We love when teachers find creative extensions for their lessons plans, especially when they include making arts and crafts animals! Extending your shared or guided reading lesson with a fun post-reading activity is a great way to reinforce what each student has read while offering an opportunity for oral language interactions.  In the following example, we show a way to add some fun to an elephant lesson.  

The Lesson Plan :  A unit on elephants for small or whole group.  Reading level K-1.

Resource :   Elephant   by Claire Vial & Graham Meadows, part of the   Zoozoo Into the Wild   nonfiction.

Post-Reading Activity :  Set up the activity below in your literacy center or do as a shared classroom activity.

The above excerpt from the book, " Elephant , " by  Claire Vial & Graham Meadows, shows how elephants use their tusks and trunk in everyday life. As you read together, note the different ways that elephants interact with their world.

Extension Activity

Materials: 1 paper plate per student with a hole cut in the middle construction paper (this can be pre-cut into shapes for younger children) scissors (if the shapes are not pre-cut) gray paint or pastels glue markers, pens, pastels, crayons, or colored pencils for decorating have each student bring an old sock from home (optional)

  Instructions:

Depending on how comfortable your kids are with scissors, you can either have them cut out the ears, tusks, and eyes themselves (safety scissors not pictured) or pre-cut them before class.  You can even substitute googly eyes or simply have them draw on the tusks and eyes if you want. Feel free to make this project your own! 

Color in or paint the plate and the eyes.  In this example, I've used gray construction paper for the ears, so I don't have to color that in too.  

Glue the eyes, tusks, and ears onto the plate.

Now, the really fun part!  I'm using an old sock in this picture for the trunk, but bare hands work just as well.  Voilà!   You have your elephant, complete with a trunk!  

*Extra Credit*

Want to really tie-in the elephant with the reading?  Use some of your leftover art supplies to make active parts of the story.  In the picture below, I've made a tree and little pond so that the "elephant" can use its "big trunk to drink." 

SEND US A PICTURE OF YOUR STUDENTS' ELEPHANT ART PROJECT AND WE'll POST THEM ON CRITTER'S CORNER AND SEND YOU A FREE COPY OF   ELEPHANT   FOR YOUR CLASSROOM!!!  Just email a photo and your mailing address to   Jacqueline@HamerayPublishing.com .  

To read an entire book from the   Zoozoo Into the Wild   series, please click here: