Ask your students if they have any pets at home. Invite them to share stories or information about their pets' names or breeds. Ask students about their responsibilities and how they help take care of their pets.
Read a story, such as "Franklin Wants a Pet" by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark. This story is about a turtle who wants a pet and gets a pet goldfish. Talk to your students about different pets and what habitats they need; for example, a goldfish needs to live in water. With pictures of animals and the different habitats, ask your students to match the animal to its correct surroundings.
Talk to your students about some exotic animals they may never have heard of before or animals they may have seen at a zoo. Talk about adaptations, camouflage, hot versus cold-blooded animals or increased senses. For example, a chameleon can change its color to blend in its surroundings and bats have excellent hearing.
Ask your students to pick their favorite animal and make a 3-D version of the animal with recycled paper towel tubes, construction paper and glue.
Teach your students about how to classify animals. For example, what animals are mammals and which ones are insects.
Sing songs that teach kids about animals and the sounds they make. For example, the favorite "Old MacDonald" teaches about farm animals and what they say. Other songs talk about how animals move or how they behave. Many of these songs are ideal for an activity with students making animal movements.