Create a groundhog "burrow" by taping together large boxes such as refrigerator boxes. Cut a hole in the top. As the students sing the groundhog song, let them tunnel through the "burrow" and pop out the top. To make it more realistic, decorate it above and below the ground with paints, moss, cottonball "snow", spring flowers, etc.
Play "Shadow Dancing" by having students mimic your actions. For example, clap a pattern, then have students echo-clap the same pattern, or do movements such as touching your head 4 times, then have students shadow that same movement. This is more fun when done with peppy music playing in the background. Shadow Dance by Steven Traugh is perfect for this if you can find it.
"Shadow Math"
Good for developing listening skills and oral communication. Children work with a partner. They sit across from each other with a visual divider between them. Each child has several attribute blocks. They "shadow" each other's design. The first child makes a design, describing it step by step to his/her partner without letting them see it. For example: 1. "Place a yellow hexagon in front of you. 2. Place a red trapezoid on the right side of it, touching it. 3. Place another red trapezoid directly across from it on the left side of the yellow piece. Continue until the children have a simple design. As they finish, they move the visual divider to see how well they communicated with each other.
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Literature Connection:
Read books with a shadow theme. Bear Shadow, by Frank Asch is an excellent choice for young children. Let them study the sun's position in the sky and how it affects their shadows at different times of the day: morning recess, noon recess, afternoon recess, after school..
Huff and Puff on Groundhog's Day, by Jean Warren also makes great reading for this special day. The story is in poem form,and the pictures are very attractive to young children. At the back of the book are several sets of lyrics with a groundhog theme based on familiar tunes such as Twinkle, Twinkle, etc. Several extension activities are also listed.
Links:
Up Pops the Groundhog song and lyrics by Paula Metzger
Check out http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/groundhog.html or click on their holiday link. They usually have fun graphics and games.
Get factual information about groundhogs at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7134/Shadow/ghfacts.htm Then, cluster or web ideas on chart paper. Have students choose facts from the chart to write one to three sentences about groundhogs.
Take a Groundhog Day Quiz at http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/quizzes/mc-lb-ghd.html
I usually gather the students at the rug, read the questions orally, then write the choices on the markerboard. Students take turns filling in the circle of the correct answer. This is an easy way to help prepare them for standardized test formats which they'll need to be able to do in the Spring.
Check out the official Groundhog's Day Site with Punxsatawny Phil at: www.groundhog.org
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