Down on the Farm

Kinds of Living Things

An Instructional Unit Resource Guide for

the First Grade Curriculum
Judy Bute
butej@elpaso375.org

Tammy Anderson
andersont@elpaso375.org

Sheryl Bucher
buchers@elpaso375.org

Jefferson Park School

El Paso CUSD
1 #375
 Authors Note
The purpose of this unit is to provide
resources for a first grade unit on kinds of
living things specifically farm animals and
plants. This is one of the first units taught in
the year, so most of the information is very
basic. The unit is designed for one month and
encompasses language arts and math activities,
as well.

In this unit, children will differentiate

between plants and animals and define various
species by the organisms special
characteristics. They will observe a variety of
plants and classify them according to
distinguishing features. Children will also learn
to differentiate animals according to
movement, body covering, habitat, and mouth
parts. Finally, children will learn to group
animals by these traits.

We have been co-teaching for three years and

have had students with varying abilities in our
classroom. For more information, contact us at
Jefferson Park School, 309-527-4405.

2
 State Learning Standards
11A. Know and apply the concepts, principles and processes of scientific inquiry.
11.A.1a Describe an observed event.

11.A.1c Collect data for investigations using measuring instruments and technologies.

11.A.1e Arrange data into logical patterns and describe the patterns.

11.A.1f Compare observations of individual and group results.

12A. Know and apply concepts that explain how living things function, adapt
and change.

12.A.1a Identify and describe the component parts of living things (e.g., birds have feathers;
people have bones, blood, hair, skin) and their major functions.

12.A.1b Categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features (e.g., size, color,
shape, backbone).

12B. Know and apply concepts that describe how living things interact with each
other and with their environment.

12.B.1a Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship to their

environments.

12.B.1b Describe how living things depend on one another for survival

13B. Know and apply concepts that describe the interaction between science,
technology and society.

13.B.1d Identify and describe ways that science and technology affect people's everyday lives
(e.g., transportation, medicine, agriculture, sanitation, communication occupations).

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/

3
 Planning Pyramid
All Students
*will know a farm is a large piece of land used for raising crops or
animals
*will identify 10 farm animals
*will name 3 crops raised on a farm
*will know that most of the food we eat and the clothing we wear
comes from farm products
*will differentiate between plants and animals
*will group animals according to body coverings
*will compare two kinds of teeth those for biting and those for
chewing
*will identify various kinds of animal homes
*will know that different body parts allow for specific movements

Most Students
*will identify the similarities among some plants
*will identify the similarities among some animals
*will group animals according to one characteristic
*will compare different animals and observe that different mouth
parts help them eat different kinds of food
*will match animals to their appropriate homes
*will match the names of baby animals to their parent

Some Students
*will group plants according to one characteristic
*will construct a system to classify various animals
*will construct a model of an animal home
*will match male and female animal names
*will state the raw material of different products that come from a
farm (i.e.-wool, bacon, flour)

4
 Teacher Library

http://www.kinderkorner.com/farm.html

This is a complete farm resource

guide including songs, poems,
pocket chart activities, games,
bibliography and activity guide for
childrens literature, and lesson
plan links.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/gpe.html
This site has great activities to learn plant parts and functions of those
parts. It should probably be used as a group activity at the first grade level.

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/
Great information about specific farm animals, songs, poems, phonics
activities, crafts, links to other farm sites, teacher resources, and printable
worksheets.

http://kidsfarm.com
We like this site because it has real photos as opposed to drawings of
farm animals and plants. It also has crosswords puzzles and coloring pages.

http://www.agr.state.il.us/kidspage/babies.html
This site gives activities for matching parents with their babies.

http://www.hardin.k12.ky.us/upton/FarmRiddles.html
This site gives a classroom made book to print and farm animal math
problems.

5
 Learner Activities

Books Are For Talking Too! Communication Skill Builders, 1995

This book is a guide to selecting quality literature that can address a variety
of communication skills. It has indices that explore topics and a variety of
language skills. It has a section that lists farm animal books.

Primarily Plants AIMS Education Foundation, 1990

This resource contains 22 investigations that cover such concepts as: most
plants grow in soil; all plants need water, and are affected by temperature;
green plants need light; flowers produce seeds that grow into new plants;
ferns and mosses are simple green plants; and many kinds of plants have
roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. The book also has four science information
sections: Plant Growth; Seeds, Spores, and More; Plants Needs; and Plant
Parts.

Farm Animals and Their Babies Floor Puzzle Carson Dellosa

24in. x 36in. 24 large, easy-to-manage pieces. Matching poster/work mat
included.

Cut and Create! On The Farm The Teaching & Learning Company, 1995
More than 25 projects, including farm animals, implements and residents, will
brighten your classroom and bring a big grin to your students' faces!

All About Farms Frank Schaffer

Children learn about a farm's functions, what kinds of animals it shelters, baby
animals, and the products a farm produces. Activities include animal sounds,
feather collecting, making butter, pig tail collage, and more. Learning center ideas
and reproducible pages are included for instant use. Field trip ideas and
suggestions make experiential learning easy to implement!

6
 Assessment
Quizstar
http://quiz.4teachers.org/
Quizcenter
http://school.discovery
.com/quizcenter/quizc
enter.html

Quizzes

Puzzles
And
Games

Funbrain
www.funbrain.com

PuzzleMaker
http://puzzlemaker.sch
ool.discovery.com

Scoring

Rubistar
http://rubistar.4teachers.org

7

Planning for Academic Diversity
Inability to read at grade level
Difficulties in reading
comprehension
Difficulties in generating ideas
for writing
Difficulties in written
expression
Limited vocabulary interferes
with comprehension
Difficulties with auditory
processing
Additional challenge
Modifications
Text-to-speech software allows
a student to listen to printed
material that s/he cannot read
independently.
A collection of comprehension
tests of popular childrens
literature. Used to assess
childrens understanding of
independent reading.
Use a brainstorming tool to
generate ideas and begin
outlining the writing project.
Provide a multimedia
environment for creating
stories and other written work
Provides vocabulary
development instruction and
resources for learning new
words.
Text-to-speech software allows
a student to listen to text
repeatedly and in smaller
chunks.
Web-based search
Write OutLoud
http://www.donjohnston.com
WordQ
http://www.wordq.com
Read Please
http://www.readplease.com
WillowTalk 2.5
http://www.shareware.com
Accelerated Reader
http://www.advlearning.com
Reading Counts
http://www.src.scholastic.com/
ecatalog/readingcounts/index.ht
m
Kidspiration
http://www.inspiration.com
Co:Writer
http://www.donjohnston.com
Picture It!
http://www.slatersoftware.com
The Plumb Design Visual
Thesaurus
http://www.visualthesaurus.co
m/
Write OutLoud
http://www.donjohnston.com
WordQ
http://www.wordq.com
Opera 6.04
http://www.opera.com
Karnak
http://www.karnak.com