Penguin Unit: 12 Brrrr-illiant Activities & Lesson Ideas!

Julie Lee over at Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten always puts together the cutest lessons/units! We love, love, love her penguin unit and, while you're likely working on Christmas things through the rest of December, thought it might just provide some inspiration for January!

With 12 total activities, we're certain you'll find something new or, if not brand new, we hope you'll find a fun way to infuse new life into your own penguin unit!

Hands On Activities

Pretend to be penguins. Have your kiddos huddle together like penguins to stay warm!

Penguin comparisons. Julie created cutouts of seven different types of penguins including the fairy penguin (the smallest species) and the emperor penguin (the largest species), then she and her kiddos had a blast comparing themselves to the penguin cutouts!

Penguin Math

Non-standard measuring. Students measured penguin shapes with fish cutouts recording how many fish tall each shape was.

Fish counting. Students counted the number of fish cutouts 'in the belly' of each penguin shape and recorded their answers.

Penguin 10 frames. Students identified the number on each penguin shape and showed the number with 10 frames. Bonus, they got to use q-tips and paint!

Odd and even. As a class, students practiced with odd and even numbers. With two large penguin cutouts and colorful fish cutouts, students were given a specific number of fish and charged with dividing the fish equally between the two penguin cutouts. Of course, an even number of fish cutouts resulted in an even split, and an odd number did not.

Penguin Literacy

Middle sounds. Students first identified the picture on each of the penguin shapes, then identified (and stamped) the vowel sound heard in the middle of each picture.

Roll-a-word. Armed with three letter dice (CVC), students rolled the dice, determined if the word displayed was real or nonsense, and recorded their roll in the appropriate category.

Blend sorting. Students sorted fish cutouts, each displaying a different picture, into the proper blend pile!

Shared reading. Practicing sight/color words, students practiced reading the simple penguin poem;

I see a yellow penguin.

I see a white penguin.

...Etcetera!

Crafts & Organization

Fact books and K-W-Ls. Of course, no unit is complete without a record of your kiddos' learning! Julie and her kiddos made a K-W-L chart (not pictured) as well as these fun penguin shaped fact books to keep and share with family members!

Aren't these activities fabulous?! For the full post and a closer look at all the centers/activities, be sure to visit Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten!!