Using familiar animals found in a deciduous forest, students will match the head, shoulders, body and tail with the right animal. This helps students recognize patterns and match edges to make complete pictures. It is meant to improve motor skills and pattern recognition, while enjoying the sense of puzzle completion and learning about animals.
Applying teaching pedagogy, this simple activity addresses pattern completion, reasoning by analogy, serial reasoning and spatial visualization, measuring a student’s nonverbal abilities including critical thinking and problem solving using nonverbal reasoning skills in preschool to kindergarten aged children.
Materials:
• printed page with animal pieces and page with animals named for later discussion
• scissors
• access to school laminator
Directions:
1) Copy, laminate and cut out the pieces for 4 forest animals.
2) Mix them all up in a pile. Have single, paired or small group of students build and name the 4 animals.
3) Once they are done, talk about the 4 animals, what they eat and where they might see them.
