow Not Crow, by J. Yolen & A. Stemple

Materials

Binoculars
Crow crowns/mask
Crow shape, add numbers 1-10 onto bellies
toothpicks and shape page per child

Vocabulary

Crow (an all black bird )
Draped (covered with)
Omnivore (one who eats both plants and meat)

Before Reading the Story

Show the children the front of the book. Tell the children that this bird is called a crow. Explain to the children that some people do not like crows because of the way they look and they have loud voices. Talk about how the crow can not help how he looks or sounds. Ask the children how they would feel if someone talked badly about them because of the way they looked?

Explain to children that farmers don’t like crows because they love to eat corn, it is one of their favorite foods! This is why farmers put scarecrows in fields to scare the birds away. But crows actually help farmers and our environment too. Crows are omnivores fruits and seeds but also eat worms and bugs that destroy farmer’s crops. They also eat animals that have died and this helps clean up our roads and land.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Reading the Story

Point out the wings, beak, and feet. On the page with the red winged blackbird, point out the red medallion. Asdk the children ,”Crow not crow’?

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

After Reading the Story

Play crow-not crow using the bird cards. If it is not a crow, ask the children to tell you why not.

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

Discovery

Put out binoculars for the children to use to look for birds. Add a bird identification book or poster.

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.

Learn one or two bird calls including the crow (caw caw). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHnzqKfxSQw

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

Music and Movement

Pretend to fly like birds. Put on some music and fly about the room. Can the children swoop down low? Fly high into the clouds? Flap their wings quickly, slowly? Can they fly in circles? Can they touch the ground while the flap their wings? Etc.

Physical Health & Development/ Health Status & Practices; progresses in physical growth, strength, stamina, and flexibility.

Teach the children the fingerplay 2 Little Blackbirds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjv5Jwgsn7I

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

Sing, 5 Shiney Crows https://youtu.be/qoSFIswtDss using your fingers to denote the number of crows.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.

Blocks

Make 10 crow shapes and number them 1-10 and tape to blocks. Challenge the children to put the crows in number order.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count in sequence to 10 and beyond.

Or have the child choose two crow blocks and add that many blocks together. (Simple addition)

Mathematics/ Number & Operations; develops increased abilities to combine, separate, and name “how many” concrete objects.

Art

Have the children paint 2 paper plates black. Cut one in half and use staples or brads to attach to the sides of the whole plate to make a crow body and wings. Let the children embellish with eyes, beaks, and feet when dry.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Sand and Water

If you have a shredder, shred newspaper to fill the table. Add pieces of pipe cleaner to represent worms and tweezers or pinchers. The children can pretend to be crows and pick up the worms for lunch.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; Develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Library and Writing

Bring in bird identification book.

Dramatic Play

Explain to the children that crows live in extended and close family units. Put out the crow crowns and encourage the children to do family play. What roles does each child take?

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Math and Manipulatives

Make copies of the shape page. Give each child a toothpick and have them sit on the carpet with their shape page in front of them. Show the children how to tke the toothpick and push it down onto the dots of the shapes. It will go through the paper and into the carpet. Have the children make one or more shapes by pushing down and up wit the toothpick.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in a bilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.

Outdoor Play

Look for a mostly black bird. A singing bird. 2 or more birds together. A bird in a tree. A bird on the ground.

Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities.

Play, You’re Only Safe If… which is really just a variation of tag. The teacher calls out “You’re only safe if…” and then call out a specific tree or other landscape feature on your playground. This helps your children learn to recognize various trees or shrubs by name (the loblolly pine tree, the hickory nut tree, the bridal wreath bush). The person who is IT then chases the children and tries to tag them before they reach the safety item. If they are tagged, then they can help tag other children. When most of the children are tagged, start again changing the safety item.

Physical Health & Development/Health Status & Practices; participates actively in games outdoors and other forms of exercise that enhance physical fitness.

Transitions

Make and laminate 10 crows with a number on each one (1-10). Have one child pretend to be a scarecrow. Other children will get a numbered crow. The Scarecrow stands in the front of the room and yells ‘caw, caw, caw.’ When the Crows hear this, they must scatter and try to line up in numerical order. Scarecrow can also call out a number and that Crow comes to the front the room.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways.