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Jingle Jangle Scarecrow
(tune:The Eensy Weensy Spider)

When all the cows are sleeping
And the sun has gone to bed,
Up jumped the scarecrow,
And this is what he said:
"I'm a jingle jangle scarecrow With a flippy floppy hat,
I can shake my hands like this And shake my feet like that."

When all the hens were roosting And the moon's behind the cloud,
Up jumped the scarecrow,
And this is what he said:
"I'm a jingle jangle scarecrow With a flippy floppy hat,
I can shake my hands like this And shake my feet like that."

Scarecrow
(tune: "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around")

Scarecrow, Scarecrow, turn around.
Scarecrow, scarecrow, jump up and down
Scarecrow, scarecrow, arms up high
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, wink one eye
Scarecrow, scarecrow, bend your knee
Scarecrow, scarecrow, flap in the breeze
Scarecrow, scarecrow, climb into bed
Scarecrow, scarecrow, rest your head

Scarecrow Fingerplay
(tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a scary scarecrow made of straw,
(stand tall, and stretch out arms)
Listening for the crows to caw.
(cup hands to ears)
I watch the field all day and all night,too.
(hand to brow, searching motion)
If a crow comes by, I just say "Boo!"
(hands on your hips and shout Boo)

I'm a Little Scarecrow
(tune: I'm a Little Teapot)
I'm a little scarecrow,
Raggedy and worn.
I wear a hat,
And a shirt that's torn.
When the crows come,
I wave and shout,
"Away from my garden ----
Get on out!"

The Floppy, floppy scarecrow
Guards his fields all day.
He waves his floppy, floppy hands
To scare the crows away!

Repeat and replace hands with
arms, toes, head, legs, etc.…

Scarecrows
(tune: Sing a Song of Sixpence)

We're the farmer's scarecrows
We scare away the birds,
We keep the farmer's corn safe
Without any words;
But when Halloween comes
We jump out of the ground
And we scare the boys and girls
When they come walking 'round.
Boo!

Scarecrow

I'm a raggle-taggle scarecrow,
And to a stick I'm tied
I'm the guardian of the garden
A job I do with pride!

My jeans are torn and tattered
My body stuffed with hay
I flip and flap around
And scare the crows away!

How Scary Can You Be?

Scarecrow, scarecrow,
How scary can you be?
You scared a crow
But you didn't scare me!

Scarecrow, scarecrow,
How scary can you be?
You scared a raccoon
But you didn't scare me!

(Make into an interactive chart and substitute the word raccoon for other animals.)

Five Black Crows
(tune: Five Green and Speckled Frogs)

Five crows all shiny black,
Sat on a scarecrow's back
Eating some most delicious corn.
Yum, yum!
Scarecrow winked and shouted, "Boo!"
Scared a crow and away he flew
Now there are four black shiny crows.
Caw, caw!

(Continue until you have no more crows!)

The Little Scarecrow Boy
by Margaret Wise Brown

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
by Linda Williams

Barn Dance
by John Archimbault

The Lonely Scarecrow
by Tim Preston

The Scarecrow's Hat
by Ken Brown

Nothing at All
by Denys Cazet

Scarecrow
by Cynthia Rylant

Jeb Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch
by Jana Dillon

Shared Reading

I am a scarecrow.

See my brown hat.
See my red shirt.
See my black crow.
See my blue pants.
See my black shoes.

Purchase one of those tall and inexpensive jointed cardboard scarecrows. Attach him to the classroom wall or door, low enough for the children to touch and see pretty-much eye to eye.  On sentence strips, write the above sentences, and  attach them next to the appropriate part of the scarecrow to help the students read.  This activity builds fluency, sight word vocabulary, and is a fun addition to Read the Room and Write the Room literacy centers.

Guided Reading

In your guided reading group, play the auditory discrimination game "Scarecrow Sam Likes the Letter Ss". Make a scarecrow with pockets in his overalls.  Put pictures on the back of pumpkin shapes.  If the picture starts with the /s/ sound, put it in Scarecrow Sam's overall pocket.

Independent Reading

Try these titles for independent reading or use class made books with simple text.

Shared Writing/Predictable Chart

The scarecrow scared the _____________. 
Make into a class book.

  Interactive Writing

Using the text from the Shared Reading activity, "I am a Scarecrow", make sentence strips for each line, leaving out the color words.  Have the children fill in the missing words.
Make individual books for each student to complete and illustrate.

Independent Writing

Use your scarecrow to prompt journal topics about scarecrows and the fall season.

