Unit 3 · Six weeks plus Zoo Week
Bring the Zoo to You Planning Guide
Habitats, Adaptations, & Our World
A typical week
Reading & Writing runs every day in a 90-minute block. Science comes on Monday and Wednesday, after Reading & Writing, and Social Studies comes on Friday, after that week’s science. Minutes are in parentheses.
| Day | Reading & Writing · 90 min | Science · 45–50 min | Social Studies · about 40 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Mini Lesson A (15) Move to stations (5) Rotation (60) Share and clean up (10) | Science first lesson | |
| Tuesday | Warm-up (5) Rotation (60) The Wild Robot (25) | ||
| Wednesday | Mini Lesson B (15) Move to stations (5) Rotation (60) Share and clean up (10) | Science second lesson | |
| Thursday | Warm-up (5) Rotation (60) The Wild Robot (25) | ||
| Friday | The Wild Robot (25) Catch-up and Teacher Table make-up (35) If You Have Time (30) | Social Studies lesson, after both science lessons |
Minutes are approximate. The units don’t include phonics or math, so those blocks, specials, and intervention stay in your schedule as they are. Each week’s plan notes any changes to this pattern.
Prep calendar
The things that need lead time, from the unit’s Letter to Teachers.
These are the things that need lead time. The Materials Library lists everything else by week.
Before Week 1 (2–3 weeks ahead)
- Buy or borrow books. Small-group sets (one for each student in that group): Giraffes, Snakes!, and Deadly Predators (W1 Teacher Table, from Tuesday). One copy each for you to read aloud: The Wild Robot (W1 Launch Day read-aloud); Great Migrations: Amazing Animal Journeys (W1 Mini A on Tuesday, then W2 Sci-L3 and W3 Sci-L5); Bears by Elizabeth Carney (W4 Sci-L7); Prairie Food Chains (W6 Sci-L11).
- Start the class animal library: nonfiction on many topics for Week 1, animal books by Week 2. A public library teacher collection may need a week or two of notice (Building Your Animal Library).
- Post a large physical world map, at least 36 inches wide, and laminate it if you can (W1 SS-L1).
- Set aside chart paper for a Wild Robot island map. The class starts it during Wednesday’s read-aloud in Week 1 and adds to it in Weeks 5 and 6 (W1 Reading & Writing plan).
- Print the 16×20 bulletin board poster at a copy center (W1 Sci-L2).
- Put Zoo Explorations on each device and gather headphones (W1 Launch Day).
- Start the Generation Genius trial a few days before W1 Sci-L2. It is a 14-day free trial, not a free account, so it will have ended by W6 Sci-L11, where the video is optional. No trial? Habitats for Kids (Learn Bright, free on YouTube) works for W1 Sci-L2.
- Gather science supplies that take time to find: beak tools (staple removers, tweezers, droppers, tongs, small strainer spoons) for W2 Sci-L4; shortening and thermometers for W3 Sci-L5; red and green craft matchsticks and stopwatches for W3 Sci-L6; brown air-dry clay and mini hedgehog figurines for W4 Sci-L7; pinnies, arm bands, or flag football belts for W5 Sci-L9; red, blue, and yellow dot stickers for W6 Sci-L12.
- Send home the Letter to Families with your shoebox date filled in, and start collecting one shoebox and one tray per student (W6 Sci-L12).
- Pencil in the zoo opening: Wednesday of Zoo Week (right after Week 6) at the earliest. Count teaching days, not dates.
During Week 1, for Week 2
- Send home a short list of possible research animals, starting with the animals your class library has books about, so families can look for books early (Week 1 at a Glance).
- Add animal books to the class library before Monday (W2 Mini A).
- Gather the bird beak stations: 15 trays or tubs; oatmeal or potting soil; string, raisins, sunflower seeds, pasta spirals, and peas; 3 pieces of cardboard and staples; 3 cups, red food coloring, and a measuring cup for nectar; one cup per student. Check allergies (W2 Sci-L4).
During Week 2, for Week 3
- After Choose Your Animal on Friday, match animals over the weekend so each student has at least two books, from the class library or from home. Announce on Monday (W2 Reading & Writing plan).
- Make the three blubber gloves: gallon and sandwich zip bags, duct tape, 3 cups of shortening, cotton balls, dish towels (W3 Sci-L5). Save the trays and tweezers from W2 Sci-L4 for W3 Sci-L6.
During Week 3, for Week 4
- Set the zoo opening date, time, and place, and fill in the Zoo Grand Opening Invitation. It goes home in Week 4.
- Make your own copy of the Mimicry Slideshow so the videos play. Allow up to 30 minutes (W4 Sci-L8).
- If bad weather is likely, collect sticks, leaves, and grass for the hedgehog dens ahead of time (W4 Sci-L7).
During Week 4, for Week 5
- Reserve a gym or outdoor space for W5 Sci-L9 (Monday) and W5 Sci-L10 (Wednesday).
- Print, laminate, and punch the Ecosystem Tag Role Cards, and add yarn for necklaces (W5 Sci-L10).
