1-2-3 Come Do Some Lion & Lamb Activities With Me.      

The simile “March roared in like a lion then left like a lamb” basically holds true for weather here in Michigan.

Because of that, I designed an entire “lion & lamb” weather-themed packet, which is very versatile.

It’s chock full of a huge variety of activities that are suitable for different grades & skill levels. (PK-3rd).

I introduce March with Marion Bauer’s book, “In Like a Lion Out Like a Lamb”, which was the inspiration behind the “door dangler” writing prompt craft in the packet, as a lion comes knocking at a little boy's front door.

The story is wonderfully illustrated with short rhyming text, perfect for introducing metaphor & simile  to older students as well.

“March comes with a roar.  He rattles your windows and scratches at your door.
He turns snow to mud, then tromps across your floor.
March comes with winter clinging to his tail.
He scatters sleet and sometimes even hail.”

My Young Fives absolutely love the lion & lamb weather analogy, which is perfect for introducing a variety of weather conditions to them.

I designed a set of pocket chart cards for this, as well as made a collection of 32 photographs that depict a variety of "real" lion & lamb-like weather. There are 2-on-a-page for quick printing.

To whole-group assess their ability to identify, then classify the weather, I made a set of 6 lion & lamb Popsicle stick puppet pals. Choose your favorite or give children a choice.

They color, cut & glue a lion & lamb back-to-back, then insert a Popsicle stick.

Teacher shows a pocket chart, weather card. 

Students decide if that type of weather is a lion or a lamb, flipping their “puppet paddle” accordingly.

You can also ask them about their current weather, or to vote whether they think March will come in like a lion or lamb, as well as predict what the weather will be on the last day of March.

I"ve included 3 graphing extensions for this.

The photo-posters can also be used like the weather cards. What clues in the photograph make them think that the weather is lamb-like, or was the result of a lion-kind of day.  

The photographs can also be used to inspire a writing prompt, where kiddos pick a picture then make a list of adjectives that describe it, write a descriptive sentence, paragraph, poem or short story. 

For an awesome bulletin board, display the photo next to students' completed work. 

Younger kiddos can sort the pictures using the lion & lamb sorting mats.  Make an extra set and cut them into puzzles to use for an independent center. 

We also track the weather for the month of March with a "color, cut & glue" calendar worksheet, with a culminating math activity, which practices, counting, comparison, greater & less than, as well as tally marks & graphing.  

Older students can record their data and analysis in the March Weather Journal, which is an interesting & fun diary-type writing assignment.  

All of the activities come in color as well as BW for kiddos. 

I've also included a super-fun variety of writing prompt craftivities.

Didn't  matter what grade I taught, as soon as I tossed in a bit of hands-on craftiness, my students were riveted and couldn't wait to begin.  

The beauty of these "craftivities" is that they can be completed by little ones, as well as older students who will write more in-depth. 

So that they fit your students' skill levels, I give you a list of writing prompt suggestions.

Simply pick which one's appropriate for your students or give them a choice.  

I've also given you the ability to choose how you wish to display them. 

Children can make a booklet, horizontal/vertical display, or dangler that's suspended from the ceiling.

To slide in the poetry genre, I've also included a poster-poem for William Cullen Bryant’s “Stormy March”.

There are 100+ pages of games, centers, whole-group activities, anchor chart-posters, worksheets, and Venn diagrams.

Besides the black & white templates, so you can quickly & easily make samples, or do activities as a whole group with little ones, I’ve also included full-color patterns for all of the activities.

To save you even more time, I tucked in my completed writing sample templates, so you don't have to make up your own. 

If your students are like mine, they'll give their "best effort" because these prompts are especially fun for them. Added bonus: completed projects make a terrific spring bulletin board.

Today's featured FREEBIE is "Wind Tricks" ; a 31-page poetry packet, which includes the games "Windy Words" and "Blow Some Words My Way", along with a variety of quick, easy and fun "rhyme time" activities.  I hope you find it useful. 

Well that's it for now.  Thanks for stopping by.

The weather finally feels like spring today (high 60s) so out to the garden I go for some much-needed clean up.

"Why try to explain miracles to your kids, when you can just have them plant a garden." -Robert Brault

Will March Go Out Like A Lion Or A Lamb?

The end of March is drawing near and I have some SHEEP and LION activities to help you end the month in a fun way.

-eep and –eap word endings can be confusing for students.  Help clear things up by making this “hands-on” sheep slider.

Run off the sheep template on white construction paper and have students jazz them up with wiggle eyes and 2 cotton balls.

If you have students pull apart the cotton balls into a nice fluffy pile, the sheep fleece will look more realistic, be a great fine motor skill and avoid the problem of having students simply glue whole cotton balls to their work.

I’ve included a Trace & Write – Sheep Rhyming ABC Order Worksheet as well as the traceable word cards.

Click on the link to view/download the Sheep Slider Activities.

I never have enough time to cover nursery rhymes as a separate unit, so I plug them in with whatever theme I’m doing, whenever they fit, as an added genre during story time.

Click on the link to view/download 4 sheep nursery rhymes including a nursery rhyme bookmark.  I’ve also included YouTube videos that are perfect for Smart Boards.

If you’re looking for some easy readers your students will enjoy:

The Shape Of My Sheep, which reviews the 6 basic shapes.

Where Have All The Sheep Gone? and Where’s The Lion? which reinforce simple subtraction skills.  Click on the links to view/download them.

A fun writing extension  asks your students “Are you more like a lion or more like a lamb? Why? This March writing prompt is turned into a class book and can be found in March Class Books. Click on the link to view/download it.

Make another class book by having your students guess whether they think that March will go out like a lion or a lamb and complete a page for the book by finishing the prompt, illustrating it and gluing their school picture to the page.  

If you'd like to include a "craftivity" with writing, have students make a lion or lamb paper holder and display their work on a bulletin board, before you collate their work into a book.

Keep things simple and merely use construction paper, or make students' work pop and have them add spiral noodles for the lion's mane and pulled cotton for the sheep's fleece.

Adding a pair of funky glasses and wiggle eyes also adds a cute 3D effect.  I printed the ones in the picture from Lee Hansen's graphic website where you can download free clip art, paper crafts, and scrapbooking items.  Click on the link to check out this interesting site.

There’s a graphing extension included to record the results.

Besides this writing prompt, there is also one that's a great activity after you read the above Mary Had A Little Lamb Nursery Rhyme.  Ask students what animal they'd like to bring to school if they could bring any animal.  Encourage them to think outside the box and not just think of the usual "show & tell" pet like a puppy or cat.  Students complete the sentence with their animal and illustrate the page.

Click on the link to view/download this March Lion or Lamb activity packet.

If you want some spring art activities like a lion and lamb puppet or mask made out of a cereal box, you'll find them in the 133-page Spring Art & Activites book and if you want some quick & easy table top worksheets or centers the 88-page Lion & Lambs unit will certainly have something.

Whether your students are meek and mild lambs or roaring lions, I hope you found something here to keep them engaged and interested!

Be sure and pop back tomorrow for more springtime tips.