Number Recognition through 10

Duplicate 11 crow templates, color, number 0-10 and laminate.
*Explain the directions to the class. 
*You will be the scarecrow in the field.
*Distribute the numbered crows to random students.
*When everyone is ready you call out "caw, caw, caw"
*The students with the crows must "Fly" up and arrange themselves in order from 0-10.
*The student's who do not have crows will call out "Caw, caw, caw" if the crows have arranged themselves in the correct order.  If you see they are not in the correct order, you (the scarecrow) calls out "caw, caw, caw" again until they are correct.
*Have the crows number off loudly before you collect the crows and they return to their seats.
*Play this 2-3 times so that everyone has a turn being a crow.
Other Options:
**Reverse order from 10-0
**The scarecrow calls out for a specific number such as "Caw, caw, caw-who comes after 5?"
6 would fly up as the class "caws" for his correct answer.

Scarecrow Measurement

Measure your scarecrow's length using non standard units of measurement~~ears of corn, etc.

Scarecrow Glyph

Hat - 4 years old - orange
         5 years old - blue
         6 years old - yellow

Shirt - I am the oldest in my family - red
           I am a middle child in my family - yellow
           I am the youngest child in my family - blue
           I am the only child in my family - green

Pants - I have a pet - blue
           I don't have a pet - green

Patches on the knees - Choose your favorite -
           I like to draw - dots on your patches
           I like to sing - stripes on your patches
           I like to read - plaid patches

Eyes - girl - brown
          boy - black

Nose - I like fall - triangle
          I don't like fall - circle

Buttons on your shirt - draw as many as the number of people
          in your family

More Scarecrow Math

Make a scarecrow with pattern blocks.
Name your scarecrow, get suggestions, vote and graph the results.

Scarecrows

Take the pattern of a gingerbread man and cut them out.  Let the children glue scraps of fabric onto them to make scarecrows.

Five Black Crows

The Five Black Crows song is great for a pocket chart.  Make scarecrow templates with numerals on them.  As you sing the song, change the number words and take a scarecrow away.

The Floppy Scarecrow

The floppy, floppy Scarecrow
Guards his field all day.
He waves his floppy _____
To scare the crows away!

Have your children do the action poem and listen for the different body parts.
OR
Write the poem on sentence strips and place in your pocket chart.
Say the poem several times replacing the blank with hands, feet, head, arms, legs, etc.

LITTLE Scarecrow Art Project
Scarecrow Lunch Bag Puppet

Materials:
small size lunch bags
medium size lunch bags
various colors of construction paper
tape
glue
newspaper

*Stuff a small lunch bag half full of paper.
*Twist and tape the bag shut. (This will be the head)
*Cut facial features from construction paper and glue on.
*Use the medium size lunch bag for the body.  (Opening side down)
*Cut an x in each side of the med.size bag near the top.
*Roll a piece of brown paper into a tube.
*Slide the tube through the x openings for arms.
  (From 1 side through to the other) and secure with tape.
*Make a small cut in the bottom part of the med. size bag and push and glue the head into this.
*Make straw from thin strips of yellow construction paper for the hair.  These strips should also be glued around the neck and out of the arm tube openings.
*Cut squares, circles and other shapes for the patches and glue to the body of the scarecrow.

BIG Scarecrow Art Project
Grocery Bag Scarecrow

(Divide your class into 4 or 5 groups giving each group a stuffing task, or other task)

Supplies needed:
1 grocery sack
1 black marker (permanent)
1 red marker (permanent)
newspaper
string
scissors
diaper pins or large safety pins
wooden stick
tape
old clothing

*Wrinkle grocery sack to "age"-smooth out
*Draw eyes and mouth-facial features
*Tear and wad up newspaper-to stuff head of scarecrow
*Form a neck by closing up the sack, while shaping head
*Tie off with rag strip of a string
*Tie off each sleeve and pant leg and continue to stuff
*Secure body with large diaper pins
*Good to use a wooden stick to hold up head by poking stick through neck opening in head and down into the shirt neck opening (Or a mop or broom handle can be used to protrude through the back of the shirt if you plan to stick it in the ground)
*Dress up scarecrow with an old hat, jewelry, gloves, shoes, etc.
*Add hair made of cut pieces of newspaper, construction paper, yarn, etc.
*Arrange scarecrow around pumpkins, cornstalk, etc. in your classroom for the kids to enjoy

