CU 6.02Animals and Their Babies
The child matches figures, then cards, of adult animals with their young and learns the names of the babies, such as calf, foal, and chick.
Presentation
Search videos (opens YouTube in a new tab)- 1
Invite the child to bring the basket to a rug. Take out the cow and the calf.
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Say: 'This is a cow. Her baby is a calf.' Set them side by side.
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Take out the horse and the foal: 'A baby horse is a foal.'
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Take out the hen and the chick: 'A baby chicken is a chick.'
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Give a three-period lesson on calf, foal, and chick.
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Mix the three pairs and invite the child to match each baby with its parent.
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Add more pairs on later days, two or three at a time.
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Match the picture cards the same way and check with the control cards.
What catches the child’s eye
- Baby names that sound nothing like the parent's, such as a goat's kid or a horse's foal
- A small calf figure standing beside its large mother
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Add less familiar names: kangaroo and joey, deer and fawn, goose and gosling, frog and tadpole
- Talk about how parents care for their young: feeding milk, keeping eggs warm, carrying them
- Visit a farm or watch a video of animals with their young
- Match label cards for readers
Control of error
Control cards show each parent with its baby and both names; each pair is marked on the back with the same symbol.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Matches at least eight pairs
- Names the babies without help
- Tells one way an animal parent cares for its young
Guide note
Use realistic figures too large to swallow. Some baby names are shared by many animals (a calf can be a young cow, elephant, or whale); say so if a child notices.