Five little ducks that I once knew,
Fat were three and skinny were two.
But, the one little duck with the feather on his back,
He ruled the others with a quack, quack, quack!
Quack, quack, quack!
Quack, quack, quack!
He ruled the others with a quack, quack, quack!

Down to the water they would go,
Wiggle woggle, wiggle woggle,
To and fro,
But, the one little duck with the feather on his back,
He ruled the others with a quack, quack, quack!
Quack, quack, quack!
Quack, quack, quack!
He ruled the others with a quack, quack, quack!

(sing the following verse slowly)
Down from the water they would come,
Wiggle woggle, wiggle woggle,
Ho, ho, hum,
But, the one little duck with the feather on his back,
He ruled the others with a quack, quack, quack!
Quack, quack, quack!
Quack, quack, quack!
He ruled the others with a quack, quack, quack!

Kittens, puppies, chicks and foals,
Chicks and foals, chicks and foals.
Kittens, puppies, chicks and foals,
I can name some more.

Goslings, ducklings, lambs and calves,
Lambs and calves, lambs and calves.
Goslings, ducklings, lambs and calves,
I like baby animals.

Oink, oink, oink, oink, little pig,
Can you do a little jig?
In the bright light of the sun,
Are you having lots of fun?
Oink, oink, oink, oink, little pig,
I think that you will grow big.

(Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

The pigs are pink and plump,
The pigs are pink and plump.
They keep cool in mud all day,
The pigs are pink and plump.

The pigs have curly tails,
The pigs have curly tails.
The mother pig is called a sow,
The pigs have curly tails.

The piglets are so cute,
The piglets are so cute.
The piglets are the baby pigs,
The piglets are so cute.

I am a little bunny.
Eyes on the sides of my head.
I see to the left and right,
Behind me and ahead.

I am a little bunny,
These are my very long ears.
They help me hear many sounds,
I can hear from far and near.

I am a little bunny,
My strong legs are for jumping.
Warning others of danger,
I use my feet for thumping.

I am a mother bunny,
With a white and fluffy tail.
I lift it up into the air,
Babies now follow my trail.

Bunny Pokey

 You put your bunny ears in,
You put your bunny ears out,
You put your bunny ears in,
And you shake them all about.
You do the Bunny-Pokey,
And you hop yourself around-
That's what it's all about!

You put your bunny nose in,
You put your bunny nose out,
You put your bunny nose in,
And you shake them all about.
You do the Bunny-Pokey,
And you hop yourself around-
That's what it's all about!

You put your bunny tail in,
You put your bunny tail out,
You put your bunny tail in,
And you shake them all about.
You do the Bunny-Pokey,
And you hop yourself around-
That's what it's all about!

This little bunny has two pink eyes.
This little bunny is very wise.
This little bunny is soft as silk.
This little bunny is white as milk.
This little bunny nibbles away
At cabbages and carrots the livelong day!

The Duck Song

I see a duck.
The duck sees me.
I like the ducks.
The ducks like me.
Big green ducks.
One, two, three.
I like the ducks
and the ducks like me.

Five Little Pigs

Five little pigs went out to play.
The first little pig said,
"Let's go to the woods today."
The second little pig said,
"What will we do there?"
The third little pig said,
"We'll look for our mother."
The fourth little pig said,
"What will we do when we find her?"
"We'll hug her and kiss her and kiss her!"
Said the fifth little pig.

Shared Reading

The New Baby Calf
by Edith Newlin Chase

• Read the book to students, displaying the text and the illustrations as you read.
• Reread the book, inviting students to read the repetitive lines with you as you slowly underline the text with your hand. The large and bold illustrations will draw students' attention during this initial reading. (Focus on the details in the illustrations during this lesson. Plan lesson extensions to focus attention on the printed text.)
• Share experiences and exchange ideas about living on or visiting a farm.
• Encourage students to interpret the information conveyed through the illustrations. For example, have students describe the new calf as it appears in the illustrations. Appropriate questions may include:
  How big is the calf? How heavy do you think one might be? How would it feel to touch? How does the calf move, sound and change throughout the story? What is the weather like at the beginning of the book? At the end? How do you know?
• Construct a story map with the students.
• Ask students what other baby animals they would like to read about. List these. Invite all students to bring pictures and books from home to add to the resource collection on this topic.

