Bear graph

The students will compare and contrast bears brought from home and share their ideas through a graph.

A lesson plan for grade K Mathematics

By Karen Pledger

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Related topics

• Learn more about mathematics, similarities and differences, and sorting.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• observe their bears.
• introduce their bears.
• compare their bear to other bears.
• describe their bear colors,size,patterns,clothing).
• give their bear a name.
• draw a picture of their bear for a graph.
• sort their bear by color.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

40 minutes

Materials/resources

• stuffed toy bears
• drawing paper
• crayons
• graph pocket chart
• name tags for bear names
• marker
• construction paper circles of all different colors
• big book Too Old for Naps by Jane Yolen
• book Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• color chart

Pre-activities

• Read the big book Too Old For Naps by Jane Yolen to the whole class.
• Read the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears to the whole class.
• Review the basic colors with the class from a class made color chart.
• Send a letter home to parents for each child to bring in their favorite teddy bear to share.
• Set up a special area in the classroom to display the bears.

Activities

1. The children will sit in a large circle with their bears on the carpet.
2. Each child will first tell the name of their bear. The teacher will give each bear a name tag to wear while visiting the classroom.
3. Next, the teacher will place colored paper circles on the floor where the children are sitting.
4. Each child will describe the characteristics of their bear. Then, each child will match and place their bear on the correct color. When each child has finished, the teacher leads the children in a discussion about what they have observed.
5. Next, each child will go to the tables with their bears and crayons. The teacher will give each child a piece of construction paper. Have each child write their name on their paper. Instruct each child in drawing a portrait of their bear.
6. When finished, each child will come back to the carpet with their bear and picture. Each child will go up to the pocket chart graph with their bear portrait, and place their picture on the graph according to the color of their bear.

Assessment

The teacher will observe the child through participation and drawings.

Supplemental information

Comments

This activity is wonderful to use when you are teaching a theme on bears. Here are some ideas that I use to extend the theme of bears in my classroom:

• Listening Center: bear books and tapes
• Math Center:
  • teddy bear counters
  • felt bear patterns
  • bear number cards
  • ordinal bear counting games
  • estimating bears
• Writing Center:
  • teddy bear books
  • bear words
  • bear pictures
  • bear stamps
• Block Center: using blocks to build bear caves and bear homes
• Puzzle Center
  • bear puzzles
  • flannelboard story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Housekeeping Center
  • dressing up as bears
  • pantomine bear stories
• Library Center
  • fiction and non-fiction books on bears
  • toy bears
  • puppets
• Computer Center
  • Sticky Bear Number and Shapes software
  • graphing software
• Topical Center: area for each child’s bear
• Music Center: records, tapes, and books on bears
• Cooking Center: make breakfast for the bears (porridge)
• Sand Center: Plastic bear models
• Art Center
  • make bear puppets
  • bear masks
  • cut out pictures of bears from magazines
  • paint bears
• Clay Center: make playdough bears
• Science Center
  • weigh bears
  • bear books
  • posters of bears
  • models of bears
  • bear footprints
  • fur