Animals from the Seven Continents
Teacher Information:
Liliana Jimenez
St. Thomas Of Canterbury
AAM Affiliation: DePaul University
rt_liliana@yahoo.com
Grade Level: Early Elementary
Unit Overview
• This unit is a two week long unit for a kindergarten and first grade
classroom. The unit will integrate Social Studies, Science, Geography, Language
Arts, and Writing.
• This unit will provide students with the opportunity to explore different
countries. It will give the students a chance to become familiar with the location
of their birth country. Students will explore the continents as they study unique
animals from each continent. They will be able to discover each continent and
its countries by using the internet as a primary source. The primary purpose
of this unit is to have the students develop a greater global understanding.
This unit should be taught after a unit based on the student’s neighborhood
in order to provide some awareness of their surroundings.
Unit Objectives
Students will:
• Identify the seven continents on a global map.
• Distinguish animals from each continent.
• Participate in conversations about the countries and animals
• Discover the countries by using the internet.
• Identify animal characteristics.
• Draw pictures of the animals and their habitats.
• Compare and contrast environments.
Curriculum Standards
STATE GOAL 4:
Listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.
4.A.1a Listen attentively by facing the speaker, making eye contact and paraphrasing
what is said.
4.A.1b Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group
members to improve comprehension.
4.A.1c Follow oral instructions accurately.
4.A.1d Use visually oriented and auditorily based media.
STATE GOAL 5:
Use the language arts to acquire, assess and communicate information.
C. Apply acquired information, concepts and ideas to communicate in a variety
of formats.
5.C.1b Use print, nonprint, human and technological resources to acquire and
use information.
STATE GOAL 12:
Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections
of the life, physical and earth/space sciences.
B. Know and apply concepts that describe how living things interact with each
other and with their environment.
12.A.1b Categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features (e.g.,
size, color, shape, backbone).
12.B.1a Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship
to their environments.
STATE GOAL 17:
Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society,
with an emphasis on the United States.
A. Locate, describe and explain places, regions and features on the Earth.
17.A.1a Identify physical characteristics of places, both local and global (e.g.,
locations, roads, regions, bodies of water).
17.A.1b Identify the characteristics and purposes of geographic representations
including maps, globes, graphs, photographs, software, digital images and be
able to locate specific places using each.
D. Understand the historical significance of geography.
17.D.1 Identify changes in geographic characteristics of a local region (e.g.,
town, community.
Lessons
Lesson 1 – Introduction
of the seven continents
Lesson 2 – Discovering
Butterflies from North America
Lesson 3 – Exploring Llamas
from South America
Lesson 4 – Traveling
through Europe and exploring otters
Lesson 5 – Discovering Pandas
from Asia
Lesson 6 – Exploring Kangaroos
from Australia
Lesson 7 – Discovering
Polar Bears from Antarctica
Lesson 8 – Creating a globe
Lesson 9 – African Savannah