Guided Reading
Baby Animals

Introducing the Book
Direct children’s attention to the front cover of the book (do not pass out the books until you have finished discussing the cover and the title page). Point to the title of the book, Baby Animals. Explain that the title is always on the front cover. Ask: What animal do you see? Can you tell what this book will be about from the title and the picture? Point to the names of the author and the illustrator and explain that their names are always on the front cover.

Turn to the title page. Point to the title of the book and the names of the author and illustrator. Explain that this information is also on the title page. Ask: What do you see on the title page that is different from the front cover? Direct them to the picture of the kitten. Ask: Does this picture give you more information about what the book is about?

Building Background
Ask children if they have pets at home. For those children who do not have pets, ask them to think of one they would like to have. Write their responses on the chalkboard or chart paper, listing the pet names vertically. Ask: Did you get your pet when it was a baby or a grown animal? Explain to children that most animals have a baby name before they have a grown-up name. For example, calf is the name for a baby cow, a seal, an elephant, a giraffe, or a whale. Ask children to look at the pet names on the chalkboard or chart paper. Ask: What do you think their baby names are? Write responses, if any, next to the pet names. If some children do not know the baby names, say the name, ask children to repeat the name, and then write the name on the chalkboard or chart paper, and repeat again. Extend the activity by brainstorming other baby animal names— for example, a yearling is the baby name for a horse; a tadpole is the baby name for a frog.

Ask children where baby animals live, other than in children’s homes. Ask: Can they live on a farm? Where would they sleep? (barn) Can they live in a zoo?

Book Walk
Walk children through the book, and on each page ask them if they know the name of the baby animal they see. If they do not know, tell them the name.

Reading Strategies
Discuss any reading strategies children can use to help them read.

Phonological Awareness
beginning sounds /k/, /p/, /l/

Guess it!
In this activity, you will begin by orally segmenting the names of animals. Children then guess the identity of the animal. For example, tell children that you are thinking of the names of baby animals. Children must guess each animal’s name.
Example:
Teacher: I’m thinking of an animal. It’s a k…….itten. What am I thinking of?
Children: A kitten!

Continue the activity with p…uppy, ch…icken, c…ub, c…alf, k…id, and
l…amb.

Extension
Continue with other categories such as zoo animals, classroom objects, numbers, or colors.

Phonics
Consonant k

Begin by rereading the story. For children who need support, provide phonetic awareness exercises such as oral blending.

Explain to children that the letter k stands for the /k/ sound as in the word kitten. Write the word kitten on the chalkboard or chart paper as you display the picture of the kitten from the book Baby Animals. Then blend the word kitten aloud as you run your finger under each letter. Have one of the children underline the letter k. Point to the letter and ask children to tell you the sound that the letter stands for. Continue by having children generate a list of words containing the /k/ sound (kite, kangaroo, keep, kettle, key, kid, kind, king, kiss, kit). List these words on the chalkboard or chart paper.

Write the following words and sentences on the chalkboard or chart paper. The first line focuses on the new sound-spelling. The second line contains other sound-spellings.
kite keep kitten
pet pull puddle

Read the words and then have children repeat the words. Ask them to put the words into sentences, such as:
The kitten is in the puddle.
My pet is a kitten.

Next, help children to make other words that begin with the /k/ sound and use them in sentences.


Word Work
High utility Words
Write the words this, is, and a on the chalkboard. Give each child three cards. Ask them to copy the words on their cards. Point to the word, read it, and then ask children to read it back to you. Have them find the card on their desk and hold it up for you to see. Help children to make up sentences with the words this, is, and a. Write the sentences on the chalkboard. Read the sentences. Ask for a volunteer to trace each letter naming the letter as they go. Then have them say the whole word. Point out the distinguishing features of the words.