During Week 5, for Week 6
- Gather diorama supplies: shoeboxes and trays, dot stickers, moss, grass paper, artificial leaves, tissue paper, yarn, glue sticks, white glue, and a hot glue gun for teacher use. You’ll print students’ red-dot pictures after school on the day of W6 Sci-L12, so the work periods are for building; a second adult can run a printing station if you have one.
- Diorama items from home: after W5 SS-L5 on Friday, send home the Diorama Materials Note Home, which asks for small, everyday items such as twigs, pebbles, sand, cotton balls, fabric scraps, or a small toy animal. Students plan in W6 Sci-L12 with what has come in; send the yellow-dot list only for anything specific.
- Invite another class or two and your principal to the zoo opening, so they have at least a week’s notice, and check your school’s media-release list before anyone takes photos (Zoo Opening Plan).
- Check the sample zoo map links a few days ahead (W6 SS-L6).
During Week 6, for Zoo Week
- Send a reminder home about the zoo opening, and assign shifts and jobs (Zoo Opening Plan).
- Have cardstock ready: one sheet per student for exhibit signs, plus more to fold into stands for the articles (W6 SS-L6 Session 2, Zoo Week Monday).
Books
The read-alouds and mentor texts the lessons use. Buy them or borrow them from your school or public library. Students also research in a class library of animal books, gathered from your school or public library; the unit includes a guide to building it.
| Book | When | How it’s used |
|---|---|---|
| Giraffes (National Geographic Readers) Laura Marsh | Weeks 1, 2 | Heart team. One per student, plus one for you. |
| Snakes! (National Geographic Readers) Melissa Stewart | Weeks 1, 2 | Star team. One per student, plus one for you. |
| Deadly Predators (National Geographic Readers) Melissa Stewart | Weeks 1, 2 | Moon team. One per student, plus one for you. |
| Great Migrations: Amazing Animal Journeys (National Geographic Readers) Laura Marsh | Weeks 1, 2, 3 | |
| The Wild Robot Peter Brown | Weeks 1–6 | Read-aloud, three sessions a week. |
| Bears (National Geographic Readers) Elizabeth Carney | Week 4 | |
| Prairie Food Chains Kelley Macaulay and Bobbie Kalman | Week 6 | Read-aloud before the yarn food web. |
| Class animal library | Weeks 1–6 | Student-level nonfiction. Each student needs at least two books about their animal by Week 3. See Building Your Animal Library. |
Supplies
Most are ordinary classroom items. Each one shows the weeks that use it.
- Large physical world map Weeks 1–6 · Recommended map. Stays up all unit with removable tape.
- Zookeeper costume Week 1 · Optional.
- Bird beak tools Week 2 · One beak per student, split evenly among staple removers, tweezers, droppers, tongs, and small strainer spoons. One cup per student.
- Bird food stations Weeks 2, 3 · Trays and tubs; oatmeal or potting soil; string, raisins, sunflower seeds, pasta spirals, peas, cardboard with staples, red food coloring, a measuring cup. Save the trays. Check allergies.
- Blubber glove supplies Week 3 · Gallon and sandwich zip bags, duct tape, 3 cups of shortening, cotton balls, dish towels, 3 tubs of ice water, thermometers, paper towels.
- Matchstick bug supplies Week 3 · Red and green craft matchsticks, green shredded paper, trays, tweezers, cups, 4 stopwatches.
- Hedgehog den supplies Week 4 · Brown air-dry clay, one mini hedgehog figurine and one cardboard square per student, sticks and leaves from outside.
- Bases or cones (5–7) and a stopwatch Week 5 · Plus pinnies, arm bands, or flag football belts to mark the wolves. Gym or outdoor space.
- Yarn and hole punch Weeks 5, 6 · Role card necklaces, and a ball of yarn for the food web.
- Unlined notecards Week 5 · One per student for animal map icons, plus coloring supplies and removable adhesive.
- Shoeboxes and trays Weeks 1, 6 · One of each per student. Start collecting shoeboxes in Week 1.
- Diorama craft supplies Week 6 · Red, blue, and yellow dot stickers; moss; grass paper; cardboard; artificial leaves; tissue paper; green and brown yarn; glue sticks; white glue; hot glue gun (teacher use).
- Sticky notes and chart paper Weeks 1–6
- Green screen setup (extension) Week 6 · A green screen app (such as Green Screen by Do Ink), an iPad or tablet on a stand, and a green backdrop: a green sheet, poster board, or plastic tablecloth.
- Book bins and headphones Weeks 1–6 · One book bin per student for Read & Research. Headphones for each device at Zoo Explorations.
- Cardstock Week 6 · One sheet per student for the exhibit sign, plus more to fold into stands for the articles.
Standards & assessment
Bring the Zoo to You is aligned to 60 2nd-grade standards across Common Core ELA, the Next Generation Science Standards, and the C3 Framework for social studies. Every lesson lists the standards it teaches.
Each unit includes a rubric for Reading, Writing, Science, and Social Studies, built around the unit’s standards, so you can document what each student has mastered. Each rubric has a matching student self-assessment, so students reflect on their own work too.