This set of activities has to do with zoo animals. It can be really interesting to talk about zoo animals in school because they unite the community of animals and their habitats. Students might enjoy playing different games related to a topic because they having fun, they may even learn about the topic without noticing.
Introduction for “Zoo animals and their Traits“ - Kim Isabell Dinter
The game is called “Zoo Animals and their Traits” because it combines connecting zoo animals with the corresponding traits and facts about them.
Target group and Time
This game is most suitable for children in year 5 to year 7 because the vocabulary that is required for this game is quite simple but there are also a few words that are more difficult. The minimum time needed for this activity is around 10 minutes. The length of this game can be adjusted freely depending on how many cards for each animal one prepares.
Learning objectives
The main objective of this game is to learn something about zoo animals and to be able to describe them. Furthermore, the children practice their reading, explaining, and describing skills since they not only need to read and understand single words but as they turn the cards around they see the words paraphrased in English. Lastly, the children also learn something about the endangerment of zoo animals, why they are poached and what zoos do against that.
Instructions to set up the activity
Print out six zoo animal pictures, prepare at least three cards with traits for each zoo animal.
On the back of the cards: rephrase the words/phrases (functions as a scaffold)
Letting it run
- Spread cards with traits and animal pictures on the ground —> group work: children should talk about their guesses and match the corresponding traits and facts to the zoo animals
- Ask children if all of them know what is meant by every word and repeat them together
- Second level: Spread cards with the word “endangered” on the ground and let the children guess what this word means and if these zoo animals are endangered or not
- Talk about the reasons why these zoo animals are endangered and what role zoos play in relation to species conservation.
Introduction - Eren
This activity teaches students zoo animals in a playful manner.
Target group and Time
The target group is ideally young and in an early stage of learning English since it is a rather playful activity that still requires some basic understanding of English. It should take around 10-15 minutes.
Learning objectives
The students will learn new vocabulary (animals and their features and environment), it will promote their activity and kinaesthetic memory as well as their movement.
Instructions to set up the activity
The activity requires pictures of zoo animals (for sustainability the teacher can paint them on scrap paper). Furthermore, the teacher needs to prepare questions related to the animals. It is important to hold up the correct pictures while asking the questions. The questions are answered by the students imitating the correct animal. For example, if the teacher asks "Which of these two animals has orange fur?" while holding up a picture of an elephant and a tiger the students all roar like a tiger. At the end, the teacher states the correct animal and the students repeat the name of the animal. The questions should not be too hard for the participants to answer, or it won’t be fun. It should definitely be introduced properly so there won’t be misunderstandings.
Letting it run
The students shouldn’t feel overwhelming pressure of being in the spotlight on their own. A possible difficulty might be that students will not know the answer or how to imitate certain animals, in which case the teacher or assistants will have to be prepared to help out.
Introduction for “What animal am I?“ - Lara Filips
This game is supposed to be an icebreaker and slowly introduce the children to the topic acting. It is divided into two parts. First, the children solve a “What animal am I?” quiz, which is read out loud and after every new clue there is a little break so that the students can take a guess. In the second part of the game, the children are the ones who must come to the front and let the others guess which animal they are. There are two options: they can act it out or do a little quiz if they don’t feel comfortable with acting.
Target group and Time
This game is for 5th graders but it can easily be adjusted for other target groups if you use harder or easier quiz questions and different vocabulary or visual aid. The quiz only takes a few minutes while the second part of the game takes a little longer: with 5 students, three rounds of “What animal am I?” are possible to play.
Learning objectives
The students need to use their vocabulary to solve the quiz and to create one of their own. This way they can repeat the vocabulary and memorize it. They are also able to learn some new words like “parrot”. They also need to use the simple present sentence structure to describe what animal they are.
Instructions to set up the activity
First let the students introduce themselves, then let the quiz begin. After the quiz, explain the second part of the game. Do one example round yourself, where the students must guess which animal you are. If you think the questions are too hard, hand them a worksheet with either the answers printed as pictures (of course, in the wrong order) or the questions on it so they can read It while listening to it.
Letting it run
The teacher should always ask if the students understood the questions if they seem uneasy and explain the questions to them when necessary (preferably in English, if needed in German). Also make sure that there is enough space for the children to move around to act their animal out. If they seem too shy to act, make sure that you assure them that describing it is also fine.
Material
Introduction for “Rescue the zoo animals“ - Ufuk
The game helps students learn new vocabulary about the animal kingdom. It is a quiz with animal pictures and scraps of paper with the name of the animal and its natural habitat.
Target group and Time
This game is for grade 5 and 6. The teacher can adapt to the English skill level of the students and insert more difficult animals names for example.
Learning objectives
The students can learn new vocabulary by playing the quiz, learn mnemonics, and put the paper stripes in the right order. Besides those primary learning objectives, the students naturally need to collaborate with one another, pay attention to pronunciation, etc.
Instructions to set up the activity
The teacher needs to print out pictures of animals and sentences with their names and their habitat. The sentences need to be cut in scraps of paper. The students work as a team and help each other to find the correct animal name. After finding the animal’s name, the scraps of paper need to be matched with the right picture and in the right sentence order.
Introduction for “Taboo and Charades cards“ - April Hochberger
The game is about zoo animals and interesting/important information about them, such as habitat, diet, or endangered status.
Target group and Time
The task is for a group of children around 8 years, so grade 4. It takes about 5-10 minutes and should be played in an open space or on a stage.
Learning objectives
The players need to figure out how to describe the animals with words they know or how to mime the animals so other players can guess the correct animal. The pictures on the cards help the students connect their thoughts with pictures and get the opportunity to ask for new vocabulary words. The players can decide if they want to explain a zoo animal card just verbally (taboo) or act out the animal (mime).
Instructions to set up the activity
The teacher should make and print out cards (cards can be adjusted according to target group). Animals which can be chosen are: giraffe, frog, tiger, horse, pig, cat, duck, chicken, flamingo, penguin, snake, crocodile, fish, monkey, lion, and elephant.
Letting it run
As a teacher you can/should let the first student pick a card and, if needed, help the student with missing vocabulary or help the guessing students by giving tips.
