Outstanding Octopus! Lesson Plan

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What We Are Learning
 

Science Focus:

octopus behavior

 

Theme Vocabulary:

glide, suckers, blend in, disappear, bones

 

Skills We’re Practicing:

group discussion, critical thinking, vocabulary, syllables

  • Octopus’s Garden by Ringo Starr turns the classic Beatles song into a delightful book! As you read, ask children to share how they would feel if they traveled to this magical octopus’s garden. And, if you’re so inclined, play the song and sing along!

Materials: 10-ounce paper cups, markers, clothespins, small dot sticker labels, googly eyes (optional)

  • Strengthen letter recognition skills with an undersea twist! 
  • To prepare, turn the paper cups upside down. Write 16 uppercase letters on 16 circle stickers. Attach 8 stickers along each cup’s opening, being sure to space them evenly. If you’d like, add two googly eyes to each cup. Put the cups on a table.
  • Next, write the corresponding lowercase letters on the ends of clothespins. (Each sticker from the previous step should have a lowercase match on a clothespin.) Put the pile of lettered clothespins on the table in between the cups.
  • Have children work in pairs to match the lettered clothespins to the letters on each cup to make an alphabet octopus. For an added challenge, add more cups with different letters and more lettered clothespins. letter recognition/fine-motor skills

Materials: Octopus Arms skill sheet; 9-inch paper plates; markers or crayons; scissors; glue sticks; dot marker or small items to use as counters, like pieces of cereal, beads, or buttons; googly eyes

  • Build number sense with this octopus-themed activity.
  • In advance, cut paper plates in half so that each student gets a half. Print enough of the Octopus Arm skill sheets so that each student will get one.
  • Tell students that the halved paper plate will be the head of their octopus. Encourage them to decorate their octopus’s head, adding googly eyes if they’d like.
  • Give each student a copy of the Octopus Arms skill sheet. Guide students as they cut off the top along the dotted line. (The top can be recycled.) Have them glue the top band to the straight edge of their halved plate.
  • Next, have students cut along the dotted lines until they reach the edge of the plate, being careful not to cut the plate.
  • Have students trace the numbers at the bottom of each strip. Then have them glue that many small items onto the arm—1 button onto the arm labeled 1, 2 buttons onto the arm labeled 2, and so on. They can also use dot markers instead of gluing on items. counting/number recognition