Even the youngest children will know what zebras look like and be able to participate in some simple crafts. Give each child white paper and have them trace his or her shoe on the paper and cut out the outline. Then add stripes and a face. Or give children templates with a zebra body, legs, head and tail. Have them color and cut out the parts. Then use brads to create joints for a pose-able zebra.
Provide two clothespins for each students and ask them to paint them white with black stripes. Then have them draw and cut out a zebra body and head, which the clothespins can be clipped to as legs. This can be a cute stand-up toy or memo holder. Older students also will be adept enough to try a project such as making a zebra out of painted plastic soda bottles, using top halves with the bottle necks for legs, the bottle's middles for the body and bottle tops with the necks cut off for heads. Adhere the pieces together with craft glue, and let kids paint their creations white with black stripes.
Assign age-appropriate research projects to help children understand more about zebras, their habitats, the food chain, etc. Younger children will be able to investigate what zebras eat, where they sleep, what family groups are like and what animals are predators to zebras. More advanced students can explore zebra conservation efforts, habitat loss and the role of humans in zebra habitats.
Read one of the many renditions of the fable “How Zebra Got His Stripes” to the students and ask them to come up with their own ideas of how this may have happened. Divide students into several groups and have each group write its own version of the story, then create a skit depicting its new fable.