Me and My Scarecrow

This math lesson will allow students to create their own individual and unique scarecrows based on attributes about themselves. Students will compare their scarecrows to those of their classmates and observe similarities and differences.

A lesson plan for grade K Mathematics

By Stephanie Duncan

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• Learn more about mathematics.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• use information about themselves and create a scarecrow based on these attributes.
• understand that their scarecrows will probably differ from those of their friends due to their own individual and unique differences.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

30 minutes

Materials/resources

Each student will need a scarecrow body drawn on construction paper. This can be drawn free-hand. Students will be provided with a variety of colored, pre-cut construction paper “clothing pieces” for their scarecrows. These will include: blue, green, yellow, and purple hats, blue, green, red, purple, yellow, and orange shirts, blue pants, green pants, blue, green, and red gloves. These can be drawn free-hand to fit the shape of the scarecrow. Glue and pencils are also needed.

Technology resources

None

Pre-activities

Students will previously learn about the season of Fall and harvest time. They will know about the function of a scarecrow. Students will also use previously-learned math skills about same and different as well as refer back to information gathered about themselves in an “All About Me” unit.

Activities

This lesson is best done as a small group activity, but also will work as a whole group activity.

1. The teacher will begin the lesson by reviewing what a scarecrow is and what function it plays in the fall harvest. The teacher will also refer to the “All About Me” unit from the beginning of the year, emphasizing differences among students.
2. The teacher will give each student his/her own scarecrow body and instruct the child to write his/her name on the front.
3. Next, the teacher will provide the various colored construction paper hats, as described in the “Materials Needed” section. If a student has all brothers, he/she will glue a blue hat on his/her scarecrow. If a student has all sisters, he/she will glue a green hat on his/her scarecrow. If the student has brother(s) and sister(s), he/she will glue a yellow hat on his/her scarecrow. If the student does not have any brothers or sisters, he/she will glue a purple hat on his/her scarecrow.
4. Now the teacher will provide the students with various colored construction paper cut-out shirts, as described in the “Materials Needed” section. If a student has a cat as a pet, he/she will glue a blue shirt on his/her scarecrow. If a student has a dog at home, he/she will glue a green shirt on his/her scarecrow. If a student has a different pet at home, other than a dog or a cat, he/she will glue a purple shirt on his/her scarecrow. If a student has a dog(s), cat(s), and other types of pets at home, he/she will glue a yellow shirt on his/her scarecrow. If a student does not have any pets at home, he/she will glue an orange shirt on his/her scarecrow.
5. Next, the teacher will provide the students with various colored construction paper “pants” according to the “Materials Needed” section. If the student is a girl, she will glue green pants on her scarecrow. If the student is a boy, he will glue blue pants on his scarecrow.
6. Here, the teacher will provide the students with blue, green, and red gloves. If a student has more than five letters in his/her name, he/she will glue blue gloves on his/her scarecrow. If a student has less than five letters in his/her name, he/she will glue green gloves on the scarecrow. If a student has five letters in his/her name, red gloves will be glued on his/her scarecrow.
7. Now that all scarecrows are completed, the teacher will have three to four students at a time to stand up and display their scarecrows. The students will tell why their individual scarecrows have the features they have. The students will compare their scarecrows to those of their classmates.

Assessment

Goals will be met if the students correctly “dress” their scarecrows according to their individual attributes. Students will also be assessed by correctly answereing questions about their scarecrows. For example, “Why does your scarecrow have a purple shirt? Why did you put green pants on your scarecrow? What do green gloves mean?”

Supplemental information

Prior to this activity, the teacher may read the following books:

• It’s Pumpkin Time
• Apples and Pumpkins
• Picking Apples and Pumpkins
• We Are Alike, We Are All Different

Related websites

N/A

Comments

This activity can also be used with pumpkins/Jack O’Lanterns by using a pumpkin, and using attributes such as triangle or square eyes, one, two, or three teeth, stems or no stems, etc. See how detailed your students can be! This also works with snowmen, etc. The sky’s the limit!