HS Jungle Animals

Interest Area Changes to Environment

Plastic Jungle Animals

Nest

Veterinarian Kit

Animal Costumes

Animal Paper Plates

Paper Plates

Cotton Balls

Leaves

Stuffed Animals

Stuffed Birds / Bird Nest

Binoculars

Safari Hats

Safari Vest (can make this out of paper bag)

Plastic Snakes

Jungle Stampers

Jungle Animal Cookie Cutters

Tissue Paper

Animal Stickers

Plastic Frogs

Animal Print Fabric Scraps

Butterfly Net

Canteen

Play Camera

Safari Map

Animal bottles

​Safari Truck (made out of cardboard)

****Turn sensory and water table into Jungle Habitats!

Make a river down the middle using a wide blue ribbon (smaller than 12 inches) or blue felt.  Place small plastic pots of fern like plants in various places in the sand.  Make a grassy area, using cut grass or hay.  Place some large rocks (can use waded up brown paper bags) around the table.  Set out some plastic jungle animals.

Let your children take turns placing the animals in their natural habitats.

Teaching Concepts for Large Group

1.  What animals would you see in the jungle? What is the difference between the animals in the jungle and the animals in the zoo? (Habitat, advanced language)

2. What do jungle animals eat?

PANTHERS – eat meat.

SNAKES – rodents, frogs, small animals.

MONKEYS – bananas, and other fruits.

ZEBRAS – tall grasses.

GIRAFFES – eat leaves off tall trees.

ELEPHANTS – eat leaves from trees, shrubs, and shoots.

CHEETAHS – eat meat.

ALLIGATORS – eat meat.

RHINOCEROS – eat plants.

HIPPOPOTAMUS – eat grass.

BIRDS – eat insects and seeds.

3.  How many layers are in the jungle?  Below is some information on the layers, please individualize and be sure to discuss this in away the children will understand.

Emergents – The tallest trees in the jungle reaching heights of up to 270 ft. Animals found here include the harpy eagle, squirrel monkey, and hummingbirds.

Understory – The layer just under the canopy has dim light and the interior is moist and cool. The trees smaller with thin trunks. Vines, shrubs, and small ferns are plentiful. Leaf-eating animals and insect-eating birds live. Some animals include the toucan, spider monkey, ocelot, iguana.

Forest floor – Few flowering plants exist on the floor. Less than 1% of the suns light reaches the floor. Ferns, herbs, mosses, fungi, and broad-leafed plants grow on the floor. There are a few small gaps where sunlight gets through and supporst shrubs and grasses. There are a lot of fungi, termites, bacteria and insects that live off of fallen trees. Animals living in this part include snakes and insects. Larger prey (lions and tigers) live on the outskirts of some jungles.

Teaching Concepts for Small Group

1.  Cookie Cutter Match Game – Obtain many different jungle animal cookie cutters. Trace each one onto one piece of paper. Have the children try to match each cookie cutter to its match on the paper.

2.  Felt Monkey Board - Make monkey faces and bananas from felt. Number each monkey. The children will place the correct number of bananas next to each monkey.

3.  Stamping Patterns - Use animal rubber stamps to create a simple pattern on the top half of a piece of paper. Ask your child to help you recreate the pattern on the bottom half of the paper. Tip: Start with one stamp, and have your child pick which stamp you used. Start slowly and work your way up to more complicated patterns.

4.  Snake Sort

Provide the children with many different plastic snakes and have them sort the snakes by size or color.

5.  Bug Sort

Provide the children with many different plastic bugs and have them sort them by size or color.

6.  Measuring Snakes - Make some snakes using large green or brown fuzzy pieces of yarn.  Cut each snake a different size (none over 12 inches long).  Place the snakes on a table.Let children take turns placing the snakes; from smallest to largest (one under the other).

7.  Jungle Animal Puzzles - You will need some jungle animal paper plates for this activity.  Take a party plate of an animal and cut it into 4-8 pieces.  Let children take turns putting the plate back together.

8.  Animal Print Match Up – Use animal print fabric scraps and cut out two squares from each type of print.  Mix up the squares and have your children go through them and match up prints.

9.  How many legs? Chart.

10.  How tall is this animal in legos?

11. Pattern snakes.

12.  Have scrap book paper of animal prints and match them to the animal.

13.  Go on a safari hunt and find different animals in the classroom. 

Teaching Concepts for Music Movement Wellness IMIL

1.  OUT IN THE JUNGLE

Tune: “Down By The Station”

Out in the jungle, early in the morning,

See the little monkeys, swinging to and fro.

See the lepard family out for a walk,

Mother and father, with babies in tow.

Out in the jungle, early in the morning,

See the pretty parrots, sitting in a row.