Sounds and Letters
Explain that when we say a word, the number of sounds we say is not always the same as the number of letters needed to write the same word. To help children understand, make three columns on the chalkboard or chart paper. Write the words baby, animals, kitten, puppy, chick, cub, calf, kid, and lamb in the first column, the word sounds in the second column, and the word letters in the third column. Read each word and have children listen carefully for the number of sounds they hear. Write the number of sounds in the sound column. Have them count the letters. Write the number of letters in the letter column. When you finish with each word, ask volunteers to underline the letters making up the sounds in the word—for example, b-a-b-y. Give children different colored markers for underlining.
Example:
baby 4 sounds 4 letters

Punctuation
As you read the story, discuss capitalization and the punctuation mark period. Write sentences on the chalkboard or chart paper and ask volunteers to help finish the sentences (by capitalizing the first word in the sentence and putting a period at the end of the sentence). For example:
calf is the baby name for a cow
the kitten played with yarn

Writing Connection
Invite children to use the pattern of Baby Animals to create a new story. Suggest they use different animals such as those that live in the zoo—a lion, tiger, panda, or monkey. Help them to write their story on chart paper and then ask them to illustrate what they have written. Have them add capitals and periods to their sentences. When they are finished with the activity, help them to read their new story aloud to other children in the classroom.

Reading Independently
Ask children to read the book alone and then with a partner. When they read with a partner, ask them to share with each other what they know about different pets or what they would like to know.

Independent Reading

Level B
Milk (Rigby)
Where are the Babies? (Rigby)
Big and Little (Rigby)

Level C
Baby Animals (Rigby)
Growing (Rigby)
Farm Animals (Rigby)
Baby Animals (Wright)

Shared Writing

Create a Predicable Chart by having students choose an animal mother and tell what she does for her baby:

1. The mother horse gallops with her ______________.
2. The mother cow gives milk for her _______________.
3. The mother hen looks for worms for her _____________.
4. The mother dog plays with her ______________.
5. The mother duck swims with her ______________.
6. The mother cat catches a mouse for her ______________.
7. The mother goat nibbles grass with her __________.
8. The mother pig is busy caring for her ____________.
9. The mother sheep calls her ______________.
10. The mother fox hunts for her _______________.

Interactive Writing

Use Interactive Writing to create a reference chart for the names of animals and their babies.  Make three columns with the headings, Father, Mother, Baby.  In each column have the students write what each animal is called.

Independent Writing

Write a story about your favorite baby animal. Make sure you explain why this baby animal is your favorite.

Draw a picture to go with your story, showing where the baby animal lives.

Little Readers

Have students work as a class to create a farm animal babies book. Allow each child to complete one page, drawing a picture of both the baby and the parent. Instruct students to write a sentence to go with their picture at the bottom. Combine all pictures into a class book.

Animal Card
Classification

Collect or photocopy a variety of baby animals and their adult counterparts. Place each picture on an individual sheet of oaktag and write the name of each animal on the bottom or top of the picture. Cover with clear contact paper to make animal sorting cards. Share the cards with children during group time. Ask children to identify which animals are babies and which animals are adults. Assist them in matching the baby animal with the corresponding adult animal.

Living Tic-Tack-Toe

Make a tick-tack-toe pattern on the floor with masking tape. Have children form teams of X's and 0's. As you call the name of a mother animal for a team, the player who is up must correctly name the offspring. If the player answers correctly, she or he takes a place in the boxes. The first team to make a line of three gets to make all the noises at once. Games continue until all children have had at least one turn. A great activity for strategy and predicting outcomes!

Sorting and Counting

Use picture cards of animal babies and their parents to sort and count.

Animal Addition

Practice simple addition and subtraction by writing number sentences and using plastic animals as manipulatives. 
Ex: 1 piglet + 4 piglets = 5 piglets

Baby Animal Color Sorting

    This simple color sorting activity promotes language acquisition of animal names as well as color matching. Using small primary colored animal counters purchased at a local educational store, the children match an animal to the correct colored barn. Barns were run off on primary colors of construction paper, cut and laminated to last longer.

More / Less Animal Counting

With small plastic farm animals in a basket, a child grabs a handful and counts their animals. A second child spins a spinner with the words "more" on one side and "less" on the other. (You can also introduce them to the symbols < > paired with the words.) If the second child spins to the word more, they must count out more farm animals than the first student. If they land on less they will count out less animals.  

