We all have basic needs; food, shelter and clothing.  What about wild animals?  How do they take care of their
basic needs?
The intention of this unit is to focus on Science objectives while incorporating literacy , math, art, and Social
Studies skills.  It is not intended to be a unit one can simply pull out and use verbatim, but rather as a
springboard for your own ideas and adaptations.

Unit Objectives:
The learner will;

     be able to categorize given animals into the proper group: "Sleepers", those who hibernate,
     "Movers", those who migrate, and "Make doers", those who adapt to the changes in the
     environment.
     name at least one animal from each group.
     tell what each of the three terms means in their own words.
     observe how a layer of fat and fur help to keep animals warmer in winter.
 

Literacy

When Winter Comes by Pearl Neuman.  A Real Reader by Raintree Publishers  ISBN
8-8172-3519-1
This limited text but informative story tells about how a woodchuck, black bear, red fox, and Canadian geese
adapt to winter changes in their environments.  I think this is an appropriate book to being a unit of this type
with.
Story Reading
After reading this selection, have the students help you list the animals mentioned in the book.  Write these on
the board.
Ask the students to help you by telling you one sentence about what each animal does to get through the winter.
Write these sentences as if the animal were doing the talking:  "I go to sleep," says the black bear.

Give each student a flip book with a line for one dictated sentence on each line.  Students copy the sentences
and draw a picture of the animal with the sentence.
or:
Make individual  books for the children; " When Winter Comes".  Each page could say, "When winter comes, I
(dig a hole and go to sleep) ," says the woodchuck. etc. Students fill in the blank (if they are able) and illustrate.

Give a mini lesson on using quotation marks to set apart the actual words a speaker uses.  This could be used
in conjunction with the individual books.
 

The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader  ISBN  0-02-043300-X
This book was first copyrighted in 1948.  It is a book filled with knowledge for young students about how
animals prepare winter in their woodland homes.  The concepts of hibernation, migration, and adaptation are
introduced for further exploration.
Story Reading
After reading the first two pages, ask the students what they believe the story will be about.  (At this point, they
will probably think it is about a rabbit and his mother.)  Continue reading, pausing to discuss what the different
mentioned animals are doing.  Compare their preparations for winter.  After reading the complete text, help the
children make a written  list on the board of the animals mentioned in the story; placing them into two groups;
birds and mammals.  This would be an excellent time to introduce characteristics of these two animal types.
Extension
Fold a piece of paper in half, dividing into two sections.  Label Birds and Mammals or allow the students to do
this.  Allow them time to draw as many of the animals from the story as they can.

Divide a poster board in half and label one side Birds and the other Mammals.  Give the students glue,
scissors, and old magazines ( good use of those hunting mags ).  Give them time to find, cut out and glue
pictures of the animals from the story and others into the appropriate columns on the board.  Inform the students
that those animals who do not fit into either column will be saved for later.

Sleepers, Movers, Make doers
Help the students to rename the animals in the each of the stories read.  List the animals on the class board.
Let each student choose an animal to illustrate.  Using three large sheets of posterboard, label one each
Sleepers, Movers, and Make doers.  Instruct the students that animals have different ways to get through  the
long, hard winter.  Tell them about hibernation, migration, and adaptation.  Ask students to recall and/or
research the animal they chose and tell which their chosen animal is.  Students glue the animal drawing onto the
correct posterboard.
 

A Little Bit of Winter by Paul Stewart  HarperCollins Publishers
Hedgehog and Rabbit are great pals. But every winter, Hedgehog has to burrow into a cozy spot and sleep
while Rabbit plays in the snow.. Hedgehog is interested in what winter is like. So he asks Rabbit to save him a
little bit of winter. He even writes it on a tree for his forgetful pal. But it's a long, cold winter and Rabbit has a
hard enough time just finding food. He even eats some of the bark that Hedgehog's note is written on. Will
Rabbit remember his best friend's request?  This is a lovely book about friendship.  It also illustrates
hibernation in a manner young students can understand.
Predicting Outcomes
After reading to the point where Rabbit discovers he has eaten some of the message Hedgehog wrote him,
stop and have the students brainstrom as to how they think Rabbit will save a little bit of winter for his friend.
Older students might want to save winter in some way, i.e. poetry, pictures, journal entries, etc.  After finishing
the story, compare the students efforts to that of Rabbit.

If you live in a place that has snow, you might want to allow students to work in small groups and stry to keep a
snowball without refrigeration, or make and freeze some for this activity, or use ice cubes.  Anyway, provide
students with the needed materials (I suppose the best you can do as to what they ask for).  Record materials
and procedures each group uses, and chart the length of time each snowball lasts.
Story Retelling
Younger students could easily retell this story through the use of puppets.  Only a rabbit and hedgehog cutout
puppets glued to craft sticks and a paper tree are needed.
Beginning, Middle, End
Before the lesson, divide large sheets of construction paper into three sections, one for each child.  After
completing the reading of this story, have the students retell it by illustrating what happened in the beginning of
the story on the first section, in the middle of the story on the second section, and at the end of the story on the
third section.  Students who are able to write should add a few sentences or words to help retell in their own
style.
 

Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin  ISBN  0-590-4663-1
Published in 1994 by Scholastic.  It is a Hello Reader, Level 1; preschool-grade 1.  This predictable book tells
how various animals move toward their winter home.  It shows each animal in its home.
Comprehension
List the animals mentioned in the story.  Print one "Over and Under" pattern sheet per student.  Have the
students illustrate each animal in its winter home.
Extension
Type and print out the title, author and story line from the story.  Make one print out in a small font size and one
in a much  larger size.  Use the small print to make individual books which the children illustrate.  The larger print
can be glued onto quarter sheets of poster board , illustrated by the children, and used as a class big book.
The repetitive, easy text makes this book a good choice for this type of activity.