Preschool teachers can help children learn about the meaning of nocturnal by explaining how some animals can see or hear well in the dark. Pictures of skunks, cats, raccoons, owls, foxes and bats would help children understand there are many different kinds of animals that are nocturnal or active mostly at night. Teachers can tell children about special features that some animals have that help them in the dark. For example, owls and cats have specialized vision that allows them to see in the dark.
The meaning of nocturnal can be further reinforced as children learn how some animals find food at night. Teachers could describe how owls hunt at night so there is less competition for food. An owl puppet could be created with a brown paper lunch bag. Children could glue on eyes and a beak to the bottom of a bag and place their hands inside the bag to make a puppet. Once the puppet is complete, children could use the puppet to pretend to hunt for food. Teachers can turn off the lights to simulate nighttime.
Teachers might tell children about small nocturnal animals that are more active at night because it helps keep them safe, such as mice and hamsters. Children can be encouraged to suggest reasons why it would be safer for some animals to be out at night. Preschool teachers might hide a small stuffed mouse in a pretend burrow to demonstrate to children how small animals rest safely during the day to avoid predators. Teachers can explain that once they are under the cover of darkness, they are less likely to be noticed.
Teachers might ask children if they know any people who work at night and reinforce understanding of the word nocturnal by describing professions that require people to sleep during the day and work at night. Children can use dress-up clothes to pretend to be doctors, firefighters, utility workers and pharmacists that are working at night. Teachers might ask someone who works nights to come talk to the children about what it is like to work while everyone else is sleeping and why it's necessary.