Curriculum Suggestions

Activities for: Little Dogs Say "Rough"

1. Pick an animal. Write a story about what that animal would say if it could talk.
2. Play "I Like My Animals".
   1. The first player says, "I like my animals, and my ___ says ___." The player then names an animal and the sound it makes.
   2. The second player then says, "I like my animals, and my ___ says ___ and my ___ says ___." The player repeats the first player's animal and sound and then adds their own animal and sound.
   3. Each additional player says, "I like my animals, and my ..." They then repeat all of the previous players' animals and sounds, and then add their own.
   4. You can end play a couple of ways. The game can be over when everyone's had a chance to play. Or, if a player is unable to repeat all the animals and sounds, they are out, and the game is over when there is only one player left.

3. Play "I Spy"
   1. Choose someone to be "It". They say, "I spy with my little eye an animal." It can be a real animal, a toy animal, a picture of an animal, or the name of an animal.
   2. Kids then start asking yes/no questions to help them figure out what "It" sees.
   3. When someone guesses right, someone else, perhaps the person who guessed correctly, is "It".

   Variation. Play "I'm Thinking Of..." The game is played the same as "I Spy", but "It" doesn't have to be able to see the animal they're thinking of.

   Variation. "It" thinks of an animal sound, and players have to figure out what the sound is and what animal says it.

4. Play "Hangman". Players guess which animal "It" is thinking of.

5. Have a spelling bee, with players spelling animal names.

6. Have a reverse spelling bee, where players have to spell out the animal names--backwards.

7. Listen in the classroom, on the playground, or on a field trip. List all the sounds the class hears. What might the sounds be saying?

8. Play "Animal Pantomime". One player is chosen to be "It". They come to the front of the class, and then act like they're either a specific animal, or that they're interacting with a specific animal. The rest of the players guess what the animal is. The first person to guess right is the next "It".

9. Play Crambo. This is a good game to reinforce rhyming. Choose one person to be "It". "It" thinks of a word, and then of another word that rhymes with it. They announce, "I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with _____." The rest of the players then try to figure out what the word is. But they don't just guess the word. They ask questions. For example, if "It" chooses "dog", the game might go like this...

   It: I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with "Dog"
   Player: Is it a farm animal?
   It: No, it's not a hog.
   Player: Is it made of wood?
   It: No, it's not a log.
   Player: Does it eat flies?
   It: Yes, it's a frog.
   The player who gets it right is then it.

10. Play "Animal Bingo".
    1. To prepare, write thirty animal names on small pieces of paper. Put them in a hat or a sack.
    2. Have the kids draw a Bingo grid on a piece of paper. (Show them a grid on the board. A Bingo grid consists of twenty-five squares--five squares across and five squares down.)
    3. Have kids X out the middle square.
    4. Read out the animal names. As you read each animal name, kids write the animal down in one of the blank squares on their grid. They can skip any six of the animals.
    5. Put all the animal names back in the hat or bag. Then pull them out one at a time and read them. If a kid has the animal on their bingo grid, they cross it out.
    6. When a player has five squares in a row crossed out, they shout out "Bingo". The game can end there, or you can keep playing until everyone has a Bingo, or until all the squares on all the grids are full.

11. Play "Toss the Animal". Players sit in a circle, or at their desks or tables. One player has a beanbag and starts the game. They shout out an animal name and toss the beanbag to another player. They then shout an animal and toss it to another player. Players keep shouting out animals and tossing the beanbag until someone can't think of an animal, repeats an animal, or shouts out a word that is not an animal.

    Competitive variations:

    1. All players stand while playing. If they repeat an animal, can't think of an animal, or say a word that is not an animal, then they are out and sit down. The last player standing wins.
    2. Divide the class into two teams. One team lines up on one side of the room, the other team on the other side of the room. Players toss the beanbag bag and forth, from one team to the other, and shout animals. If they can't quickly think of an animal, or if they shout out an animal that's already been said or a word that's not an animal, the other team gets a point. The first team to get five points wins.

 
 

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Picture Credits
Original bunny climbing rope picture by Paige Miglio (copyright 2000 ©) from One More Bunny authored by Rick Walton.
Original purple monster picture by Renee Williams-Andriani (copyright 1998 ©) from Really, Really Bad School Jokes authored by Rick Walton.
Original bullfrog seated picture by Chris McAllister (copyright 1999 ©) from Bullfrog Pops! authored by Rick Walton.
Electronic modifications by Ann Walton.