Another Paper Bag Scarecrow

Need: Small & medium brown paper bags, colored paper, markers, crayons, newspaper, tape

Directions: Assemble body by stuffing medium brown paper bag with crumpled 
newspaper. Fold the top closed and tape it shut. Assemble head by filling small paper bag with more crumpled newspaper about 2/3 full. Twist and tape shut. Make a hole in the body to insert the twisted end of the head into. Tape into place. Cut arms and  legs out of brown paper and glue or tape to body. Make "hay" by cutting paper bags into thin strips about 2-3" long (longer for hair). Glue "hay" around neck, wrists and ankles. Also glue longer strips to head for hair. Decorate using markers or crayons 
and colored paper to create a face for your scarecrow and patches for his clothes.

Make a Real Scarecrow

• Make scarecrows one week before you begin your unit, Send a letter to the parents explaining the project. Ask each parent to send in one child sized long sleeve shirt, one child sized pair of long pants, one solid colored pillowcase, and one newspaper (each item clearly labeled with the child's name.)   Explain that the clothes will not be returned in their original condition. Have them check off if they can't provide a certain item and tell them that it will be provided for their child.  You might also ask parents to send in extras for other children. 
  In another letter, ask for parents to come in and volunteer to help sew the scarecrows together. Give them a choice of 2 days and times. The more volunteers you get, the quicker the project goes.
• Day 1) Legs (no parents needed) - Use string to tie the bottoms of the legs of the pants. The children crumple pieces of newspaper into balls and stuff the pants. When finished, it looks like a full pair of pants.
• Day 2) Shirts (parents needed)- Use string to tie the end of each sleeve and the bottom of the shirt. The children crumple pieces of newspaper into balls and stuff the shirt making sure to get inside the sleeves.  The children bring their stuffed shirt and pants over to a parent and the parent sews them together. *** Remind the parents to sew the front of the shirt to the front of the pants!
• Day 3) Head (parents needed) - Cut the pillowcase in half. Two children can really use one pillowcase. The children spread the pillowcase onto the floor and place pieces of crumpled newspaper into the center. Ask them to decide how big they want the head to be.  When they are ready, wrap the pillowcase around the newspaper balls and tie it at the bottom.  The children bring their sewn shirt and pants over to a parent and the parent sews the head to the body.
• Day 4) Decorating (no parents needed)- The children use any materials that they would like to decorate their scarecrows. They paint the face, use buttons for the eyes, pom-poms, yarn for hair, felt scraps for decorations, etc.
• Day 5) Sticks (no parents needed)- Use one wooden dowel
  (3 feet long) per child..  The child lays the scarecrow on its "belly." Use a scissors to cut a hole through the pants, shirt, and neck. The child pushes a wooden dowel through the holes. Use a hammer and one thumbtack to attach the scarecrow to the dowel (the thumbtack usually goes through the top of the shirt and into the top of the dowel.)
  
  NOTES:
  • All of the string tying and pillowcase cutting is done before the children come to school. Put their pants, shirts, or pillowcases (depending on the day) in their cubbies, ready to be stuffed.
  • If you do not have the time to do a complete scarecrow for each child, try making one or two per class.  Instead of requesting child sized clothing, ask for things that a scarecrow might wear. Then vote on what to use and make the scarecrows. 
  • Have children write stories about their scarecrow  What is his name?  What is his personality like?  What does he like to eat, do, etc.?
  • Take lots of pictures. Put together a scarecrow book which describes the sequence and shows each child with his/her individual scarecrow.  

Scarecrow Movements

Play all types of instrumental music (classical, jazz, modern, etc.)  Have the children move the way a scarecrow would move in rhythm to the music.

Scarecrows 

Take a brown sandwich bag and cut the bottom off. Fold bag out flat and fold four corners down and staple. Now stuff with newspaper and fold over two remaining openings and staple. Use red, orange, and yellow construction paper to make a hat, a bow for the neck tie. Use buttons for eyes and a nose, and raffia paper for hair. To top it off, put a feather in his hat!

The Scarecrow picks a pumpkin... (corn, leaf, etc.)

Ahead of time make necklaces with different fall pictures...examples... Scarecrow, pumpkin, Indian corn, leaves, etc.

Start with one child being the scarecrow in the middle.
Sing the song.  At each verse, the child puts the appropriate necklace on another child  and they join him/her in the middle of the circle. Continue with the scarecrow   choosing a leaf...etc.

Mrs. Anderson's Scarecrow Unit

The Little Old Lady
Who Was Not
Afraid of Anything