Kindergarten students LOVE to learn about farm life! From the machinery to the animals, there are a lot of fun things to learn about during a farm unit for kindergarten. In this post, I’m going to share some of my favorite farm activities that you can use to put together an entire thematic unit!
The Benefits of Themed Learning in Kindergarten
With so much curriculum to cover during the school year, it can be easy to look at themed units as “extras” that are easily skipped. However, themed learning can be a great way to enhance your curriculum.
- Apply Learning – Thematic units give students a chance to apply what they’re learning to real-life topics and situations.
- Increase Engagement – We know how important it is to keep things fresh and engaging in kindergarten. A well-timed unit can work wonders in increasing student motivation and engagement!
- Have Seasonal Fun – Themed learning also gives you a chance to incorporate seasonally-relevant topics into the daily learning routine. This will make it easier for students to learn and retain new vocabulary surrounding these themes.
7 Activity Ideas for a Kindergarten Farm Unit
A farm unit is such a fun and engaging option for the kindergarten classroom. Since it’s such a popular theme for a kindergarten unit, there can be an overwhelming number of activity options to choose from! I wanted to narrow it down to some of my favorite activities for a farm unit.
All of the activities in this post help students practice and improve important foundational skills with a fun farm twist!
1. Nonfiction Read Alouds
One of the best things to do at the beginning of any unit is to share nonfiction text about the topic with your class. This gives students a chance to activate their background knowledge and to get introduced to new vocabulary in an authentic way.
You can also sprinkle fictional farm stories throughout the unit for additional engaging read aloud opportunities!
2. Schema Anchor Charts
As you go through the nonfiction text with your students, you can document their schema and new learning on anchor charts. For the farm unit, you could create and display an anchor chart for each animal that you read about. These charts will come in handy during activities later on in the unit!
3. Vocabulary Practice
It’s helpful for young students to receive multiple exposures to new vocabulary in order to help it stick! You can use visual vocabulary cards to review the new terms your students are learning throughout the unit.
You can also keep these picture vocabulary cards on display so students can refer to them when it’s time to complete other learning activities during the unit. A vocabulary display is especially helpful during writing activities!
4. Informative Writing
With the anchor charts and vocabulary on display, students will be ready to start practicing informative writing about farm animals!
Students can write three facts about each animal that they have learned about during the unit. At the end of the farm unit, these papers can be assembled into a fun book that students can take home and share with their families. This gives them another chance to use all those new vocabulary words they’ve been learning!
5. Chit Chat Messages
Morning messages can be another great way for students to review what they’ve been learning during the unit. Students can use context clues to help them fill in the missing words in each morning message.
Students always love to reveal the message with all of their hard work! It’s a fun way to set the tone for an exciting day of learning, especially when the morning message corresponds with the theme of the farm unit.
6. Directed Drawings
As students learn about different farm animals, it can be fun for them to complete directed drawings of each one. As students listen carefully to the instructions for each step of the drawing, they are strengthening their ability to follow multi-step directions. Students are also improving their hand strength and coordination as they complete each drawing. The success of completing directed drawings can also help students become more confident in their developing skills!
7. Cow Glyph
Crafts are also a great addition to a farm unit. This cow glyph craft is always a favorite! Students will use the key provided to create a cow craft that represents them. For example, the color of the cow’s bell represents the flavor of milk the student likes and the color of the cow’s spots corresponds to the student’s favorite animal. It’s so fun to see the different cow combinations in the class!
The completed cow glyphs make a great hallway or classroom display! Students are always so excited to find their cows after scanning the bulletin board. They also love to look for the similarities and differences between their cow and those of their peers. (This is an easy way to sneak in some practice with comparing and contrasting!)
Overall, these farm activities are a fun way to help students learn more about farm animals while practicing other important skills.
Printable Farm Unit for Kindergarten
I’d love to help you save some time as you plan your own kindergarten farm unit! All of the activities pictured in this blog post (and many more!) are included in one easy-to-download resource full of farm activities. Your students will love learning about a variety of farm animals while practicing important academic skills along the way.
This resource includes all of the printables you’ll need to put together an engaging farm unit for your students. It even includes lesson plans to help you map out the activities. If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this farm unit, you can find it in my TPT store.
Save These Kindergarten Farm Activities
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite kindergarten board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these activity ideas when you’re looking for a fun unit to use in your classroom.