Chick Counting

Materials:
Numeral Cards 1 - 10
Mat
Basket
nest of 55 baby chicks used as counters
11 plastic eggs
(the ones that open/are empty inside),
Put numerals on each of them, 0-10 (in place of numeral cards or as an addition)

1.  Place numeral cards in mixed array.
2.  Tell the children that they are going to put the numerals 1 - 10 in order along the top of the mat. The numeral name is said as it is placed in sequence.
3. Tell the children that they will put the corresponding number of counters under each numeral card and shows how to arrange the counters in pairs, sets of two.
4. Point to "1" and says, "This is one". Place two under "2", counting "one", "two", as you place them. This procedure is followed through "10" when all the counters are used.

A game can be played in which the chicks are all laid out, and the child has to pick an egg from the basket. When they do, they must find the number of chicks that belong to that egg and put them in. (for example, pick an egg with the number "2" on it and put two chicks in it, and so on.) The game can be played with more than one child at a time. Make sure they count each chick as they put them in the egg. At the end, save the number "0" for the last one to do. They will see that there are no more chicks in the basket and probably say, "There's no more chicks!". That's when you teach them what the number "0" means, and also explains why the egg with the "0" on it is empty.

Animal Match

Make animal cards by gluing or drawing pictures of adult farm animals, their babies, and the products they provide on separate index cards. Examples: adult cow, calf, dairy products; sheep, lamb, wool clothing; hen, chick, eggs.

Mix up the cards and ask the children to match the adult animal to the baby animal, and to match the animal to the product it provides. Can the children say the name of the adult animal? The baby animal? Imitate the animal sound? Think of more animal products?

Center Sequencing

Copy lines of text, such as those from The New Baby Calf , on sentence strips. (Choose sentences such as those on pages 4, 12 and 20.) Students can sequence the sentences and sentence parts to construct meaningful text.

Computer Center

This site is a great resource for a computer center activity:

www.snowcrest.net/freemanl/ animals/babies/index.html

Have students participate individually, in pairs, in small groups, or large group to benefit from these engaging activities about young and adult animals.

Baby Animal Puppetry

Use Farm Animal puppets as an addition to the drama center.  Have the students create skits about baby animals and their parents.

Fun on the Farm
Block Center

Add lots of farm animal families to your block center for some "Fun on the Farm" play!

A Baby Book
at the Writing Center

Have the children make a baby book for a baby farm animal.  Make birth announcements, give them a name.  Write about all their firsts - first step, first food, etc. Draw pictures of the animals and put them in their baby books. 

Barefoot Chicks

What You Need:

Each student chooses a construction paper for background. Children take one shoe and sock off. (Giggling will follow) Have students come up one at a time, to gently dip their foot in the yellow tempera paint. Help student "hop" over to their paper (which is placed on the floor). Each will step on their paper, making a footprint. The heel becomes the chick's 'head' As paint is drying, children may wish to sprinkle on glue to add cornmeal, so their chick has something to eat. Children decorate their footprint to look like a new Spring chick. You can use orange paint to add a beak and black paint for the feet.

Baby Chicks

What you will need:

• One 1-inch yellow pom
• One ½-inch yellow pom
• Small piece of orange felt
• Wiggle eyes
• Glue

Glue ½-inch and 1-inch yellow pom together. Cut out a small orange felt beak and glue in place. Glue on two wiggle eyes. Allow glue to dry.

Paper Plate Piglet Faces

Materials:
Large Paper plates
Pink cupcake liners
Pink tempera
Pink construction paper scraps
Wiggly craft eyes (or make construction paper eyes)

This is usually a two day project. Students paint their plates pink and let dry. On the second day, students glue on eyes, pink cupcake liners for noses and cut pink construction paper ears. A mouth can be drawn with a marker.

