Materials
- Animal Tales
- Beaver Pond reproducible (page 21, follow this link)
- clay
- Ping-Pong paddle or wooden spatula
- 8 1/2" x 11" (21.5 cm x 28 cm) tagboard
- crayons or markers
- glue
- toothpicks or small twigs
FUN FACTS
- The scorpion's deadly tail is armed with a stinger that it uses to defend itself and to paralyze prey.
- Ring-tailed lemurs pass signals to each other by waving their long, striped tail.
- Some monkeys have a prehensile tail that can grasp and hold onto branches. It's like they have an extra hand!
DIRECTIONS
1. Distribute copies of the Beaver Pond reproducible. Read and discuss the story or the field trip with the class.
2. Place a lump of clay on a table and stand in front of the table so students can see you and the clay. Hold the Ping-Pong paddle or wooden spatula behind your back and demonstrate how a beaver uses its tail to pound the mud. Also point out how the loud noises of the slapping tail are a signal to the other beavers.
3. Encourage students to color the trees, water, beaver, and mud at the bottom of the pond on the reproducible.
4. Instruct students to glue the reproducible onto tagboard.
5. Have the students break toothpicks or small twigs into pieces and glue pieces onto the food pile.
6. Direct students to glue clay onto the areas marked with crosshatch lines (to make a dam and beaver lodge). Have students press toothpicks or twigs into the clay to make the dam and lodge appear more realistic.
7. Reread the story at the bottom of the Beaver Pond reproducible.
8. If time permits, invite students to experiment with the Ping-Pong paddle or wooden spatula to further explore how beavers use their tails.