See the giant snakes, sneaking up the tree.

Bye, bye birdies, off you go!

[Let children act out the song.]

2.  SWINGING IN THE JUNGLE

Tune: “The Muffin Man”

Have you seen the chimpanzee,

The chimpanzee, the chimpanzee.

Have you seen the chimpanzee,

Swinging in the jungle?

Have you seen the litttle monkies,

The little monkies, the little monkies.

Have you seen the little monkies,

Swinging in the jungle?

[Continue with other Jungle animals]

3.  DOWN BY THE RIVER

Tune: “Down By The Station”

Down by the river, early in the morning.

See all the animals, swimming in a row.

First comes the Hippos, then comes the Rhinos,

Then come the elephants, – spraying water as they go!

Teaching Concepts for Fingerplays

1.  I’M A LITTLE ZEBRA

Tune: “I’m A Little Teapot”

I’m a little zebra, white and black,

With a bushy mane running down my back.

I like to gallop and run and play

In the jungle, every day.

2.  PARROTS IN THE TREE TOPS

Parrots in the tree tops, singing all day.

Parrots in the tree tops, looking for prey.

Parrots in the tree tops, with colors so gay.

Parrots in the tree tops, flying away!

3.  SSSSSS SAYS THE SNAKE

Ssssss says the snake, as he slithers along.

Ssssss says the snake, that is ever so long.

Ssssss says the snake, that is ever so strong.

Ssssss says the snake, as he slithers along.

4.  I’M A LITTLE GREEN TURTLE

I’m a little green turtle, my home is on my back.

A little green turtle, now what do you think of that?

I like to sit by the river every day,

Catching insects as they come my way.

Snap, snap, snap!

Teaching Concepts for Outdoor Experiences

1.  Play “Monkey See Monkey Do” – Copy cat game.

2.  Jungle charades – Have the children act out different jungle animals

3. Musical Jungle - Cut out animal shapes from colored paper. Laminate them and cut them out. Place them on the floor. It is best for younger children to have more animals than children. Play music and have the children walk around the room. When the music stops, each child needs to find an animal to stand on.

4. Gorilla Race - Children can pretend to be gorillas and race to the finish line while crawling on their fists and feet.

5.  Elephant Movement Activity - Choose one child to be an elephant.  Lie down a long piece of yarn on the floor.

Recite the following rhyme:

One little elephant balancing – step-by-step on a piece of string.

He/she thought that it was so much fun – he called for another elephant.

The first elephant chooses another child to be an elephant and follow him balancing on the string.

Two little elephants balancing – step-by-step on a piece of string.

They thought that it was so much fun – they called on another elephant.

The activity continues until all of the children are balancing on the string.

6. Banana Toss - You will need to make some yellow bean bags shaped like bananas for this game.  Set out the bananas and a basket.  Have children take turns tossing the bananas in the basket.

7.  Animal Walk - Have each child think of a Jungle animal to imitate.  Then, have the children (animals) line up and pretend to walk through a jungle like their animal would walk.

Suggestions: Prowl like a panther or leopard, swing walk like an elephant, hop like a frog, crawl like a turtle; swing arms like a monkey, lumber like a hippopotamus, flap wings like a toucan, etc.

CLASS Concepts

Introduce the word habitat as being the type of home that animals live in. Show pictures of various habitats and ask children to predict what types of animals would make their home there, making sure to ask them to explain their thinking and give specific feedback. “What makes you think that a tiger might live in this habitat? You are right. A tiger could live here in the jungle. There would be plenty of animals for him to hunt for food and tall grass to hide in for camouflage.

Talk about ways lions and other animals use their sense of smell. Place cotton balls around the room: a few unscented cotton balls and some with scented oil. The children pretend to be lions on the hunt by crawling around, and use their noses to find the scented ones.

Teaching Concepts for Distance Learning

1. Animal Walks

Show an animal card or say an animal and students move like that animal.

2. Catching the Monkey's Tail

Begin by asking children to move like monkeys. Point out that monkeys use their arms, legs, and whole bodies to run, leap, or climb through trees. Mimic how a monkey moves around, and imitate its sounds, too (ooh, ooh, ee, ee, ah, ah). Children can take turns being "It". Give each child a "monkey tail" by tucking a scarf or fabric strip into their back pocket or waistband. Give children a few seconds to run, leap, or climb like monkeys before being chased. Reach and gently grab a tail, which makes a child "it". Now it's his turn to chase the monkey's tail.

3. Sleeping Animals

Call out the name of an animal, such as parrot (monkey, snake, panda, etc.), and have the children move like that animal. When you call out "Nighttime" the children pretend to "go to sleep". When you call out the next animal name, the children get up and move again.