Engage your students in song and movement by starting with the original classic “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”
After a few verses with the typical farm animals, change the lyrics up to be about a zoo or safari.
Invite students to call out various animals they want to include in the new version and to do movements and motions to model the animal behaviors and features.
5 min Script: Welcome, biologists! Thanks to your work identifying animal features and behaviors, I think we now know that this new Ingenia species is a mix of at least 2 known animals. We need your help to create a sketch of what it could be and to identify its key features and behaviors to look for. When people mix together imaginary animals for fun it’s called a miximal! Let’s check out some miximals together before you make miximals of your own.
5 min Display the miximals created by Ben Claton (see slides). Ben Clanton is a children’s book author who uses simple, silly sketches to create fun and engaging books. Your students may be familiar with his work. As you pause at a miximal, discuss what animals or things are mixed together. Ask:
10 min Watch Ben Clantoon draw some miximals (6:30-13:02) Where a Book Begins with author/illustrator Ben Clanton (https://www.spl.org/programs-and-services/kids-and-families)
Ask:
Students will explore animal features and behaviors as they play with miximals and then create their own.
5 min Script: We know that the features and behaviors of animals help us to identify them. But what about unknown animals, like the one on Ingenia? One way we can try to figure out what that animal could be is by mixing up the features of different animals to see how they would look and behave. These are commonly called miximals because they mix together different animals.
10 min: Display the switchzoo.com website and ask students for recommendations as you play the game together as a class. You can click on each separate animal part to open a separate page with animal facts.
30 min Dismiss students to draw a miximal. As students draw, support their work by asking:
Tip: Consider providing collage materials to students who may struggle with drawing.
5 min Gather students and have them bring their completed miximals. Have students turn and talk using the following questions:
Have students work with a partner to play the matching game “Whose Beak? Whose Feet?”. Students will need an internet enabled device. https://www.audubonadventures.org//beaksandfeet/index.html (www.audubonadventures.org)
Introduce the concept of citizen science and the I-Naturalist free app to your students using this video: How To Identify Any Species in Your Backyard With Nothing But Your Phone (Science at Home for Kids!) | Looking for an incredible family learning activity to do when your kids aren't at school? We show you how one app can turn any smartphone into a species... | By Be Smart • PBS | Facebook
Work with students to identify some species around your school and report them to the I-Naturalist app.
Encourage students and their families to download and use the I-Naturalist App to identify species in their own backyards and neighborhoods. iNaturalist
Consider sharing the video with families, too, to help them understand how and why to use the app.
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