Ogden Nature Center

Objective

Students will explore some of the different strategies animals use to survive the winter.

Materials

• Riddle game pieces, cut apart
• 1 small box
• Writing/drawing utensils
• Paper
• Blackboard or dry-erase board
• Pictures of animals (optional)

Procedure

1. If you have not already done so introduce the six different techniques animals use to make it through the winter.  See Procedure in Pre-Visit Activity "How Turtle Flew South for the Winter" for terms.  Make six columns on your blackboard, label with the new vocabulary words.
2. Bring out a box with the cut out riddles inside.  Tell students you have a box of riddles.  They will have to figure out what animal the riddle refers to and what that animal does to make it through the winter.  Many of the animals do more than one thing.
3. Have students take turns pulling the riddles from the box and reading them aloud.  Read riddles aloud to younger students.  Have a different student try and solve the riddle.  If students are having trouble solving the riddle, show them a picture of the animal, only revealing a portion of the picture at a time or give them clues.
4. Record the animal in the appropriately labeled column(s) on the board.
5. After reading all the riddles, let each child choose an animal to illustrate, perhaps in the midst of its winter activity.  Older students can also research and write about their animals and then give presentations.  Students can also act out charades of the animals as their classmates try to guess which one they are depicting.