Safari Guide Lesson Plan
Safari Guide
I Spy with My Little Eye: Describing Animals
Target Grade Pre-K - 1st
Objective
Students will be able to identify an animal and describe one physical characteristic using descriptive words (e.g., "really long neck", "fluffy ears").
Materials
- Animal Explorer Slides
- Creature Feature Cards
- My Zoo Discovery Worksheet
- Crayons & Pencils
Vocabulary
- Trunk: An elephant's long nose.
- Describe: To tell what something looks like.
- Feature: A special part of an animal.
Warm-up: I Spy (5 min)
Start the energy high and focus students' eyes!
- Explain: "Today we are animal explorers! We need sharp eyes."
- Play a quick classroom game of I Spy.
- Example: "I spy with my little eye... something blue and fuzzy!"
- Encourage students to use two describing words for their turn.
Video: Me at the Zoo (5 min)
Watch the clip twice. Use these pausing moments:
Pause at 0:02: "Where is the man? What animals are behind him?"
Pause at 0:11: "Jawed says the trunks are 'really, really, really long.' Why did he say 'really' so many times? How else can we describe those trunks?" (e.g., giant, gray, floppy)
Main Activity: Circle Talk (15 min)
Use the Creature Feature Cards to spark discussion.
1
Show the Elephant card. Ask: "Why do elephants need such long trunks? What do they use them for?" (Feeding, drinking, spraying water).
2
Show the Giraffe card. Ask: "What is the 'cool thing' about this friend? How would you describe it?" (e.g., "really long, spotted neck").
3
Show the Bunny card. Encourage descriptive words like "soft," "fluffy," "pointy," or "twitchy."
Closure: Zoo Art (5 min)
- Hand out the My Zoo Discovery worksheet.
- Students draw themselves at the zoo with their favorite animal.
- Verbal Check: As they work, circulate and have students complete the sentence verbally: "The cool thing is..."
Pro Tips
Total Participation: Have students use hand gestures to show "really long" or "fluffy" to involve their bodies in learning.