Fingerpaint & Feather
Ducklings

Materials:
Fingerpaint paper
Yellow finger paint
Yellow or white craft feathers
Construction paper scraps or wiggly craft eyes

This is a two day project. On day one, the children finger paint using yellow finger paint. After drying, draw a simple-to-cut duck pattern on the backside of the painting. Children cut out the duck, glue on feathers and eyes to complete project.

Paper Bag Bunny

Materials:
2 white paper lunch bags
newspaper
Glue, tape
Felt tip pens
One pink 1 1/2" pom pom
Crepe paper or ribbon
White and pink construction paper
Scissors
White pipe cleaners or curling ribbon
Cotton ball

Procedure:
Stuff newspaper fully into one lunch.  Stuff the other one lightly.  Tape the ends of the bags together with the lightly stuffed on as the head.  Cut eyes, mouth, and ears out of construction paper or draw them on.  Add a pink pom pom nose and whiskers from pipe cleaners or curling ribbon.Draw bunny feet with a felt pen along the bottom of the bag, or make from construction paper and tape to bottom.  Add a cotton ball tail.  Tie crepe paper or ribbon in a bow around the bunny's neck.

Handprint Lamb

Materials Needed:
Pink Construction Paper
Glue
Popcorn
Crayons

Trace around  hand on a piece of pink construction paper. Make sure your finger are spread as wide apart as possible. Carefully cut out your handprint. Glue on popcorn all over the palm part of your handprint. The thumb will be the lamb's head and the fingers will be the legs! Using the crayons, draw a face.

Baby Animal Sounds

Select one child to be the mother or father farm animal. The best animals to choose would be sheep, chickens, or cows. Take the mother farm animal to a remote corner of the room and have the animal hide its eyes. Choose one or two of the remaining children to be the babies. All of the children must cover their mouths, as the mother returns to find her babies. The children chosen to be the babies make tiny baas or peeps or moos. The mother or father must listen very carefully to find the babies.

The Bunny Hop

It's fun to teach your children this favorite dance!

The moves:
Right, right
Left, left
Up
Back
Hop, hop, hop!

Put your right foot forward
Put your left foot out
Do the Bunny Hop
Hop, hop, hop!

Dance the new creation
It's the new sensation
Do the Bunny Hop
Hop, hop, hop!

Let's all join in the fun
Father, mother, son
Do the Bunny Hop
Hop, hop, hop!

Back to the Barn

Establish where the barn is (for example, at the front of the room) and randomly hand out names of mother and baby animals. When you says, "The barn door is open," all the baby animals can escape the barn and scatter to various spots in the room. The adults must stay in the barn. To get everyone back to the barn safely, the baby animals must say their mothers' name correctly as you call on them. The baby animal must then find its mother in the barn. The two the raise their hands together and make the right sound

Pig Pen

Instead of letting the children read on the reading carpet, create a pig pen.

Use either one really large box, or two smaller ones. Break it down so that the flaps are cut off, and you just have the four sides (*double up two sides if you are using two boxes*). The kids painted the outside of it, and used one flap as the door. A certain number of children were allowed to read inside. Around the edges, she used clothes pins to attach a number of different books about pigs. I imagine you could make this a horse corral, a sheep fold, etc. The children loved it, and it folded down easily when not in use.

Old MacDonald's
Baby Animal Farm 

Change the words to "Old MacDonald's Farm" to "and on his farm he had baby animals..." Assist children in using the words for the particular baby animals. Invite children to act out each animal with movements and animal sounds. Use props such as plastic baby animals or baby animal puzzle pieces as you sing your song.

Baby Animals
Come to School

Plan a special day for children to bring their favorite "baby animal" stuffed toys to school. Include their animals in your greeting song or circle time rituals. Invite children to use their animals in different areas of the classroom. Create a language experience chart with children to encourage them to share information about their animals. What type of baby animal is it? What is your baby animal's name? How do you take care of your baby animal?

Baby Animal Books

Collect a variety of books for your class library about baby animals, including photographic books for very young children. Read the books with the children each day. Encourage the children to learn and use words to describe baby animals. Talk about the types of coats different animals have, including feathers or fur, or the different types of skin fish or reptiles have. Which animals have many babies? Which animals only have one baby at a time? How do adult animals care for their babies?