Sunday, November 4, 2012

Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores... Oh my!

Real quick.... When I decided to begin blogging this summer, I thought if I just wanted it bad enough, then it would happen. Sometimes I can be so naive!! I have truly learned so much about how to be a better teacher and how to make my lessons more in depth and engaging from reading other blogs. I even found a new energy and passion for my once repetitive job. Now there's this strong feeling of needing to pay it forward. Hence, the blog. However, I grossly underestimated the amount of dedication it takes to create and keep a thoughtful, resourceful collection of ideas and resources I can share with others. Now that the first quarter is over and I have a more realistic expectation of the true demands on my time, I vow to be a more present influence in the blogging community. That is all!

Moving on...

My kids have been learning about animals this month. One of the topics we cover is herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. The students are always eager to discuss anything animals related which make this activity all that much more engaging. After reading about the 3 groups in our Science book, we color small animals pictures and put them into the right category. 


After reading and discussing the definitions of each, we focus on their teeth. We look at pictures of fossils, bones, and living animals to come up with the conclusion that herbivores have flat teeth, carnivores have sharp teeth, and omnivores have both. Then we get molding! Each student uses play-doh to create one herbivore tooth and one carnivore tooth. Using our SMARTboard, I show an animal picture. The students have to hold up the correct tooth and say the correct group (herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore). If I show a picture of an omnivore, students hold up both teeth.

The next day we draw and make the teeth out of paper. We began with the carnivore. After gluing and labeling, I pass out tiny pieces of blank paper. The students draw something on each paper so they can "feed" the carnivore. Then we turn the paper over and repeat the process for herbivores. Here's the finished product.



 
If you would like, you can get a copy of the posters I made for FREE! Head on over to TpT to pick them up. If you use them, please let me know how they worked out in your class! Have a great week!

Best wishes,

2 comments:

  1. WOW! I loved this idea so much I used it with mi kiddos and posted in my blog. Thanks!

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  2. Aww this idea is great thank you!!! My kids love it. I found this video which is pretty cool to show kids about carnivores etc.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRdwbfgCbGw&feature=youtu.